Therefore, bowing down, prostrating my body, I crave Thy forgiveness, O adorable Lord. As a father forgives his son, a friend his (dear) friend, a lover his beloved, even so shouldst Thou
forgive me, O God.
In simple words
Arjuna prostrates: "So I bow down with my whole body and beg Your forgiveness. Please bear with me as a father bears with a son, a friend with a friend, a lover with the one they love."
तस्मात्thereforeप्रणम्यsalutingप्रणिधायhaving bentकायम्bodyप्रसादयेcrave forgivenessत्वाम्Theeअहम्Iईशम्the Lordईड्यम्adorableपिताfatherप्रियःbelovedप्रियायाःto the belovedअर्हसि(Thou) shouldstदेवO God
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सोढुम्to bear
11.44 तस्मात् therefore? प्रणम्य saluting? प्रणिधाय having bent? कायम् body? प्रसादये crave forgiveness? त्वाम् Thee? अहम् I? ईशम् the Lord? ईड्यम् adorable? पिता father? प्रियः beloved? प्रियायाः to the beloved? अर्हसि (Thou) shouldst? देव O God? सोढुम् to bear.Commentary O Lord? take me to Thy bosom as a mother does her child. Forgive me for all tht I have hitherto spoken or done. Forgive my faults. Please overlook my past mistakes. I have done this through ignorance. Now I have come to Thee in submission. I beg Your pardon now.
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
Modern
Arjuna, finding himself in the presence of the Almighty Lord, discovers within himself a loss of eloquence and the subtle capacity for reasoning. Though in Hindu tradition, one offers salutation by touching the feet of a revered person—which is a physical act—the true significance of this gesture must be received as an inner sentiment of the heart. The genuine act of reverence, or complete prostration, is achieved through the surrender of ego and the spiritual advancement that follows. Due to ego born from identification with inert, material conditions, and the false imaginings centered upon this ego, we cannot directly experience the atman dwelling within our own heart. To the extent that these false notions are dissolved, to that very extent we can surely experience the serene beauty of the atman, which is our true nature. In truth, when we surrender the ego, we are offering up that bundle of impure, bestial desires which, through our delusion and lust, has become foul-smelling. It is therefore natural that when a devotee approaches the feet of the Lord with the sentiment of devotion and surrender, he seeks forgiveness for his impurities. Here Arjuna entreats the Lord to bear his transgressions as a father bears those of his son, a friend those of his friend, and a beloved those of his beloved. In these three examples are encompassed all the audacious offenses that a person, through ignorance, might commit against his Lord. Arjuna prays to the Lord to assume His ordinary form and to abandon this transcendent, universal, and terrible manifestation.