Srimad Bhagavatam 8.23.17-18

[makarand]

TEXT 17

tathāpi vadato bhūman

kariṣyāmy anuśāsanam

etac chreyaḥ paraṁ puṁsāṁ

yat tavājñānupālanam

SYNONYMS

tathāpi—although there was no fault on the part of Bali Mahārāja; vadataḥ—because of your order; bhūman—O Supreme; kariṣyāmi— I must execute; anuśāsanam—because it is Your order; etat—this is; śreyaḥ—that which is the most auspicious; param—supreme; puṁsām—of all persons; yat—because; tava ājñā-anupālanam—to obey Your order.

TRANSLATION

Lord Viṣṇu, I must nonetheless act in obedience to Your order because obeying Your order is most auspicious and is the first duty of everyone.

TEXT 18

śrī-śuka uvāca

pratinandya harer ājñām

uśanā bhagavān iti

yajña-cchidraṁ samādhatta

baler viprarṣibhiḥ saha

SYNONYMS

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; pratinandya—offering all obeisances; hareḥ—of the Personality of Godhead; ājñām—the order; uśanāḥ—Śukrācārya; bhagavān—the most powerful; iti—thus; yajña-chidram—discrepancies in the performance of sacrifices; samādhatta—made it a point to fulfill; baleḥ—of Bali Mahārāja; vipra-ṛṣibhiḥ—the best brāhmaṇas; saha—along with.

TRANSLATION

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: In this way, the most powerful Śukrācārya accepted the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full respect. Along with the best brāhmaṇas, he began to compensate for the discrepancies in the sacrifices performed by Bali Mahārāja.