यच्चावहासार्थमसत्कृतोऽसि विहारशय्यासनभोजनेषु। एकोऽथवाप्यच्युत तत्समक्षं तत्क्षामये त्वामहमप्रमेयम् ॥
yaccāvahāsārthamasatkṛto'si vihāraśayyāsanabhojaneṣu| eko'thavāpyacyuta tatsamakṣaṃ tatkṣāmaye tvāmahamaprameyam ||
In jest at play, meals, rest — alone or before others — I dishonored You, O Immeasurable Acyuta. Please forgive!
Word by word (3)
- yac cāvahāsārtham asat-kṛto'si
- — and if You were dishonored for the sake of jest/mockery · Avahāsārtham = for the purpose of jest, in mockery (avahāsa = ridicule, jest, laughing at; artham = for the purpose of). Asat-kṛtaḥ = treated dishonorably (asat = wrong, bad + kṛta = done = treated in an unworthy way; asat-kṛta = treated as a lower person, insulted). The verse extends V41's confession from formal-address (calling Krishna by casual names) to behavioral-dishonor — actual moments of mockery or carelessness during daily activities. Avahāsa (jest/ridicule) suggests playful teasing or lighthearted disrespect — the kind that friends exchange but which is technically improper toward the infinite divine.
- vihāra-śayyāsana-bhojanēṣu / eko'tha vāpy acyuta tat-samakṣam
- — during play/recreation, lying down, sitting, meals — alone or in the presence of others, O Acyuta · Vihāra = recreation, sport, play (vi + hara = moving about freely = pleasurable wandering). Śayyā = reclining, lying down, the bed. Āsana = sitting (āsana = seat; the act of sitting). Bhojana = eating, meals (from √bhuj = to enjoy/eat). These four = the complete cycle of leisure activities: play/recreation + sleep + rest + meals. Eko = alone. Tat-samakṣam = in the presence of others, face to face with them (sam + akṣa = before the eyes). Acyuta = O Imperishable/Undying One (a + cyuta = one who does not fall; acyuta = the indestructible). Note the shift: V41 used casual names (Kṛṣṇa, Yādava, Sakha); V42 uses the divine epithet Acyuta. The confession itself is already the correction — Arjuna is NOW addressing Krishna by his divine names even as he apologizes for not having done so before.
- tat kṣāmaye tvāṃ aham aprameyam
- — for all that I beg forgiveness of You, O Immeasurable One · Tat = that (referring back to all the instances described). Kṣāmaye = I ask forgiveness of (from √kṣam = to bear, to forgive; kṣāmaye = I propitiate, I ask pardon; the causative implies asking the other to bear/forgive). Aham = I (emphatic). Aprameyam = O Immeasurable One! (a + prameya = not measurable by any standard; gerundive of √pra + mā = not to be measured; vocative of aprameyam). The address aprameyam (O Immeasurable) caps the apology: the one being asked to forgive is beyond all measure. The contrast is complete: I treated the Immeasurable as a casual friend — now I address the casual friend as the Immeasurable and ask forgiveness.
V42 completes the confession begun in V41. Arjuna lists every casual, unguarded moment — recreation, sleep, sitting, meals, whether alone or in company — when his behavior toward Krishna was disrespectful or thoughtless. He asks forgiveness from the one he now knows to be immeasurable.
A modern analogy
Like thinking back over years of casual moments with a mentor — the jokes you made, the times you were distracted during their teaching, the meals where you spoke carelessly — and realizing that each of those moments happened in the presence of something profound you didn't recognize.
Sit with this: V42 describes casual dishonor during the most ordinary activities — play, sleep, meals, sitting. If the Divine is present in every ordinary moment, does our ordinary behavior count as sacred behavior? How would you live differently if you treated every casual moment as Arjuna-with-Krishna?
V42's four daily activities (vihāra-śayyā-āsana-bhojana) are the Gita's implicit teaching on the sacredness of ordinary life. In Arjuna's confession, these were moments of forgetfulness (avidyā). In the Gita's positive teaching, these same activities are precisely where karma-yoga operates — doing all actions as worship (V9.27: yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi... kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam = whatever you do, whatever you eat... do as an offering to Me). V42's apology thus anticipates the karma-yoga solution: the same vihāra-śayyā-āsana-bhojana that were sites of casual dishonor become sites of conscious offering. The confession IS the transformation.
Advaita lens
V42's apology is the recognition of avidyā (ignorance) in the most intimate relationships. Advaita's central teaching: Brahman is not just in temples or meditation — it is the innermost self of every being (sarva-bhūta-stha-ātmā). Arjuna's casual behavior with Krishna was, from the Advaitic perspective, treating the innermost Self of the universe as a mere companion. The recognition (ajānatā → jānatā = not-knowing → knowing) is itself mokṣa in miniature: seeing Brahman where before you only saw a person.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
[SW V41-42 combined] Whatever irreverence was shown Thee in jest—while at play, resting, sitting, at meals, when alone, or in company—for all that, O Achyuta, I implore Thy pardon, immeasurable (as Thou art). [4]
Did, in my heedlessness, or in my love, On journey, or in jest, Or when we lay at rest, Sitting at council, straying in the grove, Alone, or in the throng, Do Thee, most Holy! wrong, Be Thy grace granted for that witless sin! [7]
...and for whatever dishonour I have shown you during play, rest, sitting, eating, whether alone or in company — for all that, O undeteriorating one, I beg pardon of you who are immeasurable. [9]
...and whatever disrespect was shown to Thee in jest, while playing, lying down, sitting, eating, or whether it was done while alone (with Thee) or in the presence of others — for all that I beg Thee, O undeteriorating One, immeasurable (as Thou art), to forgive me. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Whatever you do, eat, offer, give, or practise as austerity — do it all as mad-arpaṇam, an offering to Me.
I called You 'Hey Kṛṣṇa! Hey Friend!' not knowing Your greatness — from carelessness or love — please forgive!
Regulate food, recreation, effort and sleep — and yoga becomes the destroyer of all pain.
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.
Approach the teacher with prostration, inquiry, and service. The knowers of truth will instruct you in jñāna.
O Pārtha — no destruction for that one, neither here nor hereafter. For never does any doer of good come to an evil end.