श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् ।
स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥ ३५ ॥
स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥ ३५ ॥
śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt .
svadharme nidhanaṃ śreyaḥ paradharmo bhayāvahaḥ .. 35 ..
Better 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 productive of danger.
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For a man to die doing his own duty though devoid of merit is better than for him to live doing the duty of another though perfectly performed. For, the duty of another leads to danger, such as hell (naraka).
Desire is the Enemy of Man.
Though the source of evil has been pointed out in ii. 62, etc., and in iii. 34, yet with a view to eliciting a concise and clear statement of what was but desultorily and vaguely expressed,—for, the exact cause being known, he might exert himself to exterminate it,—Arjuna asks :