Every morning and evening, I recite these two verses from Ramanujar’s Sharanagathi Gadyam asking for forgiveness.

Rendition by Sri U. Ve. M. A Venkatakrishnan Swami

Roman:

manOvākkāyaiḥ anādikāla pravṛtta ananta akṛtyakaraṇa kṛtyākaraṇa bhagavadapacāra bhāgavatāpacāra asahyāpacārarūpa nānāvidha ananta apacārān ārabdhakāryān anārabdhakāryān kṛtān kriyamāṇān kariṣyamāṇāṃśca sarvān aśeṣataḥ kṣamasva

anādikāla pravṛttam viparīta jñānam ātmaviṣayam kṛtsna jagadviṣayam ca viparīta vṛttam ca aśeṣa viṣayam adyāpi vartamānam vartiṣyamāṇam ca sarvam kṣamasva

Devanagari:

मनोवाक्कायै: अनादिकाल प्रवृत्त अनन्त अकृत्यकरण कृत्याकरण भगवदपचार भागवतापचार असह्यापचाररूप नानाविध अनन्त अपचारान् आरब्धकार्यान् अनारब्धकार्यान् कृतान् क्रियमाणान् करिष्यमाणांश्च सर्वान् अशेषत: क्षमस्व

अनादिकाल प्रवृत्तम् विपरीत ज्ञानम् आत्मविषयम् कृत्स्न जगद्विषयम् च विपरीत वृत्तम् च अशेष विषयम् अद्यापि वर्तमानम् वर्तिष्यमाणम् च सर्वम् क्षमस्व

Tamil:

மநோவாக்காயை: அநாதிகால ப்ரவ்ருத்த அநந்த அக்ருத்யகரண க்ருத்யாகரண பகவதபசார பாகவதாபசார அஸஹ்யாபசாரரூப நாநாவித அநந்த அபசாராந் ஆரப்தகார்யாந் அநாரப்தகார்யாந் க்ருதாந் க்ரியமாணாந் கரிஷ்யமாணாம்ஶ்ச ஸர்வாந் அஶேஷத: க்ஷமஸ்வ

அநாதிகால ப்ரவ்ருத்தம் விபரீத ஜ்ஞாநம் ஆத்மவிஷயம் க்ருத்ஸ்ந ஜகத்விஷயம் ச விபரீத வ்ருத்தம் ச அஶேஷ விஷயம் அத்யாபி வர்த்தமாநம் வர்திஷ்யமாணம் ச ஸர்வம் க்ஷமஸ்வ

Forgive all offenses - through mind, word, and body; through doing what’s forbidden and not doing what’s prescribed; against You and Your devotees; those already started, not yet started, done, being done, and yet to be done - forgive them all.

Forgive the ignorance and wrong knowledge about the self and the universe that has existed since beginningless time, and all the wrong conduct arising from it - past, present, and future.

The verses don’t try to list everything. They sweep broadly: thought, word, deed. Already done, being done, will do. Not just this life - anādikāla, beginningless time. Wrong knowledge about who we are, wrong understanding of the world, wrong actions flowing from both. You can’t catalog infinity across lifetimes. You surrender it.

The Jain tradition has Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ - may all my wrongdoing be forgiven. Same recognition: to be human is to err.

To You, Reader

If anything I’ve written - here or elsewhere - or in my interactions with you has caused offense through thoughtlessness, through wrong understanding, through limitations I don’t see - I ask your forgiveness.

क्षमस्व.