Following the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mahārāja Priyavrata fully engaged in worldly affairs, yet he always thought of the lotus feet of the Lord, which are the cause of liberation from all material attachment. Although Priyavrata Mahārāja was completely freed from all material contamination, he ruled the material world just to honor the orders of his superiors.
Srimad Bhagavata Purana
श्रीमद्भागवतमहापुराणम्
मूल श्लोकः
इति ह वाव स जगतीपतिरीश्वरेच्छयाधिनिवेशित- कर्माधिकारोऽखिलजगद्बन्धध्वंसनपरानुभावस्य भगवत आदिपुरुषस्याङ्घ्रियुगलानवरतध्यानानुभावेन परिरन्धितकषायाशयोऽवदातोऽपि मानवर्धनो महतां महीतलमनुशशास
iti ha vāva sa jagatīpatirīśvarecchayādhiniveśita- karmādhikāro'khilajagadbandhadhvaṃsanaparānubhāvasya bhagavata ādipuruṣasyāṅghriyugalānavaratadhyānānubhāvena parirandhitakaṣāyāśayo'vadāto'pi mānavardhano mahatāṃ mahītalamanuśaśāsa
SB 5.1.23