Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18, Verse 47

श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् । स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्

śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt | svabhāvaniyataṃ karma kurvannāpnoti kilbiṣam

Translation

Better is one's own duty (though) destitute of merits, than the duty of another well performed. Doing the duty ordained according to nature, one incurs no sin.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

śreyān

better

svadharmaḥ

own-duty

viguṇaḥ

without quality

paradharmāt

of another, than duty

svanuṣṭhitāt

(than) well-practised

svabhāvaniyatam

by own-nature, ordained

karma

action

kurvan

doing

na

not

āpnoti

obtains

kilbiṣam

sin

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Just as a poisonous substance does not injure the worm born in that substance, so he who does the duty ordained according to his own nature incurs no sin.