Sanskrit · Devanagari
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्। स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥
Sanskrit · IAST
śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt svadharme nidhanaṃ śreyaḥ paradharmo bhayāvahaḥ
English witness
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882One's own duty, though defective, is better than another's duty well performed. Death in (performing) one's own duty is preferable the (performance of the) duty of others is dangerous.
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29 translations and commentaries are aligned to this verse. Choose up to three; the root verse and Telang witness stay above them.
Śaṅkarācārya
।।3.35।। श्रेयान् प्रशस्यतरः स्वो धर्मः स्वधर्मः विगुणः अपि विगतगुणोऽपि अनुष्ठीयमानः परधर्मात् स्वनुष्ठितात् साद्गुण्येन संपादितादपि। स्वधर्मे स्थितस्य निधनं मरणमपि श्रेयः परधर्मे स्थितस्य जीवितात्। कस्मात् परधर्मः भयावहः नरकादिलक्षणं भयमावहति यतः।।यद्यपि अनर्थमूलम् ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः (गीता 2.62) इति रागद्वेषौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ इति च उक्तम् विक्षिप्तम् अनवधारितं च तदुक्तम्। तत् संक्षिप्तं निश्चितं च इदमेवेति ज्ञातुमिच्छन् अर्जुनः उवाच ज्ञाते हि तस्मिन् तदुच्छेदाय यत्नं कुर्याम् इति अर्जुन उवाच
626d355d3517…Rāmānuja
3.35 Therefore Karma Yoga is better than Jnana Yoga. For, it forms one's own duty, since it is natural to one and easy to perform, and though defective, is free from liability to interruption and fall. Jnana Yoga, on the other hand, though performed well for some time, constitutes the duty of another, as it is difficult to practise for one conjoined with Prakrti. It is therefore liable to interruption. For a person who lives practising Karma Yoga - which is his duty because he is alified for it - even death without success in one birth does not matter. For, in the next birth with the help of the experience already gained in the previous birth, it will be possible for him to perform Karma Yoga without any impediments. Jnana Yoga is fraught with fear because of the possibility of errors for anyone who is conjoined to Prakrti. It is another's duty, on account of it being not easily adoptable by him.
b74712cc9cce…Swami Sivananda
3.35 श्रेयान् better? स्वधर्मः ones own duty? विगुणः devoid of merit? परधर्मात् than the duty of another? स्वनुष्ठितात् than well discharged? स्वधर्मे in ones own duty? निधनम् death? श्रेयः better? परधर्मः anothers duty? भयावहः fraught with fear.Commentary It is indeed better for man to die discharging his own duty though destitute of merit than for him to live doing the duty of another though performed in a perfect manner. For the duty of another has its pitfalls. The duty of a Kshatriya is to fight in a righteous battle. Arjuna must fight. This is his duty. Even if he dies in the discharge of his own duty? it is better for him. He will go to heaven. He should not do the duty of another man. This will bring him peril. He should not stop from fighting and enter the path of renunciation. (Cf.XVIII.47).
035692a1d4ef…These supplied texts come from the pinned VedicScriptures dataset under GPL-3.0 and await independent alignment review.