Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 33

अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं सङ्ग्रामं न करिष्यसि । ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि

atha cettvamimaṃ dharmyaṃ saṅgrāmaṃ na kariṣyasi | tataḥ svadharmaṃ kīrtiṃ ca hitvā pāpamavāpsyasi

Translation

Now if thou wouldst not fight this lawful battle, then, having abandoned thine own duty and fame, thou shalt incur sin.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

atha

now

cet

if

tvam

thou

imam

this

dharmyam

righteous

saṅgrāmam

battle

na

not

kariṣyasi

(thou) wilt do

tataḥ

then

svadharmam

own duty

kīrtim

fame

ca

and

hitvā

having thrown away

pāpam

sin

avāpsyasi

(thou) wilt obtain

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Should you refuse this lawful (dharmya) battle, you incur a twofold evil: by abandoning your own duty (svadharma) and the fame you have already earned, you incur sin (pāpa). The very neglect of svadharma is itself a sin.