Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 42
यच्चावहासार्थमसत्कृतोऽसि
विहारशय्यासनभोजनेषु।
एकोऽथवाप्यच्युत तत्समक्षं
तत्क्षामये त्वामहमप्रमेयम्।।
विहारशय्यासनभोजनेषु।
एकोऽथवाप्यच्युत तत्समक्षं
तत्क्षामये त्वामहमप्रमेयम्।।
yac cāvahāsārtham asat-kṛto ’si
vihāra-śayyāsana-bhojaneṣu
eko ’tha vāpy acyuta tat-samakṣaṁ
tat kṣāmaye tvām aham aprameyam
also searched as "yach chavahasartham asatkrito si"
Translation
And whatever disrespect has been shown to You in jest, while playing, resting, sitting, or eating, whether alone or in the presence of others, O Acyuta—I implore You for forgiveness, You who are incomprehensible.
Vāṇi's rendering
And every time I slighted you in jest — at play, at rest, at meals, alone or before others — forgive me.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यत्yat | whatever (yac before the following ca) |
| चca | and |
| अवहास-अर्थम्avahāsa-artham | for the sake of a joke, in jest |
| असत्-कृतःasat-kṛtaḥ | treated as of no account, slighted (asat-kṛto by sandhi before 'si) |
| असिasi | you were, you are |
| विहार-शय्या-आसन-भोजनेषुvihāra-śayyā-āsana-bhojaneṣu | at play, lying down, sitting together, eating |
| एकःekaḥ | alone, just the two of us (eko before 'tha) |
| अथatha | or then ('tha, the initial a elided) |
| वाvā | or |
| अपिapi | even, also (vā api joining as vāpy) |
| अच्युतacyuta | O Acyuta, you who never slip or fall |
| तत्-समक्षम्tat-samakṣam | in front of others, in company |
| तत्tat | for that, all of it |
| क्षामयेkṣāmaye | I beg pardon, I ask you to bear with me |
| त्वाम्tvām | you |
| अहम्aham | I |
| अप्रमेयम्aprameyam | you who cannot be measured or taken in |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 42 mean?
Arjuna asks forgiveness for every careless slight — the jokes at play, at rest, at table, alone or in front of others. Having seen the immeasurable, he goes back through the ordinary hours and finds them full of a familiarity he never questioned. It is an apology made of small, domestic memories.
What does yach chavahasartham asatkrito si mean in the Gita?
It means: whatever disregard I showed you in jest. Avahāsa is laughter at someone's expense, the affectionate mockery friends permit each other. Arjuna is not confessing cruelty. He is confessing ease — the ease of treating Krishna as ordinary, which every long closeness eventually does.
Why does Arjuna apologize for joking with Krishna?
Because the vision has rearranged the scale of things. The one he teased is aprameya, beyond measuring. Yet notice that Arjuna does not ask to be released from the friendship — only pardoned within it. He wants to keep the nearness and lose the carelessness.
Does this verse mean closeness to Krishna is wrong?
No. Krishna never rebukes the friendship; he permitted it for years. What Arjuna repents is not intimacy but inattention. Love that has grown comfortable stops looking. The remedy here is not distance — it is seeing clearly the one you had stopped seeing, and staying.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
The apology is not for the battlefield. Arjuna is remembering meals. He is remembering the times he lay down beside Krishna, the jokes, the elbow in the ribs, the easy insult friends trade — and now he has seen mouths swallowing worlds. What terrifies him is not the form; it is the intimacy he took lightly. Notice he does not renounce the friendship. He asks that it be forgiven, which is a way of asking to keep it. You will do this too, with whoever has been closest and least noticed. The reckoning comes not for your enemies but for the ones you ate with.