Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Verses Spoken by Lord Brahmā - Cantos 10 and 11

This article presents a thematic survey of Lord Brahmā's prayers of surrender in Vṛndāvana and Dvārakā spoken in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Cantos 10 and 11. It organizes the quotes found in the Vaniquotes category Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Verses Spoken by Lord Brahmā.

Lord Brahmā is the first created being and the secondary creator of the universe. In these specific verses, he instructs the universe on the absolute supremacy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the futility of mental speculation, and the unparalleled, supreme fortune of the pure devotees residing in Vrajabhūmi.

Lord Brahmā is the 6th top speaker of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with 397 verses at Vanisource. He does not speak in the 1st and 12th cantos. He speaks in the 2nd (139 verses), 3rd (105 verses), 4th (26 verses), 5th (9 verses), 6th (5 verses), 7th (11 verses), 8th (43 verses), 9th (6 verses), 10th (43 verses), and 11th canto (10 verses).

The Bewilderment of Brahmā

Lord Brahmā, despite being the chief engineer of the universe, falls victim to the illusory energy when he attempts to test the supreme mystic potency of the little cowherd boy, Kṛṣṇa. This profound bewilderment teaches that no amount of material intelligence or exalted status can fathom the absolute nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Stolen Calves and Boys

Captivated by Kṛṣṇa's sweet childhood pastimes, Brahmā steals the calves and cowherd boys, placing them in mystic slumber. However, he is utterly astounded upon returning a year later to find Kṛṣṇa playing with the exact same companions, who are all actually flawless expansions of the Lord Himself.

"When Brahmā said, "Yes, let it be so," the most fortune Droṇa, who was equal to Bhagavān, appeared in Vrajapura, Vṛndāvana, as the most famous Nanda Mahārāja, and his wife, Dharā, appeared as mother Yaśodā."
"Lord Brahmā thought: Whatever boys and calves there were in Gokula, I have kept them sleeping on the bed of my mystic potency, and to this very day they have not yet risen again."
"A similar number of boys and calves have been playing with Kṛṣṇa for one whole year, yet they are different from the ones illusioned by my mystic potency. Who are they? Where did they come from?"

The Inconceivable Form of the Lord

Realizing his immense foolishness, Brahmā submissively offers his heartfelt prayers to the original Personality of Godhead, whose beautiful form is adorned with a peacock feather and guñjā earrings. He admits that this completely spiritual, bliss-giving form can never be understood by those whose minds are diverted by material affairs.

"Lord Brahmā said: My dear Lord, You are the only worshipable Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore I offer my humble obeisances and prayers just to please You. O son of the king of the cowherds, Your transcendental body is dark blue like a new cloud, Your garment is brilliant like lightning, and the beauty of Your face is enhanced by Your guñjā earrings and the peacock feather on Your head. Wearing garlands of various forest flowers and leaves, and equipped with a herding stick, a buffalo horn and a flute, You stand beautifully with a morsel of food in Your hand."
"My dear Lord, neither I nor anyone else can estimate the potency of this transcendental body of Yours, which has shown such mercy to me and which appears just to fulfill the desires of Your pure devotees. Although my mind is completely withdrawn from material affairs, I cannot understand Your personal form. How, then, could I possibly understand the happiness You experience within Yourself?"

The Supremacy of Devotional Service

Brahmā definitively rejects the dry, troublesome path of empiric philosophy and speculative knowledge, declaring it to be as useless as beating empty husks of wheat. He establishes that unalloyed devotional service, characterized by submissive hearing, is the only authorized process for self-realization.

Conquering the Unconquerable

The Supreme Lord is absolutely unconquerable by any mundane force or mental speculation within the three worlds. Yet, if one simply remains in their social position and submissively dedicates their life to hearing the Lord's glories from pure devotees, that same unconquerable Lord is easily conquered by love.

"Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds."
"My dear Lord, devotional service unto You is the best path for self-realization. If someone gives up that path and engages in the cultivation of speculative knowledge, he will simply undergo a troublesome process and will not achieve his desired result. As a person who beats an empty husk of wheat cannot get grain, one who simply speculates cannot achieve self-realization. His only gain is trouble."
"O almighty Lord, in the past many yogīs in this world achieved the platform of devotional service by offering all their endeavors unto You and faithfully carrying out their prescribed duties. Through such devotional service, perfected by the processes of hearing and chanting about You, they came to understand You, O infallible one, and could easily surrender to You and achieve Your supreme abode."
"Nondevotees, however, cannot realize You in Your full personal feature. Nevertheless, it may be possible for them to realize Your expansion as the impersonal Supreme by cultivating direct perception of the Self within the heart. But they can do this only by purifying their mind and senses of all conceptions of material distinctions and all attachment to material sense objects. Only in this way will Your impersonal feature manifest itself to them."

Begging Forgiveness for Impudence

Recognizing his insignificance as a tiny creature measuring only seven spans of his own hand, Brahmā humbly begs forgiveness for his audacious attempt to bewilder the master of illusion. He acknowledges that one who patiently endures the reactions of past misdeeds while earnestly waiting for the Lord's mercy becomes the rightful heir to liberation.

"In time, learned philosophers or scientists might be able to count all the atoms of the earth, the particles of snow, or perhaps even the shining molecules radiating from the sun, the stars and other luminaries. But among these learned men, who could possibly count the unlimited transcendental qualities possessed by You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have descended onto the surface of the earth for the benefit of all living entities?"
"My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim."
"My Lord, just see my uncivilized impudence! To test Your power I tried to extend my illusory potency to cover You, the unlimited and primeval Supersoul, who bewilder even the masters of illusion. What am I compared to You? I am just like a small spark in the presence of a great fire."
"Therefore, O infallible Lord, kindly excuse my offenses. I have taken birth in the mode of passion and am therefore simply foolish, presuming myself a controller independent of Your Lordship. My eyes are blinded by the darkness of ignorance, which causes me to think of myself as the unborn creator of the universe. But please consider that I am Your servant and therefore worthy of Your compassion."
"What am I, a small creature measuring seven spans of my own hand? I am enclosed in a potlike universe composed of material nature, the total material energy, false ego, ether, air, water and earth. And what is Your glory? Unlimited universes pass through the pores of Your body just as particles of dust pass through the openings of a screened window."
"O Lord Adhokṣaja, does a mother take offense when the child within her womb kicks with his legs? And is there anything in existence—whether designated by various philosophers as real or as unreal—that is actually outside Your abdomen?"

The Original Nārāyaṇa

Moving deeper into his realization, Brahmā glorifies Lord Kṛṣṇa as the original Nārāyaṇa, the primeval source of all expansions and the generating root of the cosmic waters. He confirms that the entire universal creation is sheltered comfortably within the transcendental abdomen of the little cowherd boy of Vṛndāvana.

The Source of All Universes

Brahmā marvels at the Lord's inconceivable energy, acknowledging that countless universes pass through the pores of His body like dust through a screen. He realizes that Kṛṣṇa is not a product of material nature, but the eternal witness and soul of all embodied beings, entirely distinct from His illusory māyā.

"My dear Lord, it is said that when the three planetary systems are merged into the water at the time of dissolution, Your plenary portion, Nārāyaṇa, lies down on the water, gradually a lotus flower grows from His navel, and Brahmā takes birth upon that lotus flower. Certainly, these words are not false. Thus am I not born from You?"
"Are You not the original Nārāyaṇa, O supreme controller, since You are the Soul of every embodied being and the eternal witness of all created realms? Indeed, Lord Nārāyaṇa is Your expansion, and He is called Nārāyaṇa because He is the generating source of the primeval water of the universe. He is real, not a product of Your illusory Māyā."
"My dear Lord, if Your transcendental body, which shelters the entire universe, is actually lying upon the water, then why were You not seen by me when I searched for You? And why, though I could not envision You properly within my heart, did You then suddenly reveal Yourself?"
"My dear Lord, in this incarnation You have proved that You are the supreme controller of Māyā. Although You are now within this universe, the whole universal creation is within Your transcendental body—a fact You demonstrated by exhibiting the universe within Your abdomen before Your mother, Yaśodā."
"Just as this entire universe, including You, was exhibited within Your abdomen, so it is now manifested here externally in the same exact form. How could such things happen unless arranged by Your inconceivable energy?"
"Have You not shown me today that both You Yourself and everything within this creation are manifestations of Your inconceivable potency? First You appeared alone, and then You manifested Yourself as all of Vṛndāvana's calves and cowherd boys, Your friends. Next You appeared as an equal number of four-handed Viṣṇu forms, who were worshiped by all living beings, including me, and after that You appeared as an equal number of complete universes. Finally, You have now returned to Your unlimited form as the Supreme Absolute Truth, one without a second."

The Master of Māyā

To the ignorant, the Lord appears to take material birth, but the saintly devotees understand that His descent is a divine display of His spiritual energy to annihilate the demons' false pride. Because the Lord is the endless, beginningless Absolute Truth, His transcendental pastimes remain entirely free from material contamination.

"To persons ignorant of Your actual transcendental position, You appear as part of the material world, manifesting Yourself by the expansion of Your inconceivable energy. Thus for the creation of the universe You appear as me (Brahmā), for its maintenance You appear as Yourself (Viṣṇu), and for its annihilation You appear as Lord Trinetra (Śiva)."
"O Lord, O supreme creator and master, You have no material birth, yet to defeat the false pride of the faithless demons and show mercy to Your saintly devotees, You take birth among the demigods, sages, human beings, animals and even the aquatics."
"O supreme great one! O Supreme Personality of Godhead! O Supersoul, master of all mystic power! Your pastimes are taking place continuously in these three worlds, but who can estimate where, how and when You are employing Your spiritual energy and performing these innumerable pastimes? No one can understand the mystery of how Your spiritual energy acts."
"Therefore this entire universe, which like a dream is by nature unreal, nevertheless appears real, and thus it covers one's consciousness and assails one with repeated miseries. This universe appears real because it is manifested by the potency of illusion emanating from You, whose unlimited transcendental forms are full of eternal happiness and knowledge."
"You are the one Supreme Soul, the primeval Supreme Personality, the Absolute Truth—self-manifested, endless and beginningless. You are eternal and infallible, perfect and complete, without any rival and free from all material designations. Your happiness can never be obstructed, nor have You any connection with material contamination. Indeed, You are the indestructible nectar of immortality."
"Those who have received the clear vision of knowledge from the sunlike spiritual master can see You in this way, as the very Soul of all souls, the Supersoul of everyone's own self. Thus understanding Your original personality, they are able to cross over the ocean of illusory material existence."

Dispelling Material Illusion

Brahmā masterfully explains the mechanics of material bondage, revealing that the conceptions of both entrapment and liberation are merely products of ignorance. When the pure spirit soul realizes its eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, all illusions instantly vanish, just as the fear of a snake subsides when one recognizes it is only a rope.

The Rope and the Snake

Foolish persons search for the Supreme Soul outside of Kṛṣṇa, wrongly identifying the temporary material body as the self. However, those favored by even a slight trace of the Lord's causeless mercy can easily cross the insurmountable ocean of nescience and recognize Kṛṣṇa as the Supersoul residing within their own hearts.

"A person who mistakes a rope for a snake becomes fearful, but he then gives up his fear upon realizing that the so-called snake does not exist. Similarly, for those who fail to recognize You as the Supreme Soul of all souls, the expansive illusory material existence arises, but knowledge of You at once causes it to subside."
"The conception of material bondage and the conception of liberation are both manifestations of ignorance. Being outside the scope of true knowledge, they cease to exist when one correctly understands that the pure spirit soul is distinct from matter and always fully conscious. At that time bondage and liberation no longer have any significance, just as day and night have no significance from the perspective of the sun."
"Just see the foolishness of those ignorant persons who consider You to be some separated manifestation of illusion and who consider the self, which is actually You, to be something else, the material body. Such fools conclude that the supreme soul is to be searched for somewhere outside Your supreme personality."
"O unlimited Lord, the saintly devotees seek You out within their own bodies by rejecting everything separate from You. Indeed, how can discriminating persons appreciate the real nature of a rope lying before them until they refute the illusion that it is a snake?"
"My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years."

The Unprecedented Fortune of Vṛndāvana

Overwhelmed by the unparalleled intimacy of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in Vraja, Brahmā prays for the ultimate benediction: to take any birth in Gokula, even as a humble blade of grass. He recognizes that the residents of Vṛndāvana have captured the Absolute Truth as their intimate friend, achieving a fortune unmatched by any demigod.

The Supreme Destination of Gokula

Brahmā marvels at how the Supreme Brahman, the source of all transcendental bliss, intimately drinks the breast-milk of the cowherd women and plays with the residents of Vrajabhūmi. Because these pure devotees have dedicated their homes, wealth, and very lives entirely to Kṛṣṇa, their glorious fortune remains utterly inconceivable to the cosmic administrators.

"My dear Lord, I therefore pray to be so fortunate that in this life as Lord Brahmā or in another life, wherever I take my birth, I may be counted as one of Your devotees. I pray that wherever I may be, even among the animal species, I can engage in devotional service to Your lotus feet."
"O almighty Lord, how greatly fortunate are the cows and ladies of Vṛndāvana, the nectar of whose breast-milk You have happily drunk to Your full satisfaction, taking the form of their calves and children! All the Vedic sacrifices performed from time immemorial up to the present day have not given You as much satisfaction."
"How greatly fortunate are Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend."
"Yet even though the extent of the good fortune of these residents of Vṛndāvana is inconceivable, we eleven presiding deities of the various senses, headed by Lord Śiva, are also most fortunate, because the senses of these devotees of Vṛndāvana are the cups through which we repeatedly drink the nectarean, intoxicating beverage of the honey of Your lotus feet."
"My greatest possible good fortune would be to take any birth whatever in this forest of Gokula and have my head bathed by the dust falling from the lotus feet of any of its residents. Their entire life and soul is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mukunda, the dust of whose lotus feet is still being searched for in the Vedic mantras."
"My mind becomes bewildered just trying to think of what reward other than You could be found anywhere. You are the embodiment of all benedictions, which You bestow upon these residents of the cowherd community of Vṛndāvana. You have already arranged to give Yourself to Pūtanā and her family members in exchange for her disguising herself as a devotee. So what is left for You to give these devotees of Vṛndāvana, whose homes, wealth, friends, dear relations, bodies, children and very lives and hearts are all dedicated only to You?"

The Final Offering of the Universe

Concluding his majestic prayers, Brahmā realizes that until a person becomes a pure devotee, their material attachments remain like thieves and their homes like prisons. Submitting the entire universe at Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, he begs permission to leave, eternally offering his obeisances to the Lord who dispels the dense darkness of irreligion.

"My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, until people become Your devotees, their material attachments and desires remain thieves, their homes remain prisons, and their affectionate feelings for their family members remain foot-shackles."
"My dear master, although You have nothing to do with material existence, You come to this earth and imitate material life just to expand the varieties of ecstatic enjoyment for Your surrendered devotees."
"There are people who say, "I know everything about Kṛṣṇa." Let them think that way. As far as I am concerned, I do not wish to speak very much about this matter. O my Lord, let me say this much: As far as Your opulences are concerned, they are all beyond the reach of my mind, body and words."
"My dear Kṛṣṇa, I now humbly request permission to leave. Actually, You are the knower and seer of all things. Indeed, You are the Lord of all the universes, and yet I offer this one universe unto You."
"My dear Śrī Kṛṣṇa, You bestow happiness upon the lotuslike Vṛṣṇi dynasty and expand the great oceans consisting of the earth, the demigods, the brāhmaṇas and the cows. You dispel the dense darkness of irreligion and oppose the demons who have appeared on this earth. O Supreme Personality of Godhead, as long as this universe exists and as long as the sun shines, I will offer my obeisances unto You."

The Demigods Petition the Lord in Dvārakā

Shifting to the Eleventh Canto, Lord Brahmā leads all the principal demigods to the magnificent city of Dvārakā as the Lord's earthly pastimes draw to a close. Recognizing that Kṛṣṇa has perfectly executed His mission of relieving the earth's burden, the demigods approach Him with deep reverence and submission.

The Conclusion of Earthly Pastimes

Brahmā acknowledges that by descending into the Yadu dynasty, the Lord has brilliantly reestablished the principles of religion and captivated the entire universe with His transcendental form. Because hearing about these magnanimous activities destroys all contamination, anyone who glorifies them in the dark age of Kali easily crosses over material existence.

"The powerful Lord Indra, along with the Maruts, Adityas, Vasus, Aśvinīs, Ṛbhus, Aṅgirās, Rudras, Viśvedevas, Sādhyas, Gandharvas, Apsarās, Nāgas, Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Guhyakas, the great sages and forefathers and the Vidyādharas and Kinnaras, arrived at the city of Dvārakā, hoping to see Lord Kṛṣṇa. By His transcendental form, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, enchanted all human beings and spread His own fame throughout the worlds. The Lord's glories destroy all contamination within the universe."
"Lord Brahmā said: My dear Lord, previously we requested You to remove the burden of the earth. O unlimited Personality of Godhead, that request has certainly been fulfilled."
"My Lord, You have reestablished the principles of religion among pious men who are always firmly bound to the truth. You have also distributed Your glories all over the world, and thus the whole world can be purified by hearing about You."
"Descending into the dynasty of King Yadu, You have manifested Your unique transcendental form, and for the benefit of the entire universe You have executed magnanimous transcendental activities."

The Request to Return to the Spiritual World

Noting that one hundred and twenty-five autumns have passed, Brahmā submissively informs the Lord that His cosmic duty on behalf of the demigods is complete. He humbly begs the Supreme Personality of Godhead to return to His own spiritual abode, while continuing to shower His constant, infallible protection upon the universal managers.

"My dear Lord, those pious and saintly persons who in the age of Kali hear about Your transcendental activities and also glorify them will easily cross over the darkness of the age."
"O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O my Lord, You have descended into the Yadu dynasty, and thus You have spent one hundred twenty-five autumns with Your devotees."
"My dear Lord, there is nothing remaining at this time for Your Lordship to do on behalf of the demigods. You have already withdrawn Your dynasty by the curse of the brāhmaṇas. O Lord, You are the basis of everything, and if You so desire, kindly return now to Your own abode in the spiritual world. At the same time, we humbly beg that You always protect us. We are Your humble servants, and on Your behalf we are managing the universal situation. We, along with our planets and followers, require Your constant protection."

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

This article is a thematic compilation of the teachings presented in the Vaniquotes category Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Lord Brahma. We invite you to visit the link to read the complete collection of verses presented in alphabetical order.