Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8 - Chapter 1 - Verse 15

Sanskrit:

श्रीशुक्र उवाचकुतस्तत्कर्मवैषम्यं यस्य कर्मेश्वरो भवान् ।यज्ञेशो यज्ञपुरुष: सर्वभावेन पूजित: ॥ १५ ॥

ITRANS:

śrī-śukra uvācakutas tat-karma-vaiṣamyaṁyasya karmeśvaro bhavānyajñeśo yajña-puruṣaḥsarva-bhāvena pūjitaḥ

Translation:

Śukrācārya said: My Lord, You are the enjoyer and lawgiver in all performances of sacrifice, and You are the yajña-puruṣa, the person to whom all sacrifices are offered. If one has fully satisfied You, where is the chance of discrepancies or faults in his performances of sacrifice?

Purport:

In Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) the Lord says, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram: the Lord, the supreme proprietor, is the actual person to be satisfied by the performance of yajñas. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9) says: All the Vedic ritualistic sacrifices are performed for the purpose of satisfying Lord Viṣṇu, the yajña-puruṣa. The divisions of society — brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa — are all meant to satisfy the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu. To act according to this principle of the varṇāśrama institution is called varṇāśramācaraṇa. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.13), Sūta Gosvāmī says: “O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging his prescribed duties according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead.” Everything is meant to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, since Bali Mahārāja had satisfied the Lord, he had no faults, and Śukrācārya admitted that cursing him was not good.