Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8 - Chapter 1 - Verse 3


Sanskrit:

बिभेमि नाहं निरयात् पदच्युतोन पाशबन्धाद् व्यसनाद् दुरत्ययात् ।नैवार्थकृच्छ्राद् भवतो विनिग्रहा-दसाधुवादाद् भृशमुद्विजे यथा ॥ ३ ॥

ITRANS:

bibhemi nāhaṁ nirayāt pada-cyutona pāśa-bandhād vyasanād duratyayātnaivārtha-kṛcchrād bhavato vinigrahādasādhu-vādād bhṛśam udvije yathā

Translation:

I do not fear being deprived of all my possessions, living in hellish life, being arrested for poverty by the ropes of Varuṇa or being punished by You as much as I fear defamation.

Purport:

Although Bali Mahārāja fully surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he could not tolerate being defamed for cheating a brāhmaṇa-brahmacārī. Being quite alert in regard to his reputation, he thought deeply about how to prevent being defamed. The Lord, therefore, gave him the good counsel to prevent defamation by offering his head. A Vaiṣṇava does not fear any punishment. Nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati (Bhāg. 6.17.28).