Text 16
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ
na vayaṁ bhagavan vidmas
tava deva cikīrṣitam
kṛto me ’nugrahaś ceti
yad adhyakṣaḥ prabhāṣase
ṛṣayaḥ — the sages; ūcuḥ — said; na — not; vayam — we; bhagavan — O Supreme Personality of Godhead; vidmaḥ — did know; tava — Your; deva — O Lord; cikīrṣitam — wish for us to do; kṛtaḥ — has been done; me — unto Me; anugrahaḥ — favor; ca — and; iti — thus; yat — which; adhyakṣaḥ — the supreme ruler; prabhāṣase — You say.
The sages said: O Supreme Personality of Godhead, we are unable to know what You intend for us to do, for even though You are the supreme ruler of all, You speak in our favor as if we had done something good for You.
The sages could understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is above everyone, was speaking as if He were in the wrong; therefore it was difficult for them to understand the words of the Lord. They could understand, however, that the Lord was speaking in such a humble way just to show them His all-merciful favor.