Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 3/Verse 35

Chapter 3/Verse 35

श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् ।
स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥३- ३५॥

śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt ।

svadharme nidhanaṃ śreyaḥ paradharmo bhayāvahaḥ ॥3- 35॥

Better one's wicked duty than the good performed from the duty of another. Residence in one's duty is better than the overwhelming duty of another. 


Word-for-word translations

śreyān (comparative, masculine, nominative, singular) = better

svadharmas (masculine, nominative, singular) = one's duty

viguṇas (adjective) (masculine, nominative, singular) = wicked

paradharmāt (masculine, ablative, singular) = from the duty of another

svanuṣṭhitāt (su + anuṣṭhitāt) (compound) (past passive participle, ablative of comparison, singular) = than the good performed  



svadharme (masculine, locative, singular) = in one's duty

nidhanam (neuter, nominative, singular) = residence 

śreyas (comparative, neuter, nominative, singular) = better

paradharmas (masculine, nominative, singular) = duty of another

bhayāvahas (bhaya + āvahas) (compound) (adjective) (masculine, nominative, singular) = overwhelming 

Commentary

This is one of my favorite verses since I first read the Bhagavad Gita, so it delights me to see the grammatical makeup of this verse. 

It seems I am running into a patch of verses where the past translations seem to be weirdly interpreted when a more sensible translation is possible. In this verse, it is mainly the clunky word choices from past translations that bewilder me.

"Viguṇas" can mean "destitute of merits", "worthless", "bad", and the like. Most past translations soften the harshness of this word by using a gentler word. 

I feel "nidhanam" is the most horribly translated word from the past interpretations. So much so, that it alters the core meaning of the translation. Most past translations interpret it along the lines of "Better is the death in one's own duty." That interpretation is just too clunky. "Nidhanam" can mean "death" and "destitute", but it also can mean an "abode" or "residence". It has a spirit of settling down into something. 

"Bhayāvahas" can mean "bringing fear or danger", "formidable", "fearful". Getting at the root of the these meanings it means something that is "overwhelming" or "prohibitive".