Sanskrit
सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषमपि न त्यजेत् । सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निरिवावृताः ॥ ४८ ॥
sahajaṃ karma kaunteya sa-doṣam api na tyajet sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ
Translation
Congenital duty, O son of Kunti, though defective, ought not to be abandoned. All undertakings indeed are clouded by defects as fire by smoke.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
An argument against perfectionism as an excuse for abandoning duty: congenital work (sahaja karma) should not be dropped merely because it’s flawed, since — in the verse’s own image — every undertaking is wreathed in some defect the way fire is wreathed in smoke. The claim isn’t that flaws don’t matter, only that flawlessness was never the bar for legitimate action; waiting for it is itself a version of the inaction chapter 3 already rejected.