Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 36

अपि चेदसि पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः पापकृत्तमः । सर्वं ज्ञानप्लवेनैव वृजिनं सन्तरिष्यसि

api cedasi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ | sarvaṃ jñānaplavenaiva vṛjinaṃ santariṣyasi

Translation

Even shouldst thou be the most sinful of all the sinful, thou shalt verily cross all sin by the bark of wisdom.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

api

even

cet

if

asi

(thou) art

pāpebhyaḥ

than sinners

sarvebhyaḥ

(than) all

pāpakṛttamaḥ

most-sin-doing

sarvam

all

jñānaplavena

of wisdom, by the raft

eva

only

vṛjinam

sin

santariṣyasi

(thou) shalt cross over

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

With the boat of this knowledge, verily, you can cross the ocean of sin. For one who seeks liberation, even dharma proves to be a sin.