Bhagavad Gita · Karma Yoga — The Yoga of Action
Chapter 3, Verse 35
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्। स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः॥
śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt sva-dharme nidhanaṁ śreyaḥ para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ
Meaning
Better is one's own duty, though imperfectly performed, than the duty of another well performed. Better is death while engaged in one's own duty, for the duty of another invites danger.
अपना धर्म, भले ही अपूर्ण ढंग से निभाया गया हो, दूसरे के धर्म को पूर्णता से निभाने से बेहतर है। अपने धर्म में मृत्यु भी श्रेयस्कर है, परंतु दूसरे का धर्म भयावह होता है।
Explanation
This verse addresses a specific temptation: the belief that someone else's path, role, or way of living would suit us better than our own. Krishna's teaching is that authenticity in one's own imperfect duty carries more real value than borrowed excellence in someone else's. This isn't a call to avoid growth or stay static — earlier verses in the same chapter describe duty (dharma) as shaped by one's own nature and circumstances, not a fixed caste or role in the narrow modern sense. The core idea is that trying to become someone else, even successfully, tends to create deeper instability than doing one's own imperfect work honestly.
Life Lesson
This verse is often cited far outside religious contexts as a caution against comparison — the grass looking greener in someone else's career, relationship, or way of living. It suggests that genuine progress usually comes from doing your own actual work more fully, not from adopting a path that isn't really yours, however impressive it looks from outside.
Context
Spoken by Krishna near the end of Chapter 3, which is devoted to Karma Yoga — the discipline of right action. This verse closes the chapter's argument with a practical principle for how to choose where to direct one's effort.
Why this verse matters
This is one of the most frequently quoted verses of the Gita, echoed again with very similar wording in Chapter 18, which shows how central this idea is to the text’s overall teaching on duty and authenticity.
Related verses
Read alongside Chapter 2, Verse 47 on performing action without attachment to outcome — together they form a fuller picture of the Gita’s teaching on how to act.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Bhagavad Gita 3.35 mean?
Better is one's own duty, though imperfectly performed, than the duty of another well performed. Better is death while engaged in one's own duty, for the duty of another invites danger.
What is the life lesson of this verse?
This verse is often cited far outside religious contexts as a caution against comparison — the grass looking greener in someone else's career, relationship, or way of living. It suggests that genuine progress usually comes from doing your own actual work more fully, not from adopting a path that isn't really yours, however impressive it looks from outside.
What is the context of this verse?
Spoken by Krishna near the end of Chapter 3, which is devoted to Karma Yoga — the discipline of right action. This verse closes the chapter's argument with a practical principle for how to choose where to direct one's effort.