• kāmaḥ — desire
  From √kam. The Lord inquires after the sages' kāma — what they wish. He acts as fulfilling agent. Note: in His mouth, kāma-pūrti is service, not consumption.
• muni-śreṣṭhāḥ — O foremost of sages
  Muni + śreṣṭha. Vocative of honor. The Lord addresses the sages with full deference — performing, in form, the very humility Romaharṣaṇa lacked. The contrast is the teaching.
• ajānataḥ — of one who does not know
  Present participle of √jñā, negated. The Lord places Himself in the position of ajānat — not-knowing. Gauḍīyas note: this is bhakta-vatsalatā in pedagogical form. The omniscient assumes ignorance to honor His petitioners.
• apacitim — atonement
  From apa- + √ci (to gather). 'To gather away,' i.e. to remove the residue of an act. A technical śāstric term for prāyaścitta. The Lord asks for the apaciti — the precise removal-procedure.
• budhāḥ — O wise ones
  Vocative of budha. From √budh (to awaken, to know). Those who are awake. The Lord addresses the sages as knowers, again inverting Romaharṣaṇa's claim to be a paṇḍita.

The Lord asks the sages to name their desire and to prescribe His atonement. He volunteers His ignorance — 'I do not know what My proper prāyaścitta might be' — though He is omniscient. This is the same self-veiling by which He asks Arjuna 'kac cid etac chrutaṁ pārtha?' or asks His mother for butter. Aiśvarya hides itself so dharma's protocol can speak.