Bhagavad Gita 4.36: meaning and translation
Chapter 4: Jnana Karma Sannyasa Yoga. Krishna says
Even if Arjuna were the worst of all wrongdoers, Krishna says, he would cross over all wrongdoing on the raft of knowledge.
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Bhagavad Gita 4.36
अपि चेदसि पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः पापकृत्तमः ।सर्वं ज्ञानप्लवेनैव वृजिनं सन्तरिष्यसि ॥
Api chedasi papebhyah sarvebhyah papakrittamahSarvam jnanaplavenaiva vrijinam santarishyasi
api cedasi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ |sarvaṃ jñānaplavenaiva vṛjinaṃ santariṣyasi ||
Our explanation Even if Arjuna were the worst of all wrongdoers, Krishna says, he would cross over all wrongdoing on the raft of knowledge.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि यदि अर्जुन सब पापियों से भी अधिक पाप करने वाले हों, तब भी वे ज्ञान रूपी नाव से सब पापों को पार कर जाएँगे।
Word by word
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Word by word
- अपि api · even (indeclinable) Dictionary: api, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 55, col. 1 “in the sense of even, also, very”
- चेत् cet · if (indeclinable) Dictionary: ced, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 401, col. 3 “if”
- असि asi · you are (present, 2nd person singular) Dictionary: 1. as, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 117, col. 2 “to be, live, exist, be present”
- पापेभ्यः pāpebhyaḥ · than wrongdoers (noun (masculine), ablative plural) Dictionary: pāpa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 618, col. 2 “sin, vice, crime, guilt”
- सर्वेभ्यः sarvebhyaḥ · all (pronoun (masculine), ablative plural) Dictionary: sarva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1184, col. 3 “whole, entire, all, every”
- पापकृत्तमः pāpakṛttamaḥ · the worst wrongdoer (compound (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: pāpa-kṛt, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 618, col. 2; 2. tama, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 438, col. 2 “an affix forming the superl. degree of adjectives”
- सर्वम् sarvam · all (pronoun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: sarva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1184, col. 3 “whole, entire, all, every”
- ज्ञानप्लवेन jñānaplavena · by the raft of knowledge (compound (masculine), instrumental singular) Dictionary: jñāna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 426, col. 1 “knowing, becoming acquainted with, knowledge”; plava, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 715, col. 2 “jumping, leaping, plunging, going by leaps or plunges”
- एव eva · alone (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. eva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely”
- वृजिनम् vṛjinam · wrongdoing (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: vṛjina, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1009, col. 1 “sin, vice, wickedness”
- सन्तरिष्यसि santariṣyasi · you will cross over (future, 2nd person singular) Dictionary: saṃ-tṝ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1142, col. 3 “to cross or traverse together, pass through”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 62.
Even if you are the most sinful of all sinful men, you will cross over all trespasses by means of the boat of knowledge alone.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 62.
Even if you are the most sinful of all sinful men, you will cross over all trespasses by means of the boat of knowledge alone.
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 56.
Even if thou beest among all evil men the most evil-doing, yet shalt thou escape from all sin by the raft of wisdom.
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Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 101.
Even if thou beest the most sinful among all the sinful, yet by the raft of knowledge alone thou shalt go across all sin.
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Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 62. Bhagavad Gita 4.36.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 56. Bhagavad Gita 4.36.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 101. Bhagavad Gita 4.36.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 4.36: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/4/36/
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Bhagavad Gita 4.36
अपि चेदसि पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः पापकृत्तमः ।
सर्वं ज्ञानप्लवेनैव वृजिनं सन्तरिष्यसि ॥
“Even if you are the most sinful of all sinful men, you will cross over all trespasses by means of the boat of knowledge alone.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 62, public domain)
“Even if thou beest among all evil men the most evil-doing, yet shalt thou escape from all sin by the raft of wisdom.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 56, public domain)
“Even if thou beest the most sinful among all the sinful, yet by the raft of knowledge alone thou shalt go across all sin.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 101, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/4/36/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 4.36?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 4 (Jnana Karma Sannyasa Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 27, 2026