Arjuna wanted to abandon his duty as a warrior and take up the duty of a priest, which seemed easier. However, Krishna advises that each person has a duty suited to their nature, and it is better to perform one's own duty imperfectly than to imitate the duties of others. This is illustrated by a story about a donkey and dog whose owner, a washer man, mistreated them by working them without food. When a thief entered the house, the donkey took it upon itself to wake the washer man, though that was the dog's duty, and ended up being beaten for performing the wrong duty. The moral is that one should perform their own allotted duty rather than im

1. STANDARD
VII
CHAPTER 03
WHOM TO WORK FOR
Do your own duty nicely and bother not about results
LESSON-05
WHY SHOULD I DO MY OWN DUTY IF I LIKE SOMEBODY
ELSE’S WORK? WHY NOT GIVE IT A TRY?
Because my duty is suitable to my nature, it is betterif I
do my own duty. Arjuna was thinking that my duty of
fighting is so much of trouble. Let me follow brahmana’s
(intellectualclass) duty of living peacefully. But Krishna
advises Arjuna to follow his own duty.In a drama, it is
betterif I do my own role imperfectly, rather than doing
other’s role perfectly. So rather than imitating another’s
duty, it is betterif we follow our assigned duty.
The donkeyand the dog
There lived a dhobi (washer man) in a village. He had a
dog and a donkey. He was not feeding them well, but he
made them work hard. They were working with empty
stomach. A number of days passed in this way. One day
a thief entered into the dhobi’shouse. Dhobi was sleeping

2. at that time. The dog and the donkey saw the thief. The
donkey said to the dog, "Oh brother! You bark and wake
up the boss!" The dog replied, "How is he our boss? He
keeps us hungry. Let the thief steal. I will not bark."
Having said thus it kept quiet. The donkey said,
"Sometimes he had fed us. We should not be ungrateful.
Therefore I shall wake him up." Having said this donkey
began braying. The dhobi's sleep was disturbed. He
became angry and started beating the donkey with a stick.
MORAL: Awaking the man is the duty of the dog and not
the donkey. One shoulddo his own duty rather than
imitatingothers.