Bhagavad Gita 9.30
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 30 of 34
अपि चेत्सुदुराचारो भजते मामनन्यभाक् | साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः ||३०||
api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk | sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ || 30 ||
Even if the most sinful worships Me with undivided devotion — he must be deemed righteous, for he has rightly resolved.
Word by word (3)
- api cet sudurācāraḥ bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
- — Even if the most evil-doer worships Me with undivided devotion · api cet = even if (api = even, also; cet = if; the combination api cet = 'even if' — the hypothetical marker that opens the most extreme case). sudurācāraḥ = one of very evil conduct (su = very, intensely; dus = bad, evil — from √duṣ = to become bad; ācāra = conduct, behavior — from ā + √car = to move, to conduct oneself; su-dur-ācāra = 'one of very-bad conduct,' a person of thoroughly wicked behavior; this is not mild moral failure but the most extreme case the Gita can imagine). bhajate = worships, serves with devotion (√bhaj = to share in devotion, to serve lovingly; bhajate = third person singular present — 'they worship'). mām = Me (objective). ananya-bhāk = with undivided devotion (ananya = without other — same root as V22's ananyāḥ cintayantaḥ; bhāk = one who shares/partakes — from √bhaj; ananya-bhāk = 'one for whom there is no other,' 'one of undivided devotion'; the same ananya quality as V22's ananya-cintana, now applied to the worst sinner). V30's first half: api cet sudurācāraḥ bhajate mām ananya-bhāk — 'even if the most wickedly-behaving person worships Me with undivided devotion.' The api cet + sudurācāraḥ combination is deliberately extreme — V30 is not about the mildly imperfect but about the worst case. And the ananya-bhāk makes the condition as strong as possible: undivided devotion, no other orientation.
- sādhuḥ eva saḥ mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasitaḥ hi saḥ
- — That one must be deemed righteous — for they have rightly resolved · sādhuḥ = righteous, virtuous, good (sādhu = righteous, good person — from √sādh = to succeed, to accomplish, to straighten; sādhu = 'one who accomplishes right, who is straight'; often translated 'saint' but here means 'righteous one, one of good resolve'). eva = indeed (emphatic — 'indeed righteous, unmistakably'). saḥ = that one. mantavyaḥ = must be considered, should be deemed (√man = to think, to consider; mantavya = passive participle 'is to be thought of, must be considered'). samyak = rightly, correctly, properly (samyak = 'completely, properly, rightly' — from sam + añc = facing completely right). vyavasitaḥ = resolved, determined (vi + ava + √si = to settle completely; vyavasita = 'fully resolved, having made the correct determination'). hi = for, indeed (explanatory particle — 'for, because'). saḥ = that one. V30's second half: sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ — 'that one must be deemed righteous (sādhu), for they have rightly resolved (samyag vyavasitaḥ).' The reasoning: samyag vyavasitaḥ hi saḥ = for they have RIGHTLY RESOLVED. The ananya-bhakti of the sudurācāra (worst evildoer) is the 'right resolution' (samyag vyavasita) that qualifies them as sādhu. The resolution (vyavasita) is more fundamental than the past conduct (ācāra): to turn to the divine with undivided devotion IS the right resolution, regardless of what came before. V30 is the Gita's most radical statement of grace: the quality of the present resolution (ananya-bhāk) overrides the quality of past conduct (sudurācāra).
- api cet sudurācāraḥ — the most extreme case of grace: V30's radical theology
- — V30's api cet sudurācāraḥ (even if the worst evil-doer) is the Gita's most radical statement: no past conduct places anyone beyond the divine's reach — the present ananya-bhāk is the decisive criterion · V30's logic: if even the sudurācāra (person of most thoroughly evil conduct) who turns with ananya-bhakti is deemed sādhu (righteous), then the divine's reach is absolute — no one is beyond it. The verse's theological structure: (1) the worst-case scenario (sudurācāraḥ = most evil conduct), (2) the qualifying turn (ananya-bhāk = undivided devotion), (3) the result (sādhur eva mantavyaḥ = must be deemed righteous), (4) the reason (samyag vyavasito hi = for they have rightly resolved). The key is the hi (for): the reason for calling the worst sinner 'righteous' is samyag vyavasita — the correct/complete resolve. The ananya-bhakti IS the right resolve. The past conduct (sudurācāra) is not erased or ignored — V31 will say 'soon they become dharma-ātmā and attain śāntim' — but it is not the decisive criterion for the divine's reception of the devotee. The decisive criterion is the present orientation: ananya-bhāk. V30 is the Gita's 'prodigal son moment' — the moment when the worst sinner who turns toward the divine is received as righteous. It reflects the deepest theological conviction of bhakti: the divine's love is not conditional on past behavior but on present genuine turning. This does not make V30 a license for moral indifference (V31's 'soon they become dharma-ātmā' shows the turning has real consequences for character). V30 says: the divine's reception is not blocked by past conduct. The turning (ananya-bhāk) is all that matters for reception.
Even if the worst of sinners worships Me with undivided devotion, he must be counted among the righteous, for he has resolved rightly.
A modern analogy
The moment a person genuinely turns toward recovery from addiction — with full commitment and no divided attention — the addiction counselor doesn't say 'first I need to evaluate your past conduct before I'll help you.' The right resolve (samyag vyavasita) is the criterion for reception, not the past. This verse's divine is the ultimate recovery guide: the worst past conduct (sudurācāra), when genuinely turned toward the divine with undivided devotion, is met with 'you are received as righteous' (sādhur eva). The transformation then proceeds, as the next verse promises.
What it does NOT mean
This verse does not say past conduct doesn't matter or that one can sin freely and be rescued by last-minute devotion. The next verse follows: 'soon they become a person of righteous character and attain eternal peace' — the turning toward the divine with genuine undivided devotion transforms the person. This verse is not a license for moral irresponsibility; it is a statement that no past conduct is too heavy for genuine undivided devotion to overcome. The turning is genuine (ananya-bhāk = undivided) and the transformation is real (the next verse: a person of righteous character).
Take with you
- This verse is a teaching on self-forgiveness: the person who carries shame about their past conduct (and feels it disqualifies them from spiritual life) — this verse speaks directly to them. The worst conduct plus undivided turning toward the divine = to be deemed righteous (sādhur eva mantavyaḥ). The past does not disqualify. The present turning (genuine, undivided) is what the divine responds to. This verse is the Gita's invitation to those who have given up on themselves.
- The right resolve (samyag vyavasita) is the criterion for spiritual qualification: the Gita's criterion for being received by the divine is not past righteousness or current moral purity — it is the right resolve, the correct complete determination, the undivided devotion (ananya-bhāk). This is accessible to anyone at any moment, regardless of their history.
- Take this verse with the one that follows as a two-verse arc on grace and transformation: this verse — reception is unconditional (any worst sinner received as righteous when they turn with undivided devotion); the next verse — the transformation follows naturally (they quickly become a person of righteous character and attain peace; the turning produces genuine change). Grace (this verse) precedes and enables transformation (the next verse) — this is the Gita's sequence, not transformation first, then reception.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Even if the most sinful worship Me with undivided devotion, he must be considered righteous, for he has indeed rightly resolved. [4]
Even the most sinful man who worships me with exclusive worship is to be considered a righteous man, for he has engaged in the right path. [6]
Yea! He who sins most, setting up his heart / In holiest love to Me — such an one / Is counted for most righteous! Who hath turned / His soul to Me — that man is set aright. [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I am the same toward all beings — none hateful nor dear to Me — but My devotees are in Me, and I am in them.
For those who worship Me with undivided thought, always steadfast — I carry what they lack and guard what they have.
Abandon all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone — I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
Mind-in-Me, devotee, worshiper, bow to Me — you will come to Me; truly I promise, you are dear to Me.
Rājasic tapas: done for reception, honour, worship, and show — unstable and transient.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Verse 30 of 34 · back to Chapter 9