TEXT 37
कस्माच्च ते न नमेरन्महात्मन् गरीयसे ब्रह्मणोऽप्यादिकर्त्रे ।
अनन्त देवेश जगन्निवास त्वमक्षरं सदसत्तत्परं यत् ।। 37 ।।
kasmāc ca te na nameran mahātman
garīyase brahmaṇo ’py ādi-kartre
ananta deveśa jagan-nivāsa
tvam akṣaraṁ sad-asat tat paraṁ yat
kasmāt – why; ca – also; te – unto You; na – not; nameran – they should offer proper obeisances; mahā-ātman – O great one; garīyase – who are better; brahmaṇaḥ – than Brahmā; api – although; ādi-kartre – to the supreme creator; ananta – O unlimited; deva-īśa – O God of the gods; jagat-nivāsa – O refuge of the universe; tvam – You are; akṣaram – imperishable; sat-asat – to cause and effect; tat param – transcendental; yat – because.
O great one, greater even than Brahmā, You are the original creator. Why then should they not offer their respectful obeisances unto You? O limitless one, God of gods, refuge of the universe! You are the invincible source, the cause of all causes, transcendental to this material manifestation.
By this offering of obeisances, Arjuna indicates that Kṛṣṇa is worshipable by everyone. He is all-pervading, and He is the Soul of every soul. Arjuna is addressing Kṛṣṇa as mahātmā, which means that He is most magnanimous and unlimited. Ananta indicates that there is nothing which is not covered by the influence and energy of the Supreme Lord, and deveśa means that He is the controller of all demigods and is above them all. He is the shelter of the whole universe. Arjuna also thought that it was fitting that all the perfect living entities and powerful demigods offer their respectful obeisances unto Him, because no one is greater than Him. Arjuna especially mentions that Kṛṣṇa is greater than Brahmā because Brahmā is created by Him.
Brahmā is born out of the lotus stem grown from the navel abdomen of Garbhodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu, who is Kṛṣṇa’s plenary expansion; therefore Brahmā and Lord Śiva, who is born of Brahmā, and all other demigods must offer their respectful obeisances. It is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that the Lord is respected by Lord Śiva and Brahmā and similar other demigods. The word akṣaram is very significant because this material creation is subject to destruction but the Lord is above this material creation. He is the cause of all causes, and being so, He is superior to all the conditioned souls within this material nature as well as the material cosmic manifestation itself. He is therefore the all-great Supreme.
TEXT 38
त्वमादिदेवः पुरुषः पुराणस्त्वमस्य विश्वस्य परं निधानम् ।
वेत्तासि वेद्यं च परं च धाम त्वया ततं विश्वमनन्तरूप ।। 38 ।।
tvam ādi-devaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇas
tvam asya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam
vettāsi vedyaṁ ca paraṁ ca dhāma
tvayā tataṁ viśvam ananta-rūpa
tvam – You; ādi-devaḥ – the original Supreme God; puruṣaḥ – personality; purāṇaḥ – old; tvam – You; asya – of this; viśvasya – universe; param – transcendental; nidhānam – refuge; vettā – the knower; asi – You are; vedyam – the knowable; ca – and; param – transcendental; ca – and; dhāma – refuge; tvayā – by You; tatam – pervaded; viśvam – the universe; ananta-rūpa – O unlimited form.
You are the original Personality of Godhead, the oldest, the ultimate sanctuary of this manifested cosmic world. You are the knower of everything, and You are all that is knowable. You are the supreme refuge, above the material modes. O limitless form! This whole cosmic manifestation is pervaded by You!
Everything is resting on the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore He is the ultimate rest. Nidhānam means that everything, even the Brahman effulgence, rests on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. He is the knower of everything that is happening in this world, and if knowledge has any end, He is the end of all knowledge; therefore He is the known and the knowable. He is the object of knowledge because He is all-pervading. Because He is the cause in the spiritual world, He is transcendental. He is also the chief personality in the transcendental world.
TEXT 39
वायुर्यमोऽग्निर्वरुणः शशाङ्कः प्रजापतिस्त्वं प्रपितामहश्च ।
नमो नमस्तेऽस्तु सहरत्रकृत्वः पुनश्च भूयोऽपि नमो नमस्ते ।। 39 ।।
vāyur yamo ’gnir varuṇaḥ śaśāṅkaḥ
prajāpatis tvaṁ prapitāmahaś ca
namo namas te ’stu sahasra-kṛtvaḥ
punaś ca bhūyo ’pi namo namas te
vāyuḥ – air; yamaḥ – the controller; agniḥ – fire; varuṇaḥ – water; śaśa-aṅkaḥ – the moon; prajāpatiḥ – Brahmā; tvam – You; prapitāmahaḥ – the great-grandfather; ca – also; namaḥ – my respects; namaḥ – again my respects; te – unto You; astu – let there be; sahasra-kṛtvaḥ – a thousand times; punaḥ ca – and again; bhūyaḥ – again; api – also; namaḥ – offering my respects; namaḥ te – offering my respects unto You.
You are air, and You are the supreme controller! You are fire, You are water, and You are the moon! You are Brahmā, the first living creature, and You are the great-grandfather. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You a thousand times, and again and yet again!
The Lord is addressed here as air because the air is the most important representation of all the demigods, being all-pervasive. Arjuna also addresses Kṛṣṇa as the great-grandfather because He is the father of Brahmā, the first living creature in the universe.
TEXT 40
नमः पुरस्तादथ पृष्ठतस्ते नमोऽस्तु ते सर्वत एव सर्व ।
अनन्तवीर्यामितविक्रमस्त्वं सर्वं समाप्नोषि ततोऽसि सर्वः ।। 40 ।।
namaḥ purastād atha pṛṣṭhatas te
namo ’stu te sarvata eva sarva
ananta-vīryāmita-vikramas tvaṁ
sarvaṁ samāpnoṣi tato ’si sarvaḥ
namaḥ – offering obeisances; purastāt – from the front; atha – also; pṛṣṭhataḥ – from behind; te – unto You; namaḥ astu – I offer my respects; te – unto You; sarvataḥ – from all sides; eva – indeed; sarva – because You are everything; ananta-vīrya – unlimited potency; amita-vikramaḥ – and unlimited force; tvam – You; sarvam – everything; samāpnoṣi – You cover; tataḥ – therefore; asi – You are; sarvaḥ – everything.
Obeisances to You from the front, from behind and from all sides! O unbounded power, You are the master of limitless might! You are all-pervading, and thus You are everything!
Out of loving ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa, his friend, Arjuna is offering his respects from all sides. He is accepting that He is the master of all potencies and all prowess and far superior to all the great warriors assembled on the battlefield. It is said in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.9.69):
yo ’yaṁ tavāgato deva
samīpaṁ devatā-gaṇaḥ
sa tvam eva jagat-sraṣṭā
yataḥ sarva-gato bhavān
“Whoever comes before You, even if he be a demigod, is created by You, O Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
TEXTS 41–42
सखेति मत्वा प्रसभं यदुक्तं हे कृष्ण हे यादव हे सखेति ।
अजानता महिमानं तवेदं मया प्रमादात्प्रणयेन वापि ।। 41 ।।
यच्चावहासार्थमसत्कृतोऽसि विहारशय्यासनभोजनेषु ।
एकोऽथवाप्यच्युत तत्समक्षं तत्क्षामये त्वामहमप्रमेयम् ।। 42 ।।
sakheti matvā prasabhaṁ yad uktaṁ
he kṛṣṇa he yādava he sakheti
ajānatā mahimānaṁ tavedaṁ
mayā pramādāt praṇayena vāpi
yac cāvahāsārtham asat-kṛto ’si
vihāra-śayyāsana-bhojaneṣu
eko ’tha vāpy acyuta tat-samakṣaṁ
tat kṣāmaye tvām aham aprameyam
sakhā – friend; iti – thus; matvā – thinking; prasabham – presumptuously; yat – whatever; uktam – said; he kṛṣṇa – O Kṛṣṇa; he yādava – O Yādava; he sakhe – O my dear friend; iti – thus; ajānatā – without knowing; mahimānam – glories; tava – Your; idam – this; mayā – by me; pramādāt – out of foolishness; praṇayena – out of love; vā api – either; yat – whatever; ca – also; avahāsa-artham – for joking; asat-kṛtaḥ – dishonored; asi – You have been; vihāra – in relaxation; śayyā – in lying down; āsana – in sitting; bhojaneṣu – or while eating together; ekaḥ – alone; atha vā – or; api – also; acyuta – O infallible one; tat-samakṣam – among companions; tat – all those; kṣāmaye – ask forgiveness; tvām – from You; aham – I; aprameyam – immeasurable.
Thinking of You as my friend, I have rashly addressed You “O Kṛṣṇa,” “O Yādava,” “O my friend,” not knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love. I have dishonored You many times, jesting as we relaxed, lay on the same bed, or sat or ate together, sometimes alone and sometimes in front of many friends. O infallible one, please excuse me for all those offenses.
Although Kṛṣṇa is manifested before Arjuna in His universal form, Arjuna remembers his friendly relationship with Kṛṣṇa and is therefore asking pardon and requesting Kṛṣṇa to excuse him for the many informal gestures which arise out of friendship. He is admitting that formerly he did not know that Kṛṣṇa could assume such a universal form, although Kṛṣṇa explained it as his intimate friend. Arjuna did not know how many times he may have dishonored Kṛṣṇa by addressing Him “O my friend,” “O Kṛṣṇa,” “O Yādava,” etc., without acknowledging His opulence. But Kṛṣṇa is so kind and merciful that in spite of such opulence He played with Arjuna as a friend. Such is the transcendental loving reciprocation between the devotee and the Lord. The relationship between the living entity and Kṛṣṇa is fixed eternally; it cannot be forgotten, as we can see from the behavior of Arjuna. Although Arjuna has seen the opulence in the universal form, he cannot forget his friendly relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 43
पितासि लोकस्य चराचरस्य त्वमस्य पूज्यश्च गुरुर्गरीयान् ।
न त्वत्समोऽस्त्यभ्यधिकः कुतोऽन्यो लोकत्रयेऽप्यप्रतिमप्रभाव ।। 43 ।।
pitāsi lokasya carācarasya
tvam asya pūjyaś ca gurur garīyān
na tvat-samo ’sty abhyadhikaḥ kuto ’nyo
loka-traye ’py apratima-prabhāva
pitā – the father; asi – You are; lokasya – of all the world; cara – moving; acarasya – and nonmoving; tvam – You are; asya – of this; pūjyaḥ – worshipable; ca – also; guruḥ – master; garīyān – glorious; na – never; tvat-samaḥ – equal to You; asti – there is; abhyadhikaḥ – greater; kutaḥ – how is it possible; anyaḥ – other; loka-traye – in the three planetary systems; api –
