Text 47]
Mahārāja Parīkṣit Cursed by a Brāhmaṇa Boy
979
PURPORT
After explaining the general codes relating to the royal position and asserting that the king can do no wrong and therefore is never to be condemned, the sage Śamīk wanted to say something about Emperor Parīkṣit specifically. The specific qualification of Mahārāja Parīkṣit is summarized herein. The King, even calculated as a king only, was most celebrated as a ruler who administered the religious principles of the royal order. In the  śāstras  the duties of all castes and orders of society are prescribed. All the qualities of a  kṣatriya  mentioned in the  Bhagavad-gītā  (18.43) were present in the person of the Emperor. He was also a great devotee of the Lord and a self-realized soul. Cursing such a king, when he was tired and fatigued with hunger and thirst, was not at all proper. The Śamīk Rṣi thus admitted from all sides that Mahārāja Parīkṣit was cursed most unjustly. Although all the  brāhmaṇas  were aloof from the incidence, still for the childish action of a  brāhmaṇa  boy, the whole world situation was changed. Thus the Rṣi Śamīk, a  brāhmaṇa , took responsibility for all deterioration of the good orders of the world.
TEXT 47
अपापेषु स्वभृत्येषु वालेनापक्रबुद्धिना । पापं कृतं तद्भगवान् सर्वात्मा क्षन्तुमर्हति ॥४७॥
apāpeṣu sva-bhṛtyeṣu   bālenāpakva-buddhinā   pāpam kṛtam tad bhagavān   sarvātmā kṣantum arhati
apāpeṣu —unto one who is completely free from all sins;  sva-bhṛtyeṣu —unto one who is subordinate and deserves to be protected;  bālena —by a child;  apakva —who is immature;  buddhinā —by intelligence;  pāpam —sinful act;  kṛtam —has been done;  tat bhagavān —therefore the Personality of Godhead;  sarva-ātmā —who is all-pervading;  kṣantum —just to pardon;  arhati —deserve.
TRANSLATION
Then the rṣi prayed to the all-pervading Personality of Godhead to pardon his immature boy who had no intelligence and who committed the