कृषिगोरक्ष्यवाणिज्यं वैश्यकर्म स्वभावजम् । परिचर्यात्मकं कर्म शूद्रस्यापि स्वभावजम् ॥
kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṃ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam | paricaryātmakaṃ karma śūdrasyāpi svabhāva-jam ||
Vaiśya dharma: agriculture, cattle-care, trade — born of svabhāva. Śūdra dharma: service — born of svabhāva.
Word by word (3)
- kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṃ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam
- — agriculture/cultivation (kṛṣi), cattle-protection/tending (go-rakṣya = cow-protection, cattle-care), and trade/commerce (vāṇijya = from vaṇij = merchant), these are the Vaiśya-duty (vaiśya-karma) born of svabhāva (one's own nature) — the Vaiśya's dharma covers the productive economy: farming, animal husbandry, trade
- paricaryātmakaṃ karma śūdrasyāpi svabhāva-jam
- — service-natured (paricaryātmakam = paricaryā + ātmaka = service-natured; from pari + car = to move around + serve) duty/action (karma), of the Śūdra (śūdrasyāpi = also/even of the Śūdra), born of svabhāva (svabhāva-jam) — Śūdra dharma: service as the primary contribution; api (also/even) indicates the Gita's inclusive tone: even/also Śūdra dharma is svabhāva-born
- paricaryātmaka
- — service-natured; pari + caryā = attending around/serving comprehensively; the Śūdra's dharma is service — supporting the functioning of all other dharmas; this is not degraded in the Gita's framework: each dharma is equally necessary and equally capable of leading to perfection (V45: svakarmaṇā tam abhyarcya — worshiping through one's own karma leads to siddhi for ALL four)
Agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade are the duties of Vaiśyas, born of their own nature. Action consisting of service is the duty of Śūdras, born of their own nature.
A modern analogy
V44 covers the two remaining varṇas in one verse. Vaiśya dharma is the dharma of producers/traders — those whose svabhāva naturally tends toward building, nurturing (animals, crops), and exchange. Śūdra dharma is the dharma of those whose svabhāva tends toward skilled service and support. Both are svabhāva-born — neither inferior nor superior in the Gita's framework; each necessary, each capable of leading to perfection.
V44 pairs Vaiśya and Śūdra dharma in one verse — perhaps because they are both defined by relationship to the material world (production and service) rather than the intellectual-spiritual (brāhmaṇa) or martial-political (kṣatriya). The key philosophical point is the repeated svabhāva-jam (born of own nature) for both varṇas: the Gita never allows the reading that any varṇa's dharma is externally imposed. All four are natural expressions of one's guṇic constitution.
Api (also/even) in śūdrasyāpi svabhāva-jam (of the Śūdra ALSO, born of own nature) is a subtle marker of inclusiveness: the Gita takes care to affirm that even Śūdra dharma is svabhāva-born — not a socially imposed servitude but a natural mode of contributing. V45 will confirm the universal siddhi available through ANY of the four dharmas performed with the right inner orientation.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Ploughing, cattle-rearing, and trade, are the duties of the Vaisyas, born of nature. And of the nature of service is the duty of the Sudra, born of nature. [1]
Agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade are the duties of the Vaishyas, born of their own nature; and action consisting of service is the duty of the Shudras, born of their own nature. [4]
MISSING from index. [9]
Agriculture, tending of cattle, and trade, are the natural duties of Vaisyas. Of Sudras also, the natural duty consists in servitude. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.
Approach the teacher with prostration, inquiry, and service. The knowers of truth will instruct you in jñāna.
Daivī wealth begins: abhaya, sattva-śuddhi, jñāna-yoga, dāna, dama, yajña, svādhyāya, tapa, ārjava.
Men are ready to die 'for my sake' — and Duryodhana names this fact without apparent weight.
The sound of righteous forces pierces the hearts of those who know they are on the wrong side.