Text 21
śrī-brahmovāca
bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa
deva-deva jaganmaya
muñcainaṁ hṛta-sarvasvaṁ
nāyam arhati nigraham
śrī-brahmā uvāca — Lord Brahmā said; bhūta-bhāvana — O Supreme Being, well-wisher of everyone, who can cause one to flourish; bhūta-īśa — O master of everyone; deva-deva — O worshipable Deity of the demigods; jagat-maya — O all-pervading one; muñca — please release; enam — this poor Bali Mahārāja; hṛta-sarvasvam — now bereft of everything; na — not; ayam — such a poor man; arhati — deserves; nigraham — punishment.
Lord Brahmā said: O well-wisher and master of all living entities, O worshipable Deity of all the demigods, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, now this man has been sufficiently punished, for You have taken everything. Now You can release him. He does not deserve to be punished more.
When Lord Brahmā saw that Prahlāda Mahārāja and Vindhyāvali had already approached the Lord to ask mercy for Bali Mahārāja, he joined them and recommended Bali Mahārāja’s release on the grounds of worldly calculations.