4.36
अपि चेदसि पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः पापकृत्तमः ।
सर्वं ज्ञानप्लवेनैव वृजिनं सन्तरिष्यसि ॥
api ced asi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ
sarvaṃ jñānaplavenaiva vṛjinaṃ santariṣyasi
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking, to Arjuna.
The verse
Even if you are the worst doer of all the sinful, you will cross the whole tangle by the boat of knowledge alone.
नेपालीमा
यदि तिमी सबै पापीहरूमध्ये सबैभन्दा बढी पाप गर्ने हौ भने पनि, ज्ञानको डुङ्गाले मात्र तिमी सारा जञ्जाल तर्नेछौ।
Where it sits
4.35 was about not returning to confusion, and this verse answers the fear under that, the fear that what he has already done is the worst of it: knowledge is a boat, not a wage. 4.37 says the same thing as fire and wood.
Split: अपि + चेत् + असि + पापेभ्यः + सर्वेभ्यः + पाप-कृत्-तमः + सर्वम् + ज्ञान-प्लवेन + एव + वृजिनम् + सन्तरिष्यसि
api + cet + asi + pāpebhyaḥ + sarvebhyaḥ + pāpa-kṛt-tamaḥ + sarvam + jñāna-plavena + eva + vṛjinam + santariṣyasi
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| अपि | api | indeclinable | even. |
| चेत् | cet | indeclinable | if. |
| असि | asi | present, 2nd singular | you are. |
| पापेभ्यः | pāpebhyaḥ | ablative plural | than the sinful, than those who are pāpa (पाप). |
| सर्वेभ्यः | sarvebhyaḥ | ablative plural | than all. Agrees with pāpebhyaḥ (पापेभ्यः). |
| पाप-कृत्-तमः | pāpa-kṛt-tamaḥ | nominative | the most doer of pāpa (पाप). --tama (तम) is the superlative. kṛt (कृत्) is "a doer." |
| सर्वम् | sarvam | accusative | all. |
| ज्ञान-प्लवेन | jñāna-plavena | instrumental singular | by the boat of knowledge. plava (प्लव) is a float, a raft. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | alone, that very. |
| वृजिनम् | vṛjinam | accusative | the crooked, the tangle. |
| सन्तरिष्यसि | santariṣyasi | future, 2nd singular | you will cross. From sam-tṝ (सम्-तॄ). |
The phrases
अपि चेत् असि पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः पापकृत्तमः api cet asi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ is the concession, as large as he can make it. Even if you are the most doer of pāpa (पाप) of all. चेत् असि cet asi is ced asi (चेदसि): t (त्) before a vowel becomes d (द्). The ablatives are the "than" of the superlative.
sarvaṃ jñānaplavena eva vṛjinaṃ santariṣyasi (सर्वं ज्ञानप्लवेन एव वृजिनं सन्तरिष्यसि) is the crossing anyway. You will cross the whole tangle by the boat of knowledge alone. plavena eva (प्लवेन एव) is plavenaiva (प्लवेनैव).
Sanskrit in this line
--tama (तम) makes a superlative, "most." pāpakṛttamaḥ (पापकृत्तमः) is "the most doer of pāpa (पाप)." The ablative plural pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ (पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः) is the group he stands beyond: "than all the sinful." A superlative does not need a separate word for "than." The ablative is that word. This is the same ablative-as-than that śreyān (श्रेयान्) used in 4.33, now on a superlative.
Say it back
How bad the concession is, and what still crosses it. If jñānaplavena (ज्ञानप्लवेन) is dropped, the crossing has no boat.