सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषमपि न त्यजेत् । सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निरिवावृताः ॥ १८-४८॥
sahajaṃ karma kaunteya sadoṣamapi na tyajet sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnirivāvṛtāḥ
One should not abandon, O Kaunteya, the duty to which one is born, though faulty; for, are not all undertakings enveloped by evil, as fire by smoke?
sahajaṃ = born simultaneously; karma = work; kaunteya = O son of Kunti; sadoṣaṃ = with fault; api = although; na = never; tyajet = one should give up; sarvārambhaḥ = all ventures; hi = certainly; doṣena = with fault; dhūmena = with smoke; agniḥ = fire; iva = as; āvṛtāḥ = covered.;