Devanagari
अपराध: सकृद् भर्त्रा सोढव्य: स्वप्रजाकृत: ।
क्षन्तुमर्हसि शान्तात्मन् मूढस्य त्वामजानत: ॥ ५१ ॥
Verse text
aparādhaḥ sakṛd bhartrā
soḍhavyaḥ sva-prajā-kṛtaḥ
kṣantum arhasi śāntātman
mūḍhasya tvām ajānataḥ
Synonyms
aparādhaḥ
—
the offense
;
sakṛt
—
just once
;
bhartrā
—
by the master
;
soḍhavyaḥ
—
should be tolerated
;
sva
—
prajā — by his own subject
;
kṛtaḥ
—
committed
;
kṣantum
—
to tolerate
;
arhasi
—
it is befitting for You
;
śānta
—
ātman — O You who are always peaceful
;
mūḍhasya
—
of the foolish one
;
tvām
—
You
;
ajānataḥ
—
who does not understand .
Translation
At least once, a master should tolerate an offense committed by his child or subject. O supreme peaceful Soul, You should therefore forgive our foolish husband, who did not understand who You are.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
At least once, a master should tolerate an offense committed by his child or subject. O supreme peaceful Soul, You should therefore forgive our foolish husband, who did not understand who You are.
KB 10.16.51-52
“O Lord, we are submitting our prayers unto You. You can appreciate that this poor serpent is going to give up his life. You know that for us women our husband is our life and everything; therefore, we are praying unto You that You kindly excuse Kāliya, our husband, because if this serpent dies, then we shall be in great difficulty. Looking upon us only, please excuse this great offender. Our dear Lord, every living creature is Your offspring, and You maintain everyone. This serpent is also Your offspring, and You can excuse him once although he has offended You, undoubtedly without knowing Your supremacy. We are praying that he may be excused this time.
Purport
Because of their extreme anxiety, in this verse Kāliya’s wives mention the same idea twice: that the Supreme Lord should kindly forgive their foolish husband. The Supreme Lord is
śāntātmā,
the supreme peaceful Soul, and therefore the Nāgapatnīs suggest it would be proper for Him to overlook, at least this once, the great offense committed by the ignorant Kāliya.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"You should tolerate once the offense Kaliya has committed against your devotees. Having been taught a lesson by you, if Kaliya again harasses your devotees you are not obliged to forgive him." Twice they ask Krsna to forgive Kaliya, to express their fervent state. Krsna is addressed as santa , peaceful, because that is the cause of forgiveness. "Because Kaliya is foolish, without knowledge, he is qualified for forgiveness."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Therefore it is proper that you forgive him. The offense committed by the citizen should be tolerated and forgiven by the master, the nourisher, who is like a father. You should completely forgive since you are the embodiment of peacefulness. By his nature as a species in ignorance, he was devoid of knowledge and thus did not recognize you. Even when you displayed astonishing pastimes he could not recognize you. Or, since the master forgives once, you the eternal Lord, carrying out creation and maintenance, should forgive much more.