यत् तत् कर्मसु वैषम्यं ब्रह्मदृष्टं समं भवेत् ॥१४॥
brahman santanu śiṣyasya
karma-cchidraṠvitanvataḥ
yat tat karmasu vaiá¹£amyaá¹
brahma-dṛṣá¹aá¹ samaá¹ bhavet
brahman - O brÄhmaṇa; santanu - please describe; Å›iá¹£yasya - of your disciple; karma-chidram - the discrepancies in the fruitive activities; vitanvataḥ - of he who was performing sacrifices; yat tat - that which; karmasu - in the fruitive activities; vaiá¹£amyam - discrepancy; brahma-dṛṣá¹am - when it is judged by the brÄhmaṇas; samam - equipoised; bhavet - it so becomes.
O best of the brÄhmaṇas, ÅšukrÄcÄrya, please describe the fault or discrepancy in your disciple Bali MahÄrÄja, who engaged in performing sacrifices. This fault will be nullified when judged in the presence of qualified brÄhmaṇas.
When Bali MahÄrÄja and PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja had departed for the planet Sutala, Lord Viṣṇu asked ÅšukrÄcÄrya what the fault was in Bali MahÄrÄja for which ÅšukrÄcÄrya had cursed him. It might be argued that since Bali MahÄrÄja had now left the scene, how could his faults be judged? In reply to this, Lord Viṣṇu informed ÅšukrÄcÄrya that there was no need for Bali MahÄrÄja’s presence, for his faults and discrepancies could be nullified if judged before the brÄhmaṇas. As will be seen in the next verse, Bali MahÄrÄja had no faults; ÅšukrÄcÄrya had unnecessarily cursed him. Nonetheless, this was better for Bali MahÄrÄja. Being cursed by ÅšukrÄcÄrya, Bali MahÄrÄja was deprived of all his possessions, with the result that the Supreme Personality of Godhead favored him for his strong faith in devotional service. Of course, a devotee is not required to engage in fruitive activities. As stated in the Å›Ästra, sarvÄrhaṇam acyutejyÄ (BhÄg. 4.31.14). By worshiping Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one satisfies everyone. Because Bali MahÄrÄja had satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there were no discrepancies in his performance of sacrifices.
