Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 1.18.47

apapeshu sva-bhrityeshu

balenapakva-buddhina

papam kritam tad bhagavan

sarvatma kshantum arhati

SYNONYMS

apapeshu -- unto one who is completely free from all sins; sva-bhrityeshu -- unto one who is subordinate and deserves to be protected; balena -- by a child; apakva -- who is immature; buddhina -- by intelligence; papam -- sinful act; kritam -- has been done; tat bhagavan -- therefore the Personality of Godhead; sarva-atma -- who is all-pervading; kshantum -- just to pardon; arhati -- deserve.

TRANSLATION

Then the rishi prayed to the all-pervading Personality of Godhead to pardon his immature boy, who had no intelligence and who committed the great sin of cursing a person who was completely free from all sins, who was subordinate and who deserved to be protected.

PURPORT

Everyone is responsible for his own action, either pious or sinful. Rishi Samika could foresee that his son had committed a great sin by cursing Maharaja Parikshit, who deserved to be protected by the brahmanas, for he was a pious ruler and completely free from all sins because of his being a first-class devotee of the Lord. When an offense is done unto the devotee of the Lord, it is very difficult to overcome the reaction. The brahmanas, being at the head of the social orders, are meant to give protection to their subordinates and not to curse them. There are occasions when a brahmana may furiously curse a subordinate kshatriya or vaisya, etc., but in the case of Maharaja Parikshit there were no grounds, as already explained. The foolish boy had done it out of sheer vanity in being a brahmana's son, and thus he became liable to be punished by the law of God. The Lord never forgives a person who condemns His pure devotee. Therefore, by cursing a king the foolish Sringi had committed not only a sin but also the greatest offense. Therefore the rishi could foresee that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead could save his boy from his sinful act. He therefore directly prayed for pardon from the Supreme Lord, who alone can undo a thing which is impossible to change. The appeal was made in the name of a foolish boy who had developed no intelligence at all.

A question may be raised herein that since it was the desire of the Lord that Parikshit Maharaja be put into that awkward position so that he might be delivered from material existence, then why was a brahmana's son made responsible for this offensive act? The answer is that the offensive act was performed by a child only so that he could be excused very easily, and thus the prayer of the father was accepted. But if the question is raised why the brahmana community as a whole was made responsible for allowing Kali into the world affairs, the answer is given in the Varaha Purana that the demons who acted inimically toward the Personality of Godhead but were not killed by the Lord were allowed to take birth in the families of brahmanas to take advantage of the age of Kali. The all-merciful Lord gave them a chance to have their births in the families of pious brahmanas so that they could progress toward salvation. But the demons, instead of utilizing the good opportunity, misused the brahminical culture due to being puffed up by vanity in becoming brahmanas. The typical example is the son of Samika Rishi, and all the foolish sons of brahmanas are warned hereby not to become as foolish as Sringi and be always on guard against the demoniac qualities which they had in their previous births. The foolish boy was, of course, excused by the Lord, but others, who may not have a father like Samika Rishi, will be put into great difficulty if they misuse the advantages obtained by birth in a brahmana family.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness