Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 10 - Chapter 1 - Verse 40

Sanskrit:

श्रीभगवानुवाचब्रह्मन् धर्मस्य वक्ताहं कर्ता तदनुमोदिता ।तच्छिक्षयन् लोकमिममास्थित: पुत्र मा खिद: ॥ ४० ॥

ITRANS:

śrī-bhagavān uvācabrahman dhannasya vaktāhaṁkartā tad-anumoditātac chikṣayan lokam imamāsthitaḥ putra mā khidaḥ

Translation:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O brāhmaṇa, I am the speaker of religion, its performer and sanctioner. I observe religious principles to teach them to the world, My child, so do not be disturbed.

Purport:

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that Lord Kṛṣṇa wanted to dispel Nārada’s distress, which the sage felt because he saw Lord Kṛṣṇa worshiping the demigods and even Nārada himself. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains Lord Kṛṣṇa’s feelings as follows: “As I state in the Bhagavad-gītā, yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ: [‘Whatever a great person does, ordinary people follow.’] Thus I bathed your feet today in order to help propagate the principles of religion. In the past, before I began My pastimes of directly teaching religious principles, you came and offered prayers to Me after I had killed the Keśī demon, but I simply listened to your elaborate prayers and glorification and did nothing to honor you. Just remember this and consider. “Do not think that you have committed an offense by allowing Me to bathe your feet today and accept the water as holy remnants. Just as a son does not offend his father by touching him with his foot while sitting on the father’s lap, so you should understand that in the same way, My son, you have not offended Me.”