tasmat pranamya pranidhaya kayam
prasadaye tvam aham isam idyam
piteva putrasya sakheva sakhyuh
priyah priyayarhasi deva sodhum

"You are the Supreme Lord, to be worshiped by every living being. Thus I fall down to offer You my respectful obeisances and ask Your mercy. As a father tolerates the impudence of his son, or a friend tolerates the impertinence of a friend, or a wife tolerates the familiarity of her partner, please tolerate the wrongs I may have done You."

In this sloka Arjuna further states why the Lord should pardon him and what other relations exist between them. Tasmat = therefore. The relationship between them or jsut now Arjuna has realized the Lord's eminence and so, he uses the word therefore. Or, he has fallen at the feet of the Lord and so He has to pardon him. Pranamya = prostrating, pranidhaya = shrunk, kayam = body. When paying respects one normally shrinks one's body and salutes. Nama: implies the head is bent in sheer respect. When paying respects to the Lord and His devotees, body should bend, mouth should say 'nama:' and mind also should respect. In bhakti paying respects [vanakkam in Tamil] is very important. In Chapter 9, in the last sloka - manmana bhava mat bhakta... mam namas kuru -, the Lord says that mind should be thinking of Him, bhakti should be for Him and always prostrate to the Lord. Earlier Arjuna also prostrated many times and told namonama thousand times. Nama: means the teller has nothing to possess and praying to be accepted the teller as His. Nama: also means saranagati = ultimate surrender. Here, Arjuna uses the word pranamya instead of nama:. All the three - body, word and mind- should be engaged in prostrating to the Lord. Isa = Iswara [ Leader], idyam = Praised by all. We may praise mortals, but they might not fit into such praisings. We call doctor a person who has never visited a school, we call someone, who has never seen a battle field, as Lion; and call a miserly person as bountiful! But the Lord fits into every praise we make. Tvam = to You [Sri Krishna], aham = I [Arjuna], pay respects and so He should, prasadaye = bless. Arjuna is already scared of the Viswaroopam and so He should take pity and bless him; or, Arjuna has realized his mistakes and so He should bless him. Now Arjuna tells the relationships and reasons out that the Lord should bless him. Piteva = like a Father, putrasya = to his son, sakheva = like a friend, sakyu = to another friend, priya = [Arjuna] with affection or a lover, priyaya = with love or to his darling. Arjuna says like the relationship between father and son, or between friends, or between lovers, the Lord should pardon him. But the Lord is Paramatman, and why should He pardon Arjuna? Sodhum = for pardoning, arhasi = [Arjuna] deserves, deva = embodiment of mercy [the Lord is]. In the last sloka Arjuna told the Paratvam or the Most superior nature of the Lord. It is not enough to show only anger. To Hiranyakasipu, He showed His extreme anger; but at the same time He showered kindness on Prahalada. So, here he prays for the kindness of the Lord. Swami Vedanta Desika [in Kamasikashtakam] tells - tvayi rakshati rakshati kim anyai? Tvayi sa arakshati rakshati kim anyai?'- If the Lord decided to protect, who else is needed? But, if the Lord decided not to save, who else can protect? When father deserted the son, Prahalada, it was the Lord Who protected the child. Elder brother Ravana did not save Vibheeshana. Vali did not protect Sugriva. But the Lord assumed all those relationships and protected His devotees.