सुरासुरेशैरभिवन्दिताङ्घ्रिः ।
उत्थाय चक्रे शिरसाभिवन्दन
मर्हत्तमः कस्य यथैव विष्णुः ॥४०॥
sa tÅ«palabhyÄgatam Ätma-yoniá¹
surÄsureÅ›air abhivanditÄá¹…ghriḥ
utthÄya cakre Å›irasÄbhivandanam
arhattamaḥ kasya yathaiva viṣṇuḥ
saḥ - Lord Åšiva; tu - but; upalabhya - seeing; Ägatam - had arrived; Ätma-yonim - Lord BrahmÄ; sura-asura-Ä«Å›aiḥ - by the best of the demigods and demons; abhivandita-aá¹…ghriḥ - whose feet are worshiped; utthÄya - standing up; cakre - made; Å›irasÄ - with his head; abhivandanam - respectful; arhattamaḥ - VÄmanadeva; kasya - of KaÅ›yapa; yathÄ eva - just as; viṣṇuḥ - Viṣṇu.
Lord Åšiva’s lotus feet were worshiped by both the demigods and demons, but still, in spite of his exalted position, as soon as he saw that Lord BrahmÄ was there among all the other demigods, he immediately stood up and offered him respect by bowing down and touching his lotus feet, just as VÄmanadeva offered His respectful obeisances to KaÅ›yapa Muni.
KaÅ›yapa Muni was in the category of the living entities, but he had a transcendental son, VÄmanadeva, who was an incarnation of Viṣṇu. Thus although Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He offered His respects to KaÅ›yapa Muni. Similarly, when Lord Kṛṣṇa was a child He used to offer His respectful obeisances to His mother and father, Nanda and YaÅ›odÄ. Also, at the Battle of Kuruká¹£etra, Lord Kṛṣṇa touched the feet of MahÄrÄja Yudhiá¹£á¹hira because the King was His elder. It appears, then, that the Personality of Godhead, Lord Åšiva and other devotees, in spite of their being situated in exalted positions, instructed by practical example how to offer obeisances to their superiors. Lord Åšiva offered his respectful obeisances to BrahmÄ because BrahmÄ was his father, just as KaÅ›yapa Muni was the father of VÄmana.
