Shloka 28
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 104: Nārada on Suhṛt and Nirbandha; the Viśvāmitra–Gālava Exemplum Begins
क्षन्तुमरहसि मे देव विह्वलस्याल्पचेतस: । बलदाहविदग्धस्य पक्षिणो ध्वजवासिन:,“देव! मैं आपकी ध्वजामें रहनेवाला एक साधारण पक्षी हूँ। इस समय आपके बल और तेजसे दग्ध होकर व्याकुल और अचेत-सा हो गया हूँ। आप मेरे अपराधको क्षमा करें
kṣantum arhasi me deva vihvalasyālpacetasaḥ | baladāhavidagdhasya pakṣiṇo dhvajavāsinaḥ ||
Kaṇva dijo: «Oh Señor, perdóname—pues estoy turbado y soy de escaso entendimiento. No soy más que un ave que mora en tu estandarte, y he sido abrasado por la fuerza ardiente de tu poder, quedando estremecido y casi sin sentido. Concédeme el perdón por mi falta».
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds humility before overwhelming power and the ethical impulse to seek forgiveness: when one is confused or harmed by forces beyond one’s capacity, the proper response is contrition and a plea for compassionate pardon rather than pride or retaliation.
Kaṇva speaks to a divine or exalted figure addressed as ‘Deva,’ identifying himself as a mere bird living on the deity’s banner. Overcome and ‘scorched’ by the blazing energy of that power, he becomes bewildered and asks to be forgiven for any offense committed in that distressed state.