तमधर्मे कृतमतिं विलोक्य पितरं सुताः मरीचिमुख्या मुनयो विश्रम्भात्प्रत्यबोधयन्
tam adharme kṛta-matiṁ vilokya pitaraṁ sutāḥ marīci-mukhyā munayo viśrambhāt pratyabodhayan
Synonyms
tam—unto him; adharme—in the matter of immorality; kṛta-matim—the mind being so given; vilokya—seeing thus; pitaram—unto the father; sutāḥ—sons; marīci-mukhyāḥ—headed by Marīci; munayaḥ—sages; viśrambhāt—with due respect; pratyabodhayan—submitted as follows..
Translation
Thus, finding their father so deluded in an act of immorality, the sages headed by Marīci, all sons of Brahmā, spoke as follows with great respect.
Purport
The sages like Marīci were not in the wrong in submitting their protests against the acts of their great father. They knew very well that even though their father committed a mistake, there must have been some great purpose behind the show, otherwise such a great personality could not have committed such a mistake. It might be that Brahmā wanted to warn his subordinates about human frailties in their dealings with women. This is always very dangerous for persons who are on the path of self-realization. Therefore, great personalities like Brahmā, even when in the wrong, should not be neglected, nor could the great sages headed by Marīci show any disrespect because of his extraordinary behavior.