Bhagavad-gītā 3.35
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्। स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः।।3.35।।
śhreyān swa-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣhṭhitāt swa-dharme nidhanaṁ śhreyaḥ para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ
Better is one's own Dharma, (though) imperfect, than the Dharma of another well-performed. Better is death in one's own Dharma: the Dharma of another is fraught with fear.
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| śhreyān | better |
| swa-dharmaḥ | personal duty |
| viguṇaḥ | tinged with faults |
| para-dharmāt | than another’s prescribed duties |
| su-anuṣhṭhitāt | perfectly done |
| swa-dharme | in one’s personal duties |
| nidhanam | death |
| śhreyaḥ | better |
| para-dharmaḥ | duties prescribed for others |
| bhaya-āvahaḥ | fraught with fear |
Use the word map to follow the relation among śhreyān (better), swa-dharme (in one’s personal duties), and bhaya-āvahaḥ (fraught with fear). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to work offered without possessiveness. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 3.35.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Distinguish action, duty, sacrifice, example, desire and attachment without treating karma-yoga as inactivity.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
Better is one's own Dharma, (though) imperfect, than the Dharma of another well-performed
- 2
Better is death in one's own Dharma
- 3
the Dharma of another is fraught with fear
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 3.35, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 3.35 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 3.35 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 3.35 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 3.35, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
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