Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 9, Verse 30
अपि चेत्सुदुराचारो भजते मामनन्यभाक्।
साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः।।
साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः।।
api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ
also searched as "api chet suduracharo bhajate mam ananyabhak"
Translation
If even the most sinful man worships Me with undivided devotion, he should be regarded as holy, for he has rightly resolved.
Vāṇi's rendering
Even one of the worst conduct, loving me alone, must be counted good — for his resolve is right.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अपिapi | even |
| चेत्cet | if |
| सुदुराचारःsu-durācāraḥ | one of very bad conduct (appears as su-durācāro before the next word) |
| भजतेbhajate | loves, worships, holds to |
| माम्mām | me |
| अनन्यभाक्ananya-bhāk | sharing himself with no other; turned to me alone |
| साधुःsādhuḥ | good, upright (appears as sādhur) |
| एवeva | indeed, precisely |
| सःsa | he |
| मन्तव्यःmantavyaḥ | must be counted, is to be regarded |
| सम्यक्samyak | rightly, wholly (appears as samyag) |
| व्यवसितःvyavasitaḥ | resolved, settled in decision (appears as vyavasito) |
| हिhi | for, because |
| सःsaḥ | he |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 Verse 30 mean?
It means that a person of even the worst conduct, if he loves Krishna and no other, must be counted among the good. Krishna gives the verdict immediately, not after reform. The reason he gives is the resolve — samyag vyavasitaḥ — the whole self pointed one way at last.
Does this verse mean bad actions do not matter?
No. Krishna names the conduct plainly as su-durācāra and does not soften it. What he refuses is the idea that a past can bar you from turning. Actions carry their weight; they do not carry a veto. The turning is allowed to begin from wherever you actually stand.
What does api chet suduracharo bhajate mam ananyabhak mean?
Even if one of very bad conduct loves me, sharing himself with no other. Ananya-bhāk is the hinge — not intensity of feeling, but undividedness. Half a heart offered while the rest is bargaining elsewhere is not what Krishna is describing here.
How can someone be called good before they have changed?
Because Krishna reads the resolve, not the record. Vyavasitaḥ means settled, decided, no longer wavering. Conduct follows a direction the way a body follows its feet. He is called good because he is already walking, and the arriving is only a matter of time.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna does not say the conduct was fine. He says su-durācāra — very bad conduct — and then he says: count him good. Not will become good; is to be counted good now, on the strength of one thing, the undivided turning toward him. The verdict runs ahead of the evidence. What has changed is not the record but the direction, and Krishna judges by direction. Arjuna is being taught that no history disqualifies anyone from beginning. You have a list of reasons you are not fit for this. Krishna has read the list. He asks only which way you are turned.