Bhagavad Gita 3.35 meaningWhy action matters
In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it
“Be yourself. Your own path, even if imperfect, is better than copying someone else.”
What it means
“It is better to follow your own path imperfectly than someone else's perfectly. Better to fail at your own calling than to live in fear on someone else's.”
The original Sanskrit · known as “Shreyan Svadharmo Vigunah”
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् । स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥
śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt svadharme nidhanaṃ śreyaḥ paradharmo bhayāvahaḥ
Translations
Literal translation
One's own duty, though defective, is superior to another's duty well-performed. Death is better while engaged in one's own duty; another's duty is fraught with fear.
Swami Gambhirananda
हिंदी अनुवाद
सम्यक् प्रकार से अनुष्ठित परधर्म की अपेक्षा गुणरहित स्वधर्म का पालन श्रेयष्कर है; स्वधर्म में मरण कल्याणकारक है (किन्तु) परधर्म भय को देने वाला है।
Swami Tejomayananda
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Commentaries
How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.
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Keep reading · 3.36Arjuna asks: “Then what pushes a person to do wrong, even against their will, as if forced?”