कर्तव्य-दीपः

Duty (kartavya) is called a lamp because it illumines the next step even when the whole path is unseen. This is a post-vedic replacement for superstition: do not seek omens; seek obligations. Gravity steadies the body; duty steadies the will. The hymn links duty with excellence (kauśala) and service (sevā). Excellence is not vanity; it is compassion in technique. Poor workmanship becomes harm when it touches lives. Thus every profession becomes a field of dharma: medicine, engineering, teaching, governance. Propaganda seduces with identity pride; duty seduces with nothing. That is why it is pure. It asks you to do what must be done, even when applause is absent. In that secrecy, the personal relation to Param Īśvara becomes real.