Text 15] The Demigods Regain the Heavenly Planets
209
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,  bhoktāram yajña-tapasām 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:
varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā nanyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam
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:
ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam
“O best among the twiceborn, 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.