Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 47
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्।स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्।।
śreyān swa-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt
svabhāva-niyataṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam
also searched as "shreyan swadharmo vigunah paradharmat svanushthitat"
Translation
Better is one's own duty, though ill done, than the duty of another, though well-performed. When one does the duty ordained by their own nature, they incur no stain.
Vāṇi's rendering
Your own dharma, even done roughly, beats another's done well. Work true to your nature carries no sin.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्रेयान्śreyān | better, more beneficial |
| स्वधर्मःsva-dharmaḥ | one's own duty, the work that belongs to you (appears as swa-dharmo before the next word) |
| विगुणःviguṇaḥ | flawed, poorly done, lacking polish |
| परधर्मात्para-dharmāt | than another's duty |
| स्वनुष्ठितात्sv-anuṣṭhitāt | than one well carried out (su + anuṣṭhita, joined) |
| स्वभावनियतम्svabhāva-niyatam | fixed by one's own nature |
| कर्मkarma | action, work |
| कुर्वन्kurvan | doing, while performing |
| नna | not (joined with the next word as nāpnoti) |
| आप्नोतिāpnoti | obtains, incurs |
| किल्बिषम्kilbiṣam | stain, taint, sin |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 47 mean?
It means the measure of your work is not its polish but its truthfulness. Krishna tells Arjuna that a sva-dharma done roughly leaves no stain, while another's duty done flawlessly still belongs to someone else. The verse moves the question from how well you performed to whether the work was yours to do at all.
What is the meaning of shreyan swadharmo vigunah paradharmat svanushthitat?
Better your own dharma, imperfect, than another's dharma perfectly executed. Śreyān means what genuinely benefits you, not what looks impressive. Krishna repeats this line from the third chapter because Arjuna has spent seventeen chapters trying to trade his life for a quieter one. The trade is never allowed.
Does this verse excuse doing bad work?
No. Viguṇaḥ describes work that falls short despite effort, not work abandoned halfway. Krishna is removing the fear of failing at your own life, not the obligation to live it. A warrior who fights imperfectly is still a warrior. Someone imitating a sage is not a sage, however beautifully the imitation is done.
How do I know what my own svadharma is?
Svabhāva-niyatam — fixed by your nature. Not what you admire, not what earns praise, but what you keep returning to when the performing stops. Your circumstances, capacities and obligations already point at it. Usually you know. The difficulty is rarely identifying your work; it is accepting that the smaller, unglamorous one is yours.
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Commentary
Krishna is not praising incompetence. He is telling Arjuna where the stain comes from — not from doing it badly, but from doing someone else's. Arjuna wants the ascetic's life because it looks cleaner than the warrior's; the borrowed dharma always looks cleaner from outside. It isn't. Work that grows out of your own nature can be clumsy, unfinished, embarrassing, and still leave you unmarked, because you were standing where you actually stand. The other life, performed beautifully, is performed by a stranger. Stop rehearsing a role that was never cast for you. Do your own work badly, and begin.