The opening line of this stanza has been exhaustively discussed earlier (III-35). To work in any field ordered by one’s own vasanas is better, because in that case, there is a chance for exhausting the existing vasanas. When an individual strives in a field contrary to the existing vasanas, he not only fails to gain any exhaustion of the existing vasanas, but also creates a new load of vasanas in his temperament. Hence, it is said here: “BETTER IS ONE’S OWN DHARMA THOUGH IMPERFECT THAN THE DHARMA OF ANOTHER WELL-PERFORMED.”

By performing “duties ordained by one’s own nature” (Swabhaava-Niyatam-Karma) the individual comes to no evil — meaning, the individual has no chance of imprinting any new impressions on his mind — the impressions which, in their maturity, might force him to strive, to seek, to achieve and to indulge.

This closing chapter of the Geeta is a peroration of the beautiful discourse of the inspired Divine, and it is, naturally therefore, a summary of the whole Geeta. Hence, we find here a reiteration of almost all the salient ideas which have been discussed earlier, and which are very important for the cure of the “Arjuna-disease.

Anyone can appreciate the logic of it if he considers the following: (1) the deadly poison in the fangs of a serpent never kills the serpent; (2) living organisms crawling in fermented wine never get drunk; (3) the malarial germs in the mosquitoes do not attack them with shivering fevers. THE SWABHAAVA OF EACH ONE CANNOT DESTROY HIM! If the poison is drawn from the fangs and wine is poisoned, the crawling organisms die. Similarly, if the Kshatriyas were to perform the duties prescribed for the Brahmana-type of equipment, they would be only doing harakiri. Arjuna was a Kshatriya; hence retiring from the battle-field to a jungle for meditation would have destroyed him.

In short, it is no use employing our minds in fields which are contrary to our nature. Everyone has a precise place in the scheme of created things. Each one has his own importance and none is to be despised, for, each can do something which the others cannot do so well. There is no redundancy in the Lord’s creation; not even a single blade of grass, anywhere, at any time, is unnecessarily created!

Everything has a purpose. Not only the good but the bad also are His manifestations and serve His purpose. The Pandavas’ glory is, no doubt, great, but the manifestation of the wickedness in the Kauravas is also the glory of His creation. Without the latter, the history of the former would not have been complete. Nothing is to be condemned; none to be despised. Every thing is He. And He alone IS.

BUT IF THE DUTY TO WHICH WE ARE BOUND IS RIDDLED WITH EVIL, ARE WE TO FOLLOW IT? KRISHNA ANSWERS:

Svadharmah, one’s own duty; though vigunah, defective-the word though has to be supplied-; is sreyan, superior to, more praiseworthy than; paradharmat, another’s duty; su-anusthitat, well performed. Kurvan, by performing; karma, a duty; svabhavaniyatam, as dictated by one’s own nature-this phrase means the same as svabhavajam (born from Nature) which has been stated earlier-; na apnoti, one does not incur; kilbisam, sin. As poison is not harmful to a worm born it it, so one does not incur sin by performing a duty dictated by one’s own nature. It has been siad that, as in the case of a worm born in poison, a person does not incur sin while performing his duties which have been dictated by his own nature; and that someone else’s duty is fraught with fear; also that, one who does not have the knoweldge of the Self, (he) surely cannot remain even for a moment without doing work (cf. 3.5). Hence-