The priests began to offer prayers to the Lord

The priests began to offer prayers to the Lord, saying: O most worshipable one, we are simply Your servants. Although You are full in Yourself, out of Your causeless mercy, please accept a little service from us, Your eternal servants. We are barely aware of Your transcendental form, but we can simply offer our respectful obeisance again and again, as instructed by the Vedic literatures and authorized ācāryas. Materialistic living entities are very much  attracted to the modes of material nature, and therefore they are never perfect. But You O Lord, are beyond the scope of all material conceptions. Your name, form and qualities are all transcendental and beyond the realm of experimental knowledge. Indeed, who can conceive Your glories? In the material world we can perceive only material names and qualities and therefore we have no power other than to offer our respectful obeisance and prayers unto You, the transcendental personality. The glorification of Your auspicious transcendental qualities will wipe out the sins of all mankind. That is the most auspicious activity for us, and we can thus partially understand Your supernatural position. O Supreme Lord, You are full in every respect. You are certainly very satisfied when Your devotees offer You prayers with faltering voices and in ecstasy bring You tulasi leaves, water, twigs bearing new leaves, and newly grown grass. This surely makes You satisfied.

We have begun Your worship with various paraphernelia and have offered sacrifices unto You, but we think that there is no need for so many pompous arrangements to please Your Lordship. All of life’s goals and opulence are directly, self-sufficiently, unceasingly and unlimitedly increasing in You at every moment. Indeed, You are unlimited enjoyment and blissful existence itself. As far as we are concerned, O Lord, we are always after material enjoyment. You do not need all these sacrificial arrangements, but they are meant for us so that we may be blessed by Your Lordship. All these sacrifices are performed for our fruitive results, and they are not actually needed by You.

tad yathā bāliśānāṁ svayam ātmanaḥ
śreyaḥ param aviduṣāṁ parama-paramapuruṣa
prakarṣa-karuṇayā sva-mahimānaṁ
cāpavargākhyam upakalpayiṣyan svayaṁ
nāpacita evetaravad ihopalakṣitaḥ.

O Lord of lords, we are completely ignorant of the execution of dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa, the process of liberation, because we do not actually know the goal of life. You have appeared personally before us like a person soliciting worship, but You are present here just so we can see You. Out of Your abundant and causeless mercy, You have come in order to serve our purpose, our interest, and give us the benefit of Your personal glory called apavarga,
liberation. You came, even though we have not properly worshiped You due to our ignorance. O most worshipable of all, You are the best of all benefactors, and Your appearance at saintly King Nabhi’s sacrificial arena is meant for our benediction. By being present before us, You have bestowed upon us the most valuable benediction. Dear Lord, all the great sages who are pensive and greatly pious incessantly recount Your spiritual qualities. These sages have already burned all the contamination in their hearts by the fire of knowledge, strengthened their detachment from the material world. Thus they have attained Your qualities and are self-satisfied. Yet even for those who feel spiritual bliss in chanting Your attributes, Your personal presence is very rare. Dear Lord, at the time of death we may not be able to remember Your name, form and qualities due to stumbling, hunger, falling down, yawning or being in a miserable diseased condition because of high fever. We therefore pray unto You, O Lord, for You are very affectionate to Your devotees. Please help us remember You and utter Your holy names, attributes and activities, which can dispel all the reactions of our sinful lives.

Dear Lord, here is the great King Nabhi, whose ultimate goal in life is to have a son like You. Your Lordship, his position is like that of a person approaching a very rich man and begging for a little grain. Maharaja Nabhi is so desirous of having a son that he is worshiping You, although You can offer him any exalted position, including elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation back to Godhead.

ko vā iha te ‘parājito ‘parājitayā māyayānavasitapadavyānāvṛta-
matir viṣaya-viṣa-rayānāvṛtaprakṛtir
anupāsita-mahac-caraṇaḥ.

Dear Lord, unless one worships the lotus feet of great devotees, one will be conquered by the illusory energy, and his intelligence will be bewildered. Indeed, who has not been carried away by the waves of material enjoyment, which are like poison? Your illusory energy is unconquerable. No one can see the path of this material energy or tell how it is working. O Lord, You perform many wonderful activities. Our only aim in performing this great sacrifice was to acquire a son; therefore our intelligence is not very sharp. We are not experienced in ascertaining life’s true goal. By inviting You to this negligible sacrifice for some material motive, we have certainly committed a great offense at Your lotus feet. Therefore, O Lord of lords, please excuse our offense by Your causeless mercy and equanimity of mind.

Sri Sukadeva Goswami said: The priests, who were worshiped even by King Nabhi, the Emperor of Bhārata-varṣa, offered prayers in prose – not poetry, and bowed down at the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord of lords, the ruler of the demigods, was very pleased with them, and He began to speak as follows.

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
aho batāham ṛṣayo bhavadbhir avitatha-gīrbhir
varam asulabham abhiyācito yad amuṣyātmajo
mayā sadṛśo bhūyād iti mamāham evābhirūpaḥ
kaivalyād athāpi brahma-vādo na mṛṣā bhavitum
arhati mamaiva hi mukhaṁ yad dvija-devakulam.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead replied: O great sages, I am certainly pleased with your prayers. You are all very truthful. You have prayed for the benediction of a son like Me for King Nabhi, but this is very difficult to obtain.
Since I am the Supreme Person without a second and since no one is equal to Me, it is not possible to find another personality like Me. Moreover, since you are all qualified brāhmaṇas, your words should not prove untrue. I consider the brāhmaṇas who are well qualified with brahminical qualities to be like My mouth.

tata āgnīdhrīye ‘ṁśa-kalayāvatariṣyāmy ātmatulyam
anupalabhamānaḥ.

Since I cannot find anyone equal to Me, I shall personally expand Myself into a plenary portion and appear in the womb of Merudevi, the wife of Maharaja Nabhi, the son of Agnidhra. Sukadeva Goswami continued: After saying
this, the Lord disappeared. The wife of King Nabhi, Queen Merudevi, was sitting by the side of her husband, and consequently she could hear everything the Supreme Lord had spoken. O Vishnudatta, Pariksit Maharaja, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was pleased by the great sages at that sacrifice. Thus the Lord decided to personally exhibit the method of executing religious principles and to also fulfill Maharaja Nabhi’s desire. For these reasons, He appeared as the son of Merudevi in His original spiritual form, which is above the modes of material nature.

—Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (BhāgavataPurāṇa) » Canto 5: The Creative Impetus » Chapter 2: The Activities of Maharaja Āgnīdhra(Summary) & Chapter 3: Ṛṣabhadeva’s Appearance in the Womb of Merudevī, the Wife of King Nābhi » Verses: 1-20.