Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 4 - Chapter 1 - Verse 3

Sanskrit:

उपलभ्य पुरैवैतद्भगवानब्जसम्भव: ।नारायणश्च विश्वात्मा न कस्याध्वरमीयतु: ॥ ३ ॥

ITRANS:

upalabhya puraivaitadbhagavān abja-sambhavaḥnārāyaṇaś ca viśvātmāna kasyādhvaram īyatuḥ

Translation:

Both Lord Brahmā and Viṣṇu had already known that such events would occur in the sacrificial arena of Dakṣa, and knowing beforehand, they did not go to the sacrifice.

Purport:

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.26), vedāhaṁ samatītāni vartamānāni cārjuna. The Lord says, “I know everything that has happened in the past and is going to happen in the future.” Lord Viṣṇu is omniscient, and He therefore knew what would happen at Dakṣa’s sacrificial arena. For this reason neither Nārāyaṇa nor Lord Brahmā attended the great sacrifice performed by Dakṣa.