But the yogi who keeps striving with steady effort, cleansed of his faults and perfected over many births, then reaches the highest goal.
Explanation
Krishna is answering Arjuna's worry about whether a failed yogi is lost. He says that one who keeps up earnest effort is gradually purified of impurities (kilbiṣa) and matured across many lifetimes, and finally reaches the supreme goal (parā gati), understood as liberation. Traditions differ on whether this goal is union with the impersonal absolute or with a personal God, and this verse does not settle it.