182 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 6, Ch. 3

we beg Your pardon. My Lord, since You are supremely merciful
and are always full of good qualities, please pardon us. We offer
our respectful obeisances unto You.

PURPORT

Lord Yamaraja took upon himself the responsibility for the offense
committed by his servants. If the servant of an establishment makes a
mistake, the establishment takes responsibility for it. Although Yamaraja
is above offenses, his servants, practically with his permission, went to
arrest Ajamila, which was a great offense. The nydya-Sdstra confirms,
bhrtydparaddhe svdmino dandah: if a servant makes a mistake, the
master is punishable because he is responsible for the offense. Taking
this seriously, Yamaraja, along with his servants, prayed with folded
hands to be excused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana.

TEXT 31
TAA Asta PeoitseARTEATT |
meatal aiven frgaarfeaetreyay 13 2 UI

tasmat sankirtanam visnor
Jagan-mangalam amhasaém

mahatém api kauravya
viddhy aikantika-niskrtam

tasmat—therefore; sarikirtanam—the congregational chanting of the
holy name; visnoh—of Lord Visnu; jagat-margalam—the most
auspicious performance within this material world; arihasdm—for sin-
ful activities; mahatém api—even though very great; kauravya—O de-
scendant of the Kuru family; viddhi—understand; aikantika—the ulti-
mate; niskrtam—atonement.

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, the chanting of the
holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the
greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the sankirtana movement
