Chapter 11: Viśvarūpa-darśana-yoga:: Verse 41
सखेति मत्वा प्रसभं यदुक्तं
हे कृष्ण हे यादव हे सखेति ।
अजानता महिमानं तवेदं
मया प्रमादात्प्रणयेन वापि ॥
sakheti matvā prasabhaṃ yad-uktaṃ
he kṛṣṇa he yādava he sakheti
ajānatā mahimānaṃ tavedaṃ
mayā pramādāt-praṇayena vāpi – 11.41
Considering You only as a friend, not knowing Your greatness, whatever I have spoken out of carelessness or fondness, addressing you freely as O Krishna,
O Yadava, O my friend, whatever treatment I have given You without due respect or in fun, while playing, lying on bed, sitting together, eating food, alone or even in presence of others, O Achyuta (Krishna), for all that I beg forgiveness from You, the immeasurable.
Chapter 11: Viśvarūpa-darśana-yoga: - Verse 41
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
This reveals Arjuna’s child-like innocence. When Krishna asked Arjuna why he had chosen Krishna in preference to the huge Dwaraka army, despite Krishna’s resolve not to wield weapon, Arjuna said: “I had a long-cherished desire to fight a war keeping you as my charioteer!”
We come to know how close Krishna and Arjuna were. There was no distance or resistance in their dealings with each other. In intimate Guru-¿ishya relationship, there is no undue reservation, a fact many seekers do not recognize!
Arjuna also sets here a very relevant example for all devotees in their approach to and intimacy with God. Do not fear God and keep Him at a distance. Be close to Him. Give your heart, ask Him to dwell there. Once you do so, can you hide anything from Him?
Krishna is a great instructor. He first disclosed the inmost identity of one and all, the Self, the source of all existence. He then moved to explain the constitution of the complex Universe, which led Arjuna to seek a glimpse of Viśva-rūpa. Guru-śishya fondness and intimacy, as Arjuna and Krishna display, hold immeasurable lesson.
