Shloka 36

Devanagari script

अपि चेदसि पापेभ्य: सर्वेभ्य: पापकृत्तम: । सर्व ज्ञानप्लवेनैव वृजिनं संतरिष्यसि,यदि तू अन्य सब पापियोंसे भी अधिक पाप करनेवाला है, तो भी तू ज्ञारूप नौकाद्वारा निःसंदेह सम्पूर्ण पाप-समुद्रसे भलीभाँति तर जायगाउ

Transliteration

api ced asi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ | sarva-jñāna-plavenaiva vṛjinaṃ santariṣyasi ||

Translation

Arjuna said: Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners, you will still cross over all wrongdoing by the boat of complete knowledge alone. The verse affirms that true spiritual knowledge has the power to carry a person beyond even the gravest moral burden, offering ethical renewal rather than despair.

Word by Word

अपिeven; also

चेत्if

असिyou are

पापेभ्यःfrom/than sins (evil deeds)

सर्वेभ्यःfrom/than all

पापकृत्तमःthe greatest doer of sin; most sinful

सर्वज्ञानप्लवेनby the boat of complete knowledge

एवindeed; alone; surely

वृजिनम्evil; sin; wrongdoing

संतरिष्यसिyou will cross over; you will pass beyond

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the gravest moral failing is not final: the verse teaches that transformative knowledge—clear discernment of truth and right conduct—can carry a person beyond accumulated wrongdoing, like a boat that ferries one across a dangerous expanse.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva’s battlefield dialogue context, Arjuna speaks a reassurance about spiritual progress: despite fear of one’s own faults and past actions, the path of true knowledge provides a means to overcome moral distress and move toward right understanding and conduct.