Chapter XVIII · Śloka 48
सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषमपि न त्यजेत् |
सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निरिवावृताः ||
सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निरिवावृताः ||
sahajaṃ karma kaunteya sadoṣam api na tyajet |
sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ ||
sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ ||
One should not abandon one's innate duty, O son of Kuntī, even if it is flawed, for all undertakings are covered by imperfection, as fire is covered by smoke.
No action in the phenomenal world is perfectly pure — the analogy of fire and smoke is exact. The demand for a flawless path before taking a step is itself a form of inertia. The question is not whether one's duty is spotless, but whether it is genuinely one's own.