मदेन तुच्छीकृतसत्तमस्य ।
कृषीष्ट मैत्रीदृशमार्तबन्धो
यथा तरे सदवध्यानमंहः ॥२४॥
tan me bhavÄn nara-devÄbhimÄna-
madena tucchīkṛta-sattamasya
kṛṣīṣá¹a maitrÄ«-dṛśam Ärta-bandho
yathÄ tare sad-avadhyÄnam aá¹haḥ
tat - therefore; me - unto me; bhavÄn - your good self; nara-deva-abhimÄna-madena - by madness due to having the body of a king and thus being proud of it; tucchÄ«ká¹›ta - who has insulted; sat-tamasya - you who are the best among human beings; kṛṣīṣá¹a - kindly show; maitrÄ«-dṛśam - your causeless mercy upon me like a friend; Ärta-bandho - O friend of all distressed persons; yathÄ - so; tare - I can get relief from; sat-avadhyÄnam - neglecting a great personality like you; aá¹haḥ - the sin.
Whatever you have spoken appears to me to be contradictory. O best friend of the distressed, I have committed a great offense by insulting you. I was puffed up with false prestige due to possessing the body of a king. For this I have certainly become an offender. Therefore I pray that you kindly glance at me with your causeless mercy. If you do so, I can be relieved from sinful activities brought about by insulting you.
ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu has said that by offending a Vaiṣṇava, one finishes all his spiritual activities. Offending a Vaiṣṇava is considered the mad elephant offense. A mad elephant can destroy an entire garden which has been developed with great labor. One may attain the topmost platform of devotional service, but somehow or other if he offends a Vaiṣṇava, the whole structure collapses. Unconsciously, King RahÅ«gaṇa offended Jaá¸a Bharata, but due to his good sense, he asked to be excused. This is the process by which one can be relieved from a vaiṣṇava-aparÄdha. Kṛṣṇa is always very simple and by nature merciful. When one commits an offense at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava, one must immediately apologize to such a personality so that his spiritual advancement may not be hampered.
