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 nói: “Muôn tâu Chúa tể, xin Ngài tha thứ cho kẻ bối rối, trí hiểu nông cạn như ta. Ta chỉ là một con chim tầm thường trú trên cờ hiệu của Ngài; nay bị sức mạnh và uy quang của Ngài thiêu đốt, run rẩy và gần như mất thần trí. Xin rộng lòng xá tội.”
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.