Devanagari
क्षमध्वं मम दौरात्म्यं साधवो दीनवत्सला: ।
इत्युक्त्वाश्रुमुख: पादौ श्याल: स्वस्रोरथाग्रहीत् ॥ २३ ॥
Verse text
kṣamadhvaṁ mama daurātmyaṁ
sādhavo dīna-vatsalāḥ
ity uktvāśru-mukhaḥ pādau
śyālaḥ svasror athāgrahīt
Synonyms
kṣamadhvam
—
kindly excuse
;
mama
—
my
;
daurātmyam
—
atrocious activities
;
sādhavaḥ
—
both of you are great saintly persons
;
dīna
—
vatsalāḥ — and are very kind to poor, cripple-minded persons
;
iti uktvā
—
saying this
;
aśru
—
mukhaḥ — his face full of tears
;
pādau
—
the feet
;
śyālaḥ
—
his brother-in-law Kaṁsa
;
svasraḥ
—
of his sister and brother-in-law
;
atha
—
thus
;
agrahīt
—
captured .
Translation
Kaṁsa begged, “My dear sister and brother-in-law, please be merciful to such a poor-hearted person as me, since both of you are saintly persons. Please excuse my atrocities.” Having said this, Kaṁsa fell at the feet of Vasudeva and Devakī, his eyes full of tears of regret.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Kaṁsa begged, "My dear sister and brother-in-law, please be merciful to such a poor-hearted person as me, since both of you are saintly persons. Please excuse my atrocities." Having said this, Kaṁsa fell at the feet of Vasudeva and Devakī, his eyes full of tears of regret.
KB 10.4.23
“My dear sister Devakī and brother-in-law Vasudeva, kindly excuse the atrocities I have committed against you. I am very poor-hearted, and you are so great-hearted, so take compassion upon me and excuse me.”
While Kaṁsa was speaking to his brother-in-law and sister, tears flowed from his eyes, and he fell down at their feet.
Purport
Although Kaṁsa had spoken very nicely on the subject of real knowledge, his past deeds were abominable and atrocious, and therefore he further begged forgiveness from his sister and brother-in-law by falling at their feet and admitting that he was a most sinful person.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"If it is the case that you will continue to grieve and blame me for the death of your sons, then, though I am wicked, I did not commit this sinful act consciously. My atonement is only by your mercy." Thus he says, "Please forgive me." Syala (brother or brother in law) indicates Kamsa. Svasro is dual form of sister, but here indicates the sister and her husband, Devaki and Vasudeva. Kamsa touched both of their feet.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Since I did not have a realization, please forgive me. He addresses them in the plural in order to ask forgiveness from all Devakī’s and Vasudeva’s family members. Forgive me since you are all well bred and affectionate to friends. Instead of bandhu-vatsalāḥ sometimes dīna-vatsalāḥ (affectionate to the miserable) is seen. By this he appeals to their sympathy, showing himself very fallen. As soon as he said this (atha) he grabbed their feet. Svasroḥ (two sisters) is used to indicate Devakī and Vasudeva. Just as the prāṇa-bhṛt (a brick) indicates all other bricks laid afterwards, so “sister” indicates Devakī’s husband as well. Taking svasroḥ to indicate two persons, Vasudeva and Devakī, requires some interpretation. One can also take svasroḥ as a modifier of pādau in the dual, to indicate Devakī alone.
The purport of this section is that knowledge of ātmā simply nourishes the cruelty of people who are inimical to the Lord.