Bhagavad Gita 18.47 meaningLetting go — and standing up
In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it
“Better to be yourself imperfectly than to copy someone else perfectly.”
What it means
“Better to do your own work imperfectly than someone else's perfectly. Doing the work that suits your nature, you do no wrong.”
The original Sanskrit
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् । स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ॥
śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt svabhāvaniyataṃ karma kurvannāpnoti kilbiṣam
Translations
Literal translation
One's own duty, (though) defective, is superior to another's duty well performed. By performing a duty as dictated by one's own nature, one does not incur sin.
Swami Gambhirananda
हिंदी अनुवाद
सम्यक् अनुष्ठित परधर्म की अपेक्षा गुणरहित स्वधर्म श्रेष्ठ है। (क्यो ंकि) स्वभाव से नियत किये गये कर्म को करते हुए मनुष्य पाप को नहीं प्राप्त करता।
Swami Tejomayananda
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Commentaries
How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.
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Keep reading · 18.48“Don't abandon the work you were born for, even if it has flaws. Every undertaking has some flaw, as every fire has some smoke.”