| Chapter 11: The Universal Form |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 11.41-42
sakheti matvā prasabham yad uktam
he krishna he yādava he sakheti
yac cāvahāsārtham asat-krito 'si
vihāra-śayyāsana-bhojaneshu
eko 'tha vāpy acyuta tat-samaksham
tat kshāmaye tvām aham aprameyam
SYNONYMS
sakhā — friend; iti — thus; matvā — thinking; prasabham — presumptuously; yat — whatever; uktam — said; he krishna — O Krishna; he yādava — O Yādava; he sakhe — O my dear friend; iti — thus; ajānatā — without knowing; mahimānam — glories; tava — Your; idam — this; mayā — by me; pramādāt — out of foolishness; pranayena — out of love; vā api — either; yat — whatever; ca — also; avahāsa-artham — for joking; asat-kritah — dishonored; asi — You have been; vihāra — in relaxation; śayyā — in lying down; āsana — in sitting; bhojaneshu — or while eating together; ekah — alone; atha vā — or; api — also; acyuta — O infallible one; tat-samaksham — among companions; tat — all those; kshāmaye — ask forgiveness; tvām — from You; aham — I; aprameyam — immeasurable.
TRANSLATION
Thinking of You as my friend, I have rashly addressed You "O Krishna," "O Yādava," "O my friend," not knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love. I have dishonored You many times, jesting as we relaxed, lay on the same bed, or sat or ate together, sometimes alone and sometimes in front of many friends. O infallible one, please excuse me for all those offenses.
PURPORT
Although Krishna is manifested before Arjuna in His universal form, Arjuna remembers his friendly relationship with Krishna and is therefore asking pardon and requesting Krishna to excuse him for the many informal gestures which arise out of friendship. He is admitting that formerly he did not know that Krishna could assume such a universal form, although Krishna explained it as his intimate friend. Arjuna did not know how many times he may have dishonored Krishna by addressing Him "O my friend," "O Krishna," "O Yādava," etc., without acknowledging His opulence. But Krishna is so kind and merciful that in spite of such opulence He played with Arjuna as a friend. Such is the transcendental loving reciprocation between the devotee and the Lord. The relationship between the living entity and Krishna is fixed eternally; it cannot be forgotten, as we can see from the behavior of Arjuna. Although Arjuna has seen the opulence in the universal form, he cannot forget his friendly relationship with Krishna.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness