Chapter 14 - God Brahmā eulogizes Kṛṣṇa

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Brahmā said:

1. I submit my eulogium unto you, Oh praiseworthy Lord (in the form of) the child of the cowherd Nanda—The Lord whose personality is dark-blue like a rainy cloud, in complexion; (who is) clad in silken garments refulgent like lightning; whose sublimely charming face appears glorious with ornaments of Guñjā seeds and a crest of peacock feathers; (who is) adorned with wreaths of sylvain foliage and flowers; whose splendid beauty is enhanced with a morsel of food (in the left hand), a cane and a horn (under left arm-pit) and flute and other emblems and whose feet are soft and tender.

2. Even though I am (god) Brahmā (the creator of the world), I am not really competent to comprehend even with my mind concentrated (inwardly) this corporeal form of yours which you have revealed to me for showering your Grace on me^[1]—a form you assumed at your sweet will (or as desired by your devotees) but is not composed of elements^[2] (gross or subtle). Much less can I comprehend directly you who (being transcendental to guṇas) are absolute bliss of The Self.^[3]

3. Oh Lord! Unconquerable as you are in the three worlds, you appear conquered by those (devotees) who giving up all efforts in attaining knowledge, lead their life reverentially paying their respects with their body, speech and mind, to your stories (spontaneously recounted by the righteous), as they come to their ears without leaving their homes (but by remaining in the company of those pious devotees). (What is the propriety in exerting for knowledge?)

4.^[4] Nothing else but sheer exertions only like those who engage themselves in pounding merely the outer husk of grains (which contains no grains and as such yield no food-grains at all by this labour of pounding), is the resultant lot of those who, neglecting the path of devotion which is the fountain head of all blessings in the form of material prosperity here 'and liberation from Saṃsāra hereafter, undergo troubles to attain mere knowledge only, Oh Omnipresent Lord!

5. Oh Infinite Lord! In days of old, in this (very) world, a number of yogins (who failed to attain spiritual wisdom by the path of yoga) dedicated all their desires and activities unto you, and obtained the knowledge of their self only through Devotion awakened in them by the resignation of their activities and desires (to you), and by virtue of listening to your stories, and thus they easily attained to your Supreme Nature (Godhead), Oh Acyuta.

6. It is, however, possible, Oh Almighty Lord, to comprehend your glory properly by the pure-souled ones (who have thoroughly controlled their senses) through their personal realization of the self, who is above modifications and transcends all forms, for it is self-illuminating (and as such is beyond objective perception in ‘this—that relation’) and not by any other way.

7. Has anyone ever been able even to calculate (and estimate) your attributes when you are verily their actual support and controller—especially when you have, incarnated for the well-being of the universe by manifesting innumerable qualities? Nobody, even if he be so exceptionally competent and clever as to count minutely all the particles of the (dust on the) earth, or the dew-drops in the sky, or the luminous particles in the rays of the sun, in a span of many births.^[5]

8. He who, eagerly and anxiously waiting for your compassion and grace, experiences (in a detached manner), the fruits of his (past) actions and leads a life of complete reverential submission unto you, in thought word and deed, becomes a partner in the State of Liberation^[6] (as if it is his ancestral property).

9. Oh Almighty Lord! Look at this wicked foolhardiness of mine. Extremely insignificant as I am (before you of whom I am born) like a flame of fire emanating from (the universe consuming) conflagration, I, with a view to see the exhibition of my magnificent grandeur, tried to cover (delude) even you with my māyā when you are the Infinite, Eternal, Supreme Self, the Deluder of the deluders.

10. Hence, Oh Imperishable Lord, be pleased to forgive me who am born of rajas and therefore steeped in ignorance. Under the false notion that I am the real Supreme Ruler independent of you, I became blind by my arrogant ignorance of being the real birthless creator of the universe. Therefore this person (I, Brahmā) may please be regarded as deserving your grace (pity) as he (I) has a protector in you.

11. What am I after all, but an insignificant being invested with a body of seven spans (according to my humble measure), and confined in a momentary perishable small potlike egg called the world, covered with the sheaths of tamas i.e. Prakṛti (Primordial matter), mahat (cosmic intelligence), ahaṃkāra (cosmic ego), elements like the ether, air, fire, water and earth? How infinitely great is your glory?^[7] The pores (of the skin) of whose body are like ventilators through which innumerable egg-like universes (each as big as mine) flow in and out like atoms. How can I stand any comparison with you? (Being extremely insignificant, compassion may kindly be shown to me of your own accord (Sanātana Gosvāmī’s Bṛhat Toṣaṇī).

12. Oh Lord, transcendental to sense perception!¹ Does the raising of feet by the foetus become an offence against the mother? (No. On the contrary the mother is happy to feel that the child in her is alive and kicking. Hence whatever has been committed by me, does not constitute an offence). Is there anything described as being existent or non-existent outside your bowels?^[8] (It behoves you to forgive all my offences with a motherly affection, as you have announced yourself (in Bhagavad Gītā 9.17) to be the father, mother and protector of the universe).

13. The traditional scriptural statement that Brahmā, the unborn god, was verily born of (lit. sprang from) the stalk of the lotus forming the umbilical cord of the navel of Nārāyaṇa lying on the cosmic waters of the deluge, caused by commingling all the seas, at the end of the three worlds, is not false. Am I not thus born of you Oh Lord?

14. [see notes] Are you not Nārāyaṇa? Yes, you are Nārāyaṇa inasmuch as you are the soul of all embodied creatures, who thus form your dwelling place (and nāra means the aggregate of living beings). You are Nārāyaṇa as you are the Lord who preside over and promote life in all beings, and being the witness to the entire universe, you alone know them all. You are the Nārāyaṇa—the Deity that abide in (and thus are the basis) of all the twenty-four principles evolved out of Nara, as well as waters—your abode for reposing, which is the evolute of Nara who is also your part. Even your reposing on water is also not true, but your māyā, as your form is indiscernible.

15. (Your form is beyond accurate determination or ascertainment, for) If your form which is the basic support of the world, reposed on cosmic waters in reality, how is it that I could not see it at that time when I tried for one hundred years to explore through the lotus-stalk out of which I came, (the source of my birth), Oh Lord of inconceivable power. Or why was it that it became clearly visible to me in my heart when I performed severe penance and why was it that it instantly disappeared.^[9]

16. It is here only in this your incarnation (as Kṛṣṇa) that you have clearly demonstrated the illusory nature of this entire external universe to your mother, by manifesting it completely in your abdomen, Oh dispeller of Māyā.

17. Just as this entire universe including yourself appears present in your bowels, it is also manifested the same way even outside your bowels. Is this (double manifestation) possible except through your deluding potency.

18. Has not the illusive nature of this universe with the exception, of your own self, been demonstrated to me by you even today?—At first (before I stole away the calves and the cowherd boys from Vraja) you were one. Then you assumed the forms of all your friends and calves from Vraja. You then revealed yourself in as many four-armed forms which were Worshipped by all as well as by me. Then you became as many universes. You still remain the sole same Infinite Brahman without any second.^[10]

19. To persons who are ignorant of your real nature,^[11] you, the all-pervading Lord abide in Prakṛti and you spread your Māyā at your free will, and appear (though one as many) as if you are myself (i.e. god Brahmā) at the creation of the Universe, as yourself i.e. Viṣṇu for its protection, and as the three-eyed god Śiva, at the time of the dissolution of the universe.

20. Oh Creator and Controller of the Universe! Unborn as you are, you incarnate among gods (e.g. Vāmana), sages (e.g. Vyāsa), as well as among men (e.g. Rāma and Kṛṣṇa), sub-human beings (e.g. beasts as in the Boar incarnation) and acquatic animals (the Fish and Tortoise incarnations) for subduing the pride of the wicked, and showering grace on the righteous and saintly people^[12], Oh Lord!

21. Oh Supreme Lord! The receptacle of infinite powers (like knowledge, power, energy etc.)! The In-dweller in the hearts of all! Who knows (or is capable of knowing) the nature, time, place, extent of your sportive acts in which, you indulge, after spreading out (exhibiting) your Yogic (deluding) Potency, in these three worlds, Oh Master of Yoga.

22. Hence, though this entire world which is of unreal nature like dream-experience, devoid of intelligence and full of endless, innumerable miseries, appears and disappears in You who are infinite, eternal bliss and knowledge incarnate, and through Māyā it seems to be real and possessing your characteristics.

23. You are the only one Self (ātman) abiding in the bodies of living beings, the ancient-most, real, self-refulgent, infinite, first and foremost, eternal, imperishable person of unobstructed blissfulness, untainted (by any blemish or Māyā), perfect, without any second, free from limitations and immortal.

24. Those who, through correct upaniṣadic mystic vision obtained from the sun-like spiritual preceptors, properly comprehend you as being of the above description, as the selfabiding in all beings, and as their own soul, easily cross this ocean of Saṃsāra (metem-psychosis) which is (as a matter of fact) unreal.

25. In the case of those who do not comprehend the ātman (The Self) in its essential nature, the entire world or Samsāra is created due to this lack of understanding. But through realization and enlightenment (about his nature) the saṃsāra disappears again, as the appearance and disappearance of the body of a serpent (super-imposed through ignorance) on a rope (does before and after realization of the real nature of the rope).

26. The bondage of saṃsārā and Liberation from it, are terms which, as a matter of fact, are instituted through ignorance. They are not separate entities distinct from the reality characterised by truth and knowledge. When considered against the background of the absolute transcendental Paramātṃan of eternal consciousness, they cease to have separate existence, as do the day and night in the (sphere of the) sun.

27. How pitiable is the ignorance of these ignorant people that they consider you, their real self, as other (different from themselves), and their body as their very self. And thus they think that their real self is to be searched for outside in external objects.

28. Oh Infinite Lord! Righteous people really seek you within the body (which is composed of matter and the spirit), by discarding that which is ‘Not-that’ (non-self). Can pious men of accurate judgement arrive at that correct conclusion, that the rope lying near (which was mistaken for a serpent) is certainly a rope, unless they have negated the wrong super- imposition of a serpent over that rope (through ignorance).

29. It is, however, he (your devotee) who is blest with the slightest grace of the pair of your lotus-like feet, who understands the real nature of the glory and power of the Lord, and not a person who is searching for it for a long time (but has not been favoured with your Grace), Oh Lord!

30. Oh Protector (of the universe)! May I be blessed with that great luck, whereby in this very life (of Brahmā) or in any other birth, even in sub-human beings, I shall be one of your devotees, and serve your foliage-like tender feet?

31. Oh! How highly blessed are the cows and women of Vraja, the nectarine milk from whose udders and breasts is sucked with extreme delight (and satisfaction) by you in the form of calves and (cowherd) boys, Oh! Omnipresent Lord, to whom even sacred sacrifices have not been able to give gratification (to that extent) even till today.

32. How surprisingly admirable (and enviable) is the good luck of Nanda and the cowherds of Vraja, that they have a friend in you, the eternal perfect Brahman, the embodiment of the highest bliss.

33. (As it is simply beyond the capacity of anyone to describe it) let the greatness of the fortune of these cowherds be kept aside for the time. being. But we eleven^[13]-god Śiva and others (the presiding deities of sense-organs) are exceptionally fortunate, for, through the cups in the form of the sense-organs (of these cowherds), we constantly drink the exhilarating and inebriating sweet nectar-like honey of your lotus-feet, (How much more blessed are the cowherds of Vraja who can enjoy your personal charms through all their senses, if our single organ medium is so enchanting!).

34. It will be an exceedingly high fortune to be born in any species (even as humble grass) here, in this forest (of Vṛndāvana), especially in Gokula, where one may have the (good luck) of bathing (from head to foot, all over the body) in the dust of the feet of any one (of the devoted inhabitants) from Gokula; for their entire life is the Lord Mukunda Himself, the dust of whose feet is still sought after by the Vedas.

35. As Pūtanā merely through her assumption of the guise of the good (pretending motherly affection to you) was brought to your region along with the members of her family, our mind is baffled in trying to guess what fruit other than yourself, the highest possible reward in the world, you can confer on these residents of Vraja whose homes, wealth, friends, beloved relatives, their selves, sons, life and mind are completely dedicated to you (and are meant for you), Oh Lord.

36. Oh Lord Kṛṣṇa! So long as people do not become yours (your votaries), passions like desire, hatred etc. act as thieves (to deprive them of their merits or spiritual wealth) and the house serves as a prison and infatuation works as fetters.

37. Oh Lord! Even though you are transcendental to the world and as such have nothing to do with the worldly life, you play your role in this (worldly) life for enhancing the rapturous joy of people who have submitted to you for resort.

38. I have nothing to say about those who (pose that they) know you. Let them. (In fact, they are deluded in thinking that way). But as far as I am concerned, your glory is beyond the ken of my mind, body (senses) and speech.

39. Oh Kṛṣṇa! Be pleased to grant me leave (to depart). You know everything, Oh Omniscient Lord. You are the protector of the world. This world and this person (both of which I wrongly regarded as mine) are now offered to you.

40. My respectful obeisance to the end of this Kalpa (the duration of my life) to you, Oh Lord Kṛṣṇa who cause delight to the lotus (in the form) of Vṛṣṇi clan, who bring flowtide to the sea in the form (i.e. enhance the prosperity) of the earth, gods, Brāhmaṇas and the cows; the dispeller of the darkness of the pseudo-religious hypocrites, the destroyer of the demons on the earth and adorable to gods (right) from the sun.

Śrī Śuka said:

41.^[14] After offering his hymn in praise of the Supreme Lord in this way, god Brahmā (the creator of the Universe) circumambulated him thrice (out of respect), and bowing down to his feet, he returned to his region which is adorable to and desired by all.

42. The Lord granted permission to god Brahmā who was born of him (and was therefore, pardoned his audacity to test the Lord). He brought back the (original) calves to the sandy bank of his choice (for the common dinner with the cowherd boys in that picnic) where his companions were (already waiting) as before.

43. Though the children were separated from Kṛṣṇa, the very lord of their life, for one complete year, they thought it to be only half a moment due to the effect of the illusive power of Kṛṣṇa, Oh king.

44. What do they not forget in this world when the mind is infatuated with the Māyā Potency of the Lord? The whole world under its deluding influence often forgets itself.

45. His companions greeted Kṛṣṇa, “Welcome for your speedy return. Not a single morsel has been eaten by us (during your absence). Have a hearty meal.”

46. Laughing (loudly at the welcome) Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of sense organs, had his meal with the cowherd boys. He showed them the skin of the boa-constrictor, and returned to Vraja from the forest.

47. With person attractively decorated with peacock feathers, flowers and variegated mineral colours aṇd exultant at the fanfare of the transporting sounds of flutes whistles of leaves and horns that were loudly blown, and shouting at the calves while tending them, Kṛṣṇa whose looks brought delight to the eyes of the cowherd women,^[15] entered Vraja, while his companions singing his hallowing glory, followed him.

48. The children sang in Vraja: “By this child, the delight of Yośodā, a big serpent was killed today and we were saved from it”.

King Parīkṣit enquired:

49. Oh Brahman sage! Be pleased to explain to me how was this unbounded abundance of love which was never before exhibited (by the inhabitants of Vraja) even to the children born to them, was possible in the case of Kṛṣṇa who was born of another.^[16]

Śrī Śuka explained:

50.^[17] Oh King! One’s own self (ātman)^[18] is the most beloved to all created beings. Others such as children, wealth etc. are dear, because they are beloved to the self.

51.^[19] One does not cherish that much love to one’s progeny, wealth, house etc. which (being dependent on their feeling of mine-ness) is called their own, as one has for one’s body (which is identified with the self), by all embodied beings, Oh Great King.

52. To persons who believe in the identity of the body and the (indwelling) Soul, their own body is the dearest to them and not so much the children etc. which come after it (or are connected with it), Oh best of Kṣattriyas.

53. (If, instead of believing in the one-ness of the body with the soul) this body shares the feeling of ‘mine-ness’ (is regarded as different from the soul yet ‘mine’) it would not be so intensely loved as the soul itself. For when this body is being worn out, the desire to live grows stronger.^[20]

54. Hence one’s own self is the most beloved to all embodied beings. It is for the sake of the Self that all this world mobile and immobile, exists.

55. Do you know that this Kṛṣṇa is the soul of all embodied beings. It is for the good of the world that he, through his Māyā power, appears to have assumed a corporal form.

56. To those who know the Reality, everything mobile and immobile in this world, is Kṛṣṇa.^[21] Everything is the manifestation of the the Almighty Lord and there is nothing else (than he).

57. Of all things that exist, their essence lies in their cause and Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate cause of all these causes. Hence, tell me if there is anything apart from him.

58. To those who resort to the boat in the form of the foliage like tender feet of Kṛṣṇa, (the slayer of demon Mura) of hallowing reputation—the final abode of the great (sages) (saints etc.)—the ocean of saṃsāra is as shallow as the footprint of a calf. They attain to the highest region (vaikuṇṭha) from which they never revert to the Saṃsāra, the region of miseries.

59. Whatever I have been asked by you here as to show what was done by Hari in his stage as a child was proclaimed broadcast in his boyhood, has been completely narrated to you.

60. By listening to or by glorifying how Lord Kṛṣṇa (The Slayer of demon Mura) played with his chums, his slaying of the demon Agha, his repast on the meadow, his assumption of non-phenomenal forms and the sublime hymn of praise sung by god Brahmā, a person attains everything that he desires.

61. In this way, they both (Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma) passed their childhood at Vraja, in child-like sports such as hide-and-seek, playful construction of dams, jumping like monkey (from one branch of a tree to another).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

SS. It is impossible for me to comprehend any form you assume in your incarnations, and the greatness of your attributes, unless you, who are the absolute truth, bliss and consciousness condescend to enable me to do so, out of grace.

[2]:

ŚN. (Śrīnivāsa-Sūri)—A follower of Rāmānuja:—The personality of the Supreme Self (God) is never composed of elements:

na bhūta-saṅgha-saṃsthāno dehosya paramātmanaḥ / quotes Śrīnivāsa-Sūri (ŚN).

It is through His Grace that His all-pervading sentient-cum- nonsentient personality can be grasped with pure mind.

[3]:

Subodhinī and Bālaprabodhini.: Eulogy is the description of greatness. But even though you, out of grace unto me, have assumed this form, it is impossible for me to comprehend even this, with all the capacity of pure mind concentrated within. Need it be told that it is impossible for me to comprehend the greatness of your self of absolute existence, consciousness and bliss.

[4]:

(i) SS., Bhāgavata Candrikā., SN. The pursuit of the Self by following the path of knowledge (brushing aside the path of devotion) results in nothing but more afflictions as stated in Bhagavad Gītā 12.5:

kleśo'dhika-t?ras teṣām avyaktāṣakta-cetasām /

(ii) Subodhinī.: Bhakti (Devotion) is like the Wish-yielding-gem (Cintāmaṇi). It confers knowledge of the self as well. But mere pursuit of self- knowledge is sheer affliction and does not bear any fruit (Kleśayuktaḥ, na tu phalayuktaḥ). It does not yield secondary or unessential fruit or even incidental (prāsaṅgika) fruit.

(iii) KD. interprets bhakti (devotion) as abheda bhakti (in which the distinction between the devotee and God disappears). Bhakti itself is the essential knowledge (Bhakti t?ci mukhya Jñāna), and people reached nirvāṇa (Liberation) through bhakti only (14.4.31-89)

[5]:

Cf. yo vā anantasya guṇān anantān /
anu-kramiṣyan sa tu bāla-buddhiḥ //
rajāṃsi bhūmer gaṇayet kathañcit /
kālena naivākhila-śakti-dhāmnaḥ //

KD—Sukalpa—Span of life extending over innumerable births. 14.7.264

[6]:

J.G.B. (Kramasandarbha’s Bṛhatkrama-sandarbha):

Become an attendant (pārṣada) of Viṣṇu in this very life.

[7]:

Adhokṣaja: As I owe all the power of my senses etc. to you, no act committed by me be taken as an offence—VT.

[8]:

All the sentient and non-sentient universe born of you and ultimately is being absorbed in you, is insignificant like an atom and is within you—SS.

[9]:

Subodhinī: As I am your son the parental relation requires mutual sights. How is it that I could not see you often?

[10]:

V.B. In the ultimate analysis nothing but Brahman without a second remains and nothing else.

SG. The forms of calves and cowherd boys assumed by you were not illusory. Although whatever forms you manifested were discernible as separate, you are the second-less Brahman who baffle (all attempts at) discernment. What remains is your own self, the Brahman characterised by Truth, Knowledge, infinite Bliss.

[11]:

Kramasandarbha.—Those who do not comprehend your greatness call this all as Māyā and not the working of your yogic power which is indescribable. The process of creation, protection or destruction of the world or assumption of the forms of calves and cowherds is not jugglery or Māyā, but your real sport at your free will.

Padavī—The path of devotion (SG., VC.) and anātmani—‘In the body.’

[12]:

pari-trāṇāya sādhūnām vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām /
dharma-saṃsthāpanārihāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge //
  —Bhagavad Gītā4.8

[13]:

Bhāvāratha Dīpikā gives the following list of organs presided over by deities. The mind (the moon god), buddhi—intellect (Brahmā), ahaṃkāra—ego (Śiva), the auditory sense (dig-devatā—deities presiding over the cardinal points), the tactile sense (Vāyu—the wind god), the sight (the sun gods) the sense of taste (Varuṇa—the Lord of waters), the olfactory sense (Aśvinī Kumāras), organ of speech (Agni—the fire god), hands (Indra), feet (Upendra). The organs of excretion and urination seem to have been excluded in the Bhāgavata verse and the inclusion of god Brahmā and Śiva are substituted to make up the number eleven.

[14]:

VT. notes that Kṛṣṇa by his silence, refused god Brahmā’s request to stay in his vicinity and indicated that one must execute one’s prescribed duties during the tenure of his office—

yāvad adhikāram avasthitir adhikāriṇām

[15]:

SG., as an alternate explanation, introduces Rādhā here, yad vā śrī-kṛṣṇaika-priyāyā bhagavatyāḥ śrī rādhādevyāḥ tan netrāṇām eva viśeṣatas taddarśanotsavasiddheḥ /

[16]:

vide Supra 13.26.

[17]:

For vv. 50-54 cf.—
na vā are patyuḥ kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavati /
ātmanas tu kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavati/ etc.
  —Bṛhad. Upa. 2.4.5.

[18]:

Bhāgavata Candrikā ātman=The Supreme Self.

[19]:

Subodhinī. The feeling of love for one’s own body, due to the ‘I’ness attributed to it by these who identify the body with the soul, is stronger than that (which one feels) for one’s progeny or wealth with which ‘mine- ness’ is associated.

[20]:

SG. and VT. read: jīvitāśā abalīyasī: The desire to live is not so strong as the person’s ego is eliminated through discriminatory (philosophical) thinking.

[21]:

SS. quotes tad-ananyatvam-ārambhaṇa-śabdādibhyaḥ BR. S.2.1.15) (0.14 according to Śaṅkara) in support of Kṛṣṇa’s person comprising everything sentient and non-sentient in the universe.

Also cf. Infra 11.2.41.