Text 51
aparādhaḥ sakṛd bhartrā
soḍhavyaḥ sva-prajā-kṛtaḥ
kṣantum arhasi śāntātman
mūḍhasya tvām ajānataḥ
aparādhaḥ — the offense; sakṛt — just once; bhartrā — by the master; soḍhavyaḥ — should be tolerated; sva-prajā — by his own subject; kṛtaḥ — committed; kṣantum — to tolerate; arhasi — it is befitting for You; śānta-ātman — O You who are always peaceful; mūḍhasya — of the foolish one; tvām — You; ajānataḥ — who does not understand.
At least once, a master should tolerate an offense committed by his child or subject. O supreme peaceful Soul, You should therefore forgive our foolish husband, who did not understand who You are.
Because of their extreme anxiety, in this verse Kāliya’s wives mention the same idea twice: that the Supreme Lord should kindly forgive their foolish husband. The Supreme Lord is śāntātmā, the supreme peaceful Soul, and therefore the Nāgapatnīs suggest it would be proper for Him to overlook, at least this once, the great offense committed by the ignorant Kāliya.