Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 44
तस्मात्प्रणम्य प्रणिधाय कायं
प्रसादये त्वामहमीशमीड्यम्।
पितेव पुत्रस्य सखेव सख्युः
प्रियः प्रियायार्हसि देव सोढुम्।।
प्रसादये त्वामहमीशमीड्यम्।
पितेव पुत्रस्य सखेव सख्युः
प्रियः प्रियायार्हसि देव सोढुम्।।
tasmāt praṇamya praṇidhāya kāyaṁ
prasādaye tvām aham īśam īḍyam
piteva putrasya sakheva sakhyuḥ
priyaḥ priyāyārhasi deva soḍhum
also searched as "tasmat pranamya pranidhaya kayam"
Translation
Therefore, bowing down and prostrating my body, I implore Your mercy, O adorable Lord. As a father listens to his son or a friend to his friend, it is fitting, O Lord, that You, who are dear to me, should bear with me who am dear to You.
Vāṇi's rendering
I bow low and ask your grace. Bear with me — as father with son, friend with friend, lover with beloved.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तस्मात्tasmāt | therefore, because of all this |
| प्रणम्यpraṇamya | having bowed down |
| प्रणिधायpraṇidhāya | having laid down, stretched out |
| कायम्kāyam | the body |
| प्रसादयेprasādaye | I beg your grace, I seek your favour |
| त्वाम्tvām | you |
| अहम्aham | I |
| ईशम्īśam | the lord, the one who holds all |
| ईड्यम्īḍyam | the one worthy of praise |
| पिताpitā | a father (joined with iva as piteva) |
| इवiva | as, like |
| पुत्रस्यputrasya | of a son, with his son |
| सखाsakhā | a friend (joined with iva as sakheva) |
| इवiva | as, like |
| सख्युःsakhyuḥ | of a friend, with his friend |
| प्रियःpriyaḥ | one who loves, a lover |
| प्रियायाःpriyāyāḥ | of the beloved, with the one loved (sandhi with arhasi gives priyāyārhasi) |
| अर्हसिarhasi | you should, it is fitting that you |
| देवdeva | O shining one |
| सोढुम्soḍhum | to bear with, to put up with |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 44 mean?
Having seen the vast form, Arjuna stops trying to comprehend it and simply lies down before Krishna, asking to be forgiven and endured. He offers three intimacies as the model — father with son, friend with friend, lover with beloved — asking that the immensity relate to him the way love relates to what it loves.
What does tasmat pranamya pranidhaya kayam mean?
Tasmāt is therefore — because of everything just seen. Praṇamya is bowing; praṇidhāya kāyam is laying the whole body down, not a nod but a full surrender of posture. Arjuna's argument ends and his body speaks. Sometimes the truest response to something overwhelming is what you do with your knees.
Why does Arjuna ask Krishna to forgive him in this verse?
Because he has called Krishna friend, comrade, companion — casually, across years of shared meals and jokes. Now he has seen who was standing beside him. The apology is not fear of punishment; it is the ache of having been careless with something enormous, and the hope that the friendship survives the revelation.
What do the three comparisons of father, friend and lover teach?
Each pair holds an imbalance and calls it love. The father is stronger, the friend equal, the lover exposed — yet all three bear with the other's faults without withdrawing. Arjuna is asking Krishna to be great and near at once. Ask that of what you worship, and the worship stops being distant.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna has just seen mouths full of worlds, and what he does with the vision is bow. Not analyze it, not describe it further — bow, and ask to be borne with. Then he names the ways he wants to be held: father with son, friend with friend, lover with beloved. Each pair is unequal in power and equal in love. This is where terror becomes relationship. You do not need the sky to open to arrive here. When you have seen something too large for you, the honest answer is not explanation — it is bowing, and asking to be borne with.