Chapter XVIII · Śloka 47
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् |
स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ||
स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ||
śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt svanuṣṭhitāt |
svabhāva-niyataṃ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam ||
svabhāva-niyataṃ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam ||
Better is one's own dharma, though imperfectly performed, than the dharma of another well performed. One who does the duty ordained by one's own nature incurs no sin.
The principle first stated in 3.35 is restated here at the close of the Gita's final chapter, now with its full metaphysical grounding: sva-dharma is not merely a social role but the action dictated by one's own being. Performing it imperfectly is still truer than performing someone else's path flawlessly.