Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 10 - Chapter 1 - Verse 8-9


Sanskrit:

शयानं श्रिय उत्सङ्गे पदा वक्षस्यताडयत् ।तत उत्थाय भगवान् सह लक्ष्म्या सतां गति: ॥ ८ ॥स्वतल्पादवरुह्याथ ननाम शिरसा मुनिम् ।आह ते स्वागतं ब्रह्मन् निषीदात्रासने क्षणम् ।अजानतामागतान् व: क्षन्तुमर्हथ न: प्रभो ॥ ९ ॥

ITRANS:

śayānaṁ śriya utsaṅgepadā vakṣasy atāḍayattata utthāya bhagavānsaha lakṣmyā satāṁ gatiḥ

Translation:

There he went up to the Supreme Lord, who was lying with His head on the lap of His consort, Śrī, and kicked Him on the chest. The Lord then rose, along with Goddess Lakṣmī, as a sign of respect. Coming down from His bedstead, that supreme goal of all pure devotees bowed His head to the floor before the sage and told him, ‘Welcome, brāhmaṇa. Please sit in this chair and rest awhile. Kindly forgive us, dear master, for not noticing your arrival.’

Purport:

According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, at the time of this pastime Bhṛgu Muni had not yet become a pure Vaiṣṇava; otherwise he would not have acted so rashly toward the Supreme Lord. Not only was Lord Viṣṇu taking rest, but He was lying with His head in His wife’s lap. For Bhṛgu to strike Him in this position — and not with his hand but with his foot — was worse than any other offense Bhṛgu could have imagined. Śrīla Prabhupāda comments: “Of course, Lord Viṣṇu is all-merciful. He did not become angry at the activities of Bhṛgu Muni, for Bhṛgu Muni was a great brāhmaṇa. A brāhmaṇa is to be excused even if he sometimes commits an offense, and Lord Viṣṇu set the example. Yet it is said that from the time of this incident the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, has not been very favorably disposed toward the brāhmaṇas, and therefore because the goddess of fortune withholds her benedictions from them, the brāhmaṇas are generally very poor.”