Vers 3.35

श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् ।

स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥

3.35

Transliteratie

śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt |

svadharme nidhanaṃ śreyaḥ paradharmo bhayāvahaḥ ||

Door Sanskrit System · Machineconcept · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Vertaling

Better is one's own duty, though devoid of merit than the duty of another well discharged. Better is death in one's own duty; the duty of another is fraught with fear (is productive of danger).

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Woord voor woord

better
one's own duty
though imperfect
than another's duty
well performed

in one's own duty
death
is better
another's duty
is fraught with fear

Door Sanskrit System · Machineconcept · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Uitleg

This is one of the Gita's most quoted verses. Krishna says it is better to follow one's own dharma (svadharma), even imperfectly, than another's dharma done well. Dying in one's own duty is better; another's path is full of danger. In context, Arjuna is tempted to abandon the warrior's role for the life of a renunciant, which is not his own. Traditions read svadharma as the duty of one's social station, or more broadly as one's own nature and calling. Either way, the verse values authenticity over imitation.