śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt svanuṣṭhitāt
sva-bhāva-niyataṃ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam
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sv-anuṣṭhitāt (than well practised) para-dharmāt (than the duties of others) viguṇaḥ (faulty) sva-dharmaḥ (one’s own duty) śreyān (better) [
asti]
(it is).
sva-bhāva-niyatam (controlled by one’s own nature) karma (activity) kurvan (while doing) kilbiṣam (sin) na āpnoti (he does not obtain).
| śreyān |
– |
śreyas 1n.1 m. – better, higher, perfect, the auspiciousness, the welfare (comparative of: śrī – śreyas, śreṣṭha); |
| sva-dharmaḥ |
– |
sva-dharma 1n.1 m.; TP: svasya dharma iti – own duties (from: sva – own; √dhṛ – to hold); |
| viguṇaḥ |
– |
vi-guṇa 1n.1 m. – defective, bad, faulty (from: vi – prefix: apart, off, without; √grah – to take, guṇa – quality, virtue, thread); |
| para-dharmāt |
– |
para-dharma 5n.1 m.; TP: parasya dharmād iti – than duties of others (from: para – another, strange; √dhṛ – to hold); |
| svanuṣṭhitāt |
– |
su-anu-ṣṭhita (anu-√sthā – to follow, to practise) PP 5n.1 m. – than well practised; |
| sva-bhāva-niyatam |
– |
sva-bhāva-niyata 2n.1 m.; TP: svasya bhāvena niyatam iti – controlled by one’s own nature (from: sva – own; bhāva – being, state, nature, sva-bhāva – own nature, natural state; ni-√yam – to hold back, PP niyata – held back); |
| karma |
– |
karman 1n.1 n. – activity (from: √kṛ – to do); |
| kurvan |
– |
kurvant (√kṛ – to do) PPr 1n.1 m. – [while] doing; |
| na |
– |
av. – not; |
| āpnoti |
– |
√āp (to obtain) Praes. P 1v.1 – he obtains, he achieves; |
| kilbiṣam |
– |
kilbiṣa 2n.1 n. – fault, offence, sin; |
viguṇaḥ → viguṇāt (than faulty);
… → After the second pada of verse 18.47 there are two padas not found in critical edition (similar to the third and fourth pada of verse BhG 3.35):
svadharme nidhanaṁ śreyaḥ paradharmodayād api
Better is death in one’s own duty than the success in the duty of others.
The first two padas of verse 18.47 are the same as the first two padas of verse BhG 3.35;
the fourth pada of verse 18.47 is the same as the fourth pada of verse BhG 4.21.
yata evam, ataḥ—
śreyān praśasyataraḥ svo dharmaḥ sva-dharmaḥ, viguṇo’pīty api-śabdo draṣṭavyaḥ | para-dharmāt | svabhāva-niyataṃ svabhāvena niyatam, yad uktaṃ svabhāva-jam iti, tad evoktaṃ svabhāva-niyatam iti | yathā viṣa-jātasya kṛmer viṣaṃ na doṣa-karam, tathā svabhāva-niyataṃ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣaṃ pāpam
evaṃ tyaktakartṛtvādiko madārādhanarūpaḥ svadharmaḥ / svenaivopādātuṃ yogyo dharmaḥ; prakṛtisaṃsṛṣṭena hi puruṣeṇendriyavyāpārarūpaḥ karmayogātmako dharmaḥ sukaro bhavati / ataḥ karmayogākhyaḥ svadharmo viguṇo ‚pi paradharmāt indriyajayanipuṇapuruṣadharmāj jñānayogāt sakalendriyaniyamanarūpatayā sapramādāt kadācit svanuṣṭhitāc śreyān / tad evopapādayati
prakṛtisaṃsṛṣṭasya puruṣasya indriyavyāpārarūpatayā svabhāvata eva niyatatvāt karmaṇaḥ, karma kurvan kilbiṣaṃ saṃsāraṃ na prāpnoti; apramādatvāt karmaṇaḥ / jñānayogasya sakalendriyaniyamanasādhyatayā sapramādatvāt tanniṣṭhas tu pramādāt kilbiṣaṃ pratipadyetāpi
svakarmeti viśeṣaṇasya phalam āha śreyān iti | viguṇo ‚pi sva-dharmaḥ samyag-anuṣṭhitād api para-dharmāt śreyān śreṣṭhaḥ | na ca bandhu-vadhādi-muktād yuddhādeḥ svadharmād bhikṣāṭanādi para-dharmaḥ śreṣṭha iti mantavyam | yataḥ svabhāvena pūrvoktena niyataṃ niyamenoktaṃ karma kurvan kilbiṣaṃ nāpnoti
na ca kriyādibhiḥ sva-dharmaṃ rājasaṃ ca vīkṣya tatra anabhirucyā sāttvikaṃ karma kartavyam ity āha śreyān iti | para-dharmāt śreṣṭhād api svanuṣṭhitāt samyag anuṣṭhitād api svadharmo viguṇo nikṛṣṭo ‚pi samyag-anuṣṭhātum aśakyo ‚pi śreṣṭhaḥ | tena bandhu-vadhādi-doṣavattāt sva-dharmaṃ yuddhaṃ tyaktvā bhikṣāṭanādi-rūpa-para-dharmas tvayā nānusṭheya iti bhāvaḥ
nanu kṣatriyādi-dharmāṇāṃ rājasāditvāt teṣu ruci-śūnyaiḥ kṣatriyādibhiḥ sāttviko brahma-dharma evānuṣṭheya iti cet tatrāha śreyān iti | sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ nikṛṣṭo ‚pi samyag-anuṣṭhito ‚pi vā para-dharmād utkṛṣṭāt svanuṣṭhitāc ca śreyān atipraśasto vihitatvāt
