Bhagavatapurana 3.16.23

3.16.23

tarhy eva naṅkṣyati śivas tava deva panthā % loko 'grahīṣyad ṛṣabhasya hi tat pramāṇam //

Then your auspicious path would perish, O God, for the world follows that standard set by the best of beings.

3.16.23.p2

tat te 'nabhīṣṭam iva sattva-nidher vidhitsoḥ $ kṣemaṃ janāya nija-śaktibhir uddhṛtāreḥ &

That is not desired by you, the repository of purity, wishing to secure the welfare of people, whose enemies are uprooted by your own powers;

24. That (the effacing of the Vedic path) cannot possibly be Thy purpose, since Thou art the store of *Satva* and intent upon doing what is good to people, and hast rooted out the enemies by means of Thy powers (Kings). And Thou, the Lord of the universe, sufferest no diminution of glory by bowing to Brahmins for the (simple) purpose of protecting Dharma; on the other hand, it is but a Leela of Thine.

3.16.23.p3

tat te 'nabhīṣṭam iva sattva-nidher vidhitsoḥ $ kṣemaṃ janāya nija-śaktibhir uddhṛtāreḥ &

That is not desired by you, the repository of purity, wishing to secure the welfare of people, whose enemies are uprooted by your own powers;