SB 10.45.9 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तत् क्षन्तुमर्हथस्तात मातर्नौ परतन्त्रयो: । अकुर्वतोर्वां शुश्रूषां क्लिष्टयोर्दुर्हृदा भृशम् ॥ ९ ॥

Verse text

tat kṣantum arhathas tāta mātar nau para-tantrayoḥ akurvator vāṁ śuśrūṣāṁ kliṣṭayor durhṛdā bhṛśam

Synonyms

tat — that ; kṣantum — forgive ; arhathaḥ — you may please ; tāta — O Father ; mātaḥ — O Mother ; nau — on the part of Us ; para — tantrayoḥ — who are under the control of others ; akurvatoḥ — not executing ; vām — your ; śuśrūṣām — service ; kliṣṭayoḥ — caused pain ; durhṛdā — by the hardhearted (Kaṁsa) ; bhṛśam — greatly .

Translation

Dear Father and Mother, please forgive Us for not serving you. We are not independent and have been greatly frustrated by cruel Kaṁsa.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Dear Father and Mother, please forgive Us for not serving you. We are not independent and have been greatly frustrated by cruel Kaṁsa. KB 10.45.9 “Due to reasons beyond Our control, We could not serve you. Mother and Father, please excuse Us for Our sinfulness.”

Purport

According to Sanskrit grammar, the words para-tantrayoḥ and kliṣṭayoḥ may also refer to Vasudeva and Devakī. Actually, Vasudeva and Devakī were under the control of Providence and were disturbed by the activities of Kaṁsa, whereas Śrī Kṛṣṇa is always the absolute Personality of Godhead.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"Please forgive us (nauh). We could not serve you, who were dependent upon evil minded Kamsa, and yet were tormented by him."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

You should forgive us for not serving you (tat). He addresses them as father and mother again in order to arouse affection in them. Since you are our father and mother, you should forgive us for not serving you since we were dependent--living in hiding and afflicted by evil Kaṁsa (duhṛdā).

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

They call out to their parents to invoke their affection. Forgive us for not being able to serve you, since we were not independent. The parents should forgive the offense of the children out of affection. Moreover we had to hide and were persecuted by Kaṁsa.