Shloka 18.47
Key verseKrishna speaks to Arjuna
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् |स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ||१८-४७||
śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt . svabhāvaniyataṃ karma kurvannāpnoti kilbiṣam ||18-47||
Meaning
It is better to do one's own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his own nature reveals it, never sins.
Translation: Shri Purohit Swami, The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna (1935). Public domain.
Word-by-word meaning
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Explanation
Krishna repeats, with deliberate emphasis, one of the Gita's central teachings: better one's own svadharma performed imperfectly than another's dharma performed flawlessly. Doing the work ordained by one's own nature, one incurs no kilbisha, no sin or harm.
The wisdom here is psychological and spiritual. Imitating another's path, however glamorous, violates our own nature and breeds inner conflict, whereas faithfully doing our own work — flaws and all — keeps us aligned and growing. The point is not complacency but authenticity. Perfection is reached by deepening our engagement with our own genuine calling, not by abandoning it to chase a role that belongs to someone else.
In daily life
Doing your own true work imperfectly beats flawlessly performing a path that was never yours.
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Quick check
What does ‘विगुणः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on svadharma, in other chapters
- Verse 3.35It is better to walk your own authentic path imperfectly than to perfectly live a life that was never yours to live.
- Verse 2.31Identify the duty that arises from your deepest nature and role, then perform it fully — hesitation at that threshold is a form of self-betrayal.
- Verse 5.8Rest in the witnessing Self: let life's activities flow while inwardly knowing 'I am not the doer.'
- Verse 7.2Seek the knowing that is also realised in experience, for that alone leaves nothing essential still to be sought.
Swipe left for 18.48 · No work is free of flaws, so do not flee your natural duty seeking some perfect alternative that does not exist.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.47
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.47, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.47, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.47 mean?
It is better to do one's own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his own nature reveals it, never sins. (Translation: Shri Purohit Swami, The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna (1935). Public domain.)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.47 for daily life?
Doing your own true work imperfectly beats flawlessly performing a path that was never yours.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.47 mean?
श्रेयान् स्वधर्मः — better is one's own duty; विगुणः — though imperfect / lacking merit; परधर्मात् — than another's duty; स्वनुष्ठितात् — though well performed; स्वभावनियतं कर्म — the duty ordained by one's own nature.
Where does verse 18.47 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 47 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.48.