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श्री
ह्रीं
क्लीं
गं
ऐं
क्रीं
हूं
सौं
दुं
ॐ तत् सत्
ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः

Aligning Consciousness

Ch 18Verse 47
Adhyāya 18 Shloka 47

श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् | स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् || ४७ ||

śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt | svabhāva-niyataṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam || 47 ||

"It is better to engage in one's own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another's occupation and perform it perfectly. Duties prescribed according to one's nature are never affected by sinful reactions."

Historical Context

The Direct Meaning

Krishna repeats a crucial warning first given in Chapter 3. It is far better (śreyān) to perform your own natural duty (sva-dharmo), even if it is flawed or imperfect (viguṇaḥ), than to perfectly execute another person's duty (para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt). Why? Because when a person performs the work dictated by their own natural psychology (svabhāva-niyataṁ karma), they incur no sin or karmic fault (nāpnoti kilbiṣam).

Translated from the original Sanskrit text

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