śayānaḿ śriya utsańge
padā vakṣasy atāḍayat
tata utthāya bhagavān
saha lakṣmyā satāḿ gatiḥ
sva-talpād avaruhyātha
nanāma śirasā munim
āha te svāgataḿ brahman
niṣīdātrāsane kṣaṇam
ajānatām āgatān vaḥ
kṣantum arhatha naḥ prabho
sayanam -- who was lying down; sriyah -- of the goddess of fortune; utsange -- on the lap; pada -- with his foot; vakshasi -- on His chest; atadayat -- he kicked; tatah -- then; utthaya -- standing up; bhagavan -- the Personality of Godhead; saha lakshmya -- together with Goddess Lakshmi; satam -- of pure devotees; gatih -- the destination; sva -- His; talpat -- from the bed; avaruhya -- climbing down; atha -- then; nanama -- He bowed down; sirasa -- with His head; munim -- to the sage; aha -- He said; te -- to you; su-agatam -- welcome; brahman -- O brahmana; nishida -- please sit; atra -- in this; asane -- seat; kshanam -- for a moment; ajanatam -- who were unaware; agatan -- arrived; vah -- of you; kshantum -- forgive; arhatha -- you should please; nah -- us; prabho -- O master.
There he went up to the Supreme Lord, who was lying with His head on the lap of His consort, Sri, and kicked Him on the chest. The Lord then rose, along with Goddess Lakshmi, as a sign of respect. Coming down from His bedstead, that supreme goal of all pure devotees bowed His head to the floor before the sage and told him, 'Welcome, brahmana. Please sit in this chair and rest awhile. Kindly forgive us, dear master, for not noticing your arrival.
According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, at the time of this pastime Bhrigu Muni had not yet become a pure Vaishnava; otherwise he would not have acted so rashly toward the Supreme Lord. Not only was Lord Vishnu taking rest, but He was lying with His head in His wife's lap. For Bhrigu to strike Him in this position -- and not with his hand but with his foot -- was worse than any other offense Bhrigu could have imagined.
Srila Prabhupada comments, "Of course, Lord Vishnu is all-merciful. He did not become angry at the activities of Bhrigu Muni because Bhrigu Muni was a great brahmana. A brahmana is to be excused even if he sometimes commits an offense, and Lord Vishnu set the example. Yet it is said that from the time of this incident, the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, has not been very favorably disposed toward the brahmanas, and therefore because the goddess of fortune withholds her benedictions from them, the brahmanas are generally very poor."
