Shankaracharya's commentary, trans. Alladi Mahadeva Sastry (1897)
[1]The duty born with oneself, O son of Kunti, though faulty, one ought not to abandon; for, all undertakings are surrounded with evil, as fire with smoke.
BG 18.48
सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषम् अपि न त्यजेत् । सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निर् इवावृताः ॥
saha-jaṃ karma kaunteya sa-doṣam api na tyajet | sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ ||
"Do not abandon one's innate duty even if imperfect — all undertakings are enveloped by fault as fire by smoke."
All public-domain translations
4 translations · all pre-1928 or released to public domain · sources
Swami Swarupananda, Srimad Bhagavad Gita (1909)
[4]One should not relinquish, O son of Kunti, the duty to which one is born, though it is attended with evil; for, all undertakings are enveloped by evil, as fire by smoke.
K.T. Telang, Sacred Books of the East Vol. 8 (1882)
[9]MISSING from index.
K.M. Ganguli, The Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva (1883–96)
[13]One must not abandon, O son of Kunti, one's natural duty though tainted with evil, for all actions are enveloped by evil like fire by smoke.