Bhagavatgita a detailed study- chapter 11The Cosmic Form

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41. sakhethi mathvaa prasabham yath uktham

 

he krshNa he yaadhava he sakhe ithi

 

ajaanathaa mahimaanam thavedham

 

yaThaa pramaadhaath prNayena vaapi

 

What have been spoken by me due to impertinence, prasabham, considering you as my companion, calling you as Krishna, yadhava and friend, without knowing your greatness, either carelessly, pramaadhaath, or with affection, praNayena,

 

42. yacchaavahaasaarTham asathkrtho asi

 

vihaara Sayyaasana bhojaneshu

 

eko aTha vaapi achyutha thath samaksham

 

thath kshaamaye thvaam aham aprameyam

 

 

Out of jest, avahaasaarTham, very often in play or when going to bed or eating, either when you are alone, ekaH, or in front of others, samaksham, I have shown disrespect asathkrthaH, I request you, who is of unthinkable glory , to forgive al that.

 

Arjuna till then had no inkling of the real identity of Krishna though he had valued his friendship greatly and knew that Krishna had supreme powers.

Of the five pandavas, Arjuna was of the same age as Krishna and treated him like a friend and companion and was close to Krishna than others, who looked upon him with reverence since they were not as close to Krishna as Arjuna was.

 

Now seeing the cosmic form and realizing that Krishna is none other than the supreme being, Arjuna feels his insignificance and asks forgiveness for treating Krishna as a companion equal to himself. He could not reconcile the Krishna he had known so long with this magnificent being. Thus he feels that his ignorant actions of calling Krishna and treating him like an ordinary human were unforgivable. He states the reason for his trepidation in the next sloka and also his hope of being forgiven.

 

43. pithaa asi lokasya charaacharasya

 

thavam asya poojyascha gururgareeyaan

 

na thvathsamaH asthi abhyaDhij kaH kutho anyo

 

lokathraye api aprathimaprabhaava

 

You are the father of this universe, asya lokasya, of sentient and insentient beings, charaacharasya. You are the guru, greater than all and revered. There is no one equal to You in all the three worlds, oh the one with unparalleled glory, where can be one who excels You.

 

Being the father of all, Arjuna hopes that the Lord will surely forgive him. By referring to the Lord as Achyutha , one who never swerves from His status, Arjuna has implied that by calling him in familiar terms and treating Him as an ordinary companion has been in no way demeaning the dignity of Krishna who is Achyutha, like a father whose dignity does not suffer in any way by his child treating him with familiarity.

 

The Upanishad says about Brahman,

 

Na thath samaschaabhyaDhikaScha, there is no one equal or higher than Him.

 

Nammazvar starts his Thriuvaimozi as uyarvaRa uyarnalam udaiyavan yavanavan, meaning that there is none higher than the Lord. This is expressed by Arjuna as nathavth samo asthi abhyaDhikaka kuthaH anyaH, "there is no one equal to You, where can be one who excels You."

 

Here one is reminded of the words of Andal in Thiruppavai. She says,

aRiyaadha piLlaigaLOm anbinaal unthannai SirupErazaitthanavum Seeri arulaadhe, to Krishna, meaning, "we are only young innocent ignorant cowherd girls and do not get angry with us because we called you by familiar names." This reflects the words of Arjuna asking forgiveness for calling the Lord as Krishna, yadhava etc.

 

Still Arjuna is not convinced that he would be forgiven and hence beseeches the Lord by prostrating to Him and appealing to His mercy.