Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.8.7

āmantrya pāṇḍu-putrāḿś ca

śaineyoddhava-saḿyutaḥ

dvaipāyanādibhir vipraiḥ

pūjitaiḥ pratipūjitaḥ

SYNONYMS

āmantrya — inviting; pāṇḍu-putrān — all the sons of Pāṇḍu; ca — also; śaineya — Sātyaki; uddhava — Uddhava; saḿyutaḥ — accompanied; dvaipāyana-ādibhiḥ — by the ṛṣis like Vedavyāsa; vipraiḥ — by the brāhmaṇas; pūjitaiḥ — being worshiped; pratipūjitaḥ — the Lord also reciprocated equally.

TRANSLATION

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa then prepared for His departure. He invited the sons of Pāṇḍu, after having been worshiped by the brāhmaṇas, headed by Śrīla Vyāsadeva. The Lord also reciprocated greetings.

PURPORT

Apparently Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was a kṣatriya and was not worshipable by the brāhmaṇas. But the brāhmaṇas present there, headed by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, all knew Him to be the Personality of Godhead, and therefore they worshiped Him. The Lord reciprocated the greetings just to honor the social order that a kṣatriya is obedient to the orders of the brāhmaṇas. Although Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was always offered the respects due the Supreme Lord from all responsible quarters, the Lord never deviated from the customary usages between the four orders of society. The Lord purposely observed all these social customs so that others would follow Him in the future.