Bhagavad Gita · Moksha Sannyasa YogaChapter 18, Shloka 47 (18.47)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
श्रेयान् स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात् स्वनुष्ठितात्
स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन् नाऽऽप्नोति किल्बिषम्
॥ 18.47 ॥
śreyān svadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmāt svanuṣṭhitāt
svabhāvaniyataṃ karma kurvan nā''pnoti kilbiṣam
Translation
"Better is one's own dharma, though lacking in merit, than another's dharma well performed; doing the work prescribed by one's own nature, a person incurs no sin."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. yathā viṣajātasya kṛmeḥ — just as poison does not harm a worm born in poison (Shankara's example, paraphrase).
Acharya Ramanuja. svena eva upādātuṃ yogyo dharmaḥ — svadharma = the dharma fit to be taken up by oneself; karmayogātmako dharmaḥ.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.