Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 42

Chapter 11 – Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

यच्चावहासार्थमसत्कृतोऽसि
विहारशय्यासनभोजनेषु ।
एकोऽथवाप्यच्युत तत्समक्षं
तत्क्षामये त्वामहमप्रमेयम् ॥

Transliteration

yaccāvahāsārthamasatkṛto.asi vihāraśayyāsanabhojaneṣu .
eko.athavāpyacyuta tatsamakṣaṃ tatkṣāmaye tvāmahamaprameyam ॥

Meaning

And if, in jest, I have treated You with disrespect — while at play, resting, sitting or eating, whether alone or in front of others, O Achyuta — for all that I beg forgiveness of You, the Immeasurable.

Word meanings

यत् – whatever, in whatever way
च – and
अवहासार्थम् – for the sake of jest
असत्कृतः – treated with disrespect
असि – You were
विहार – play, walking about
शय्या – resting, lying down
आसन – sitting
भोजनेषु – and at meals
एकः – alone
अथवा अपि – or else
अच्युत – O Achyuta, the Unfallen
तत्समक्षम् – in the presence of others
तत् – for that
क्षामये – I ask forgiveness
त्वाम् – of You
अहम् – I
अप्रमेयम् – the Immeasurable

Anvaya (word order)

अच्युत, यत् च अवहासार्थम् विहारशय्यासनभोजनेषु एकः अथवा अपि तत्समक्षम् (मया) असत्कृतः असि, तत् (सर्वम्) अप्रमेयम् त्वाम् अहम् क्षामये ।

Explanation

The sentence begun in the previous verse is completed here. Arjuna recalls all the moments when, in the ease of friendship, he joked with Krishna: during play or walks, while resting, while sitting together, and at meals. These four are the most intimate settings of daily life, where friends keep no distance at all.

‘Alone or in front of others’ — even a private jest now seems an offence to him, and one made before others still more so. Avahasartham shows that the intention was only humour, never insult; yet towards the Supreme Person, Arjuna feels, even that was out of place.

Two forms of address deserve attention. Achyuta means the One who never falls from His own nature: even while living as a man and a friend, His divinity was never diminished. Aprameya, the Immeasurable, is the One whom no means of knowledge can measure; Arjuna is effectively confessing that he had confined Krishna within the small measure of his own understanding. Shankara takes aprameya precisely as ‘beyond the reach of all pramanas’.

Ramanuja sees in this episode the Lord’s qualities of vatsalya, motherly tenderness that overlooks faults, and saushilya, the graciousness by which the highest mixes freely with the lowly as an equal. Arjuna’s plea, then, springs not from fear of punishment but from a love that has suddenly grown humble.

Context

This verse completes the sentence of 11.41, in which Arjuna recalled his unknowing familiarity. In 11.43 he grounds his plea by calling the Lord the father of all beings and the greatest teacher.

Life lesson

Even small carelessness, when directed at the great, is worth regretting. Owning a fault clearly and asking forgiveness does not break a relationship; it deepens it.

Key terms

Achyuta: the Unfallen, never slipping from His nature
Aprameya: immeasurable by any means of knowledge
Avahasa: jest, joking
Kshamaye: I beg forgiveness