Brahma Steals the Cowherd Boys and Calves

This is natural for those who are sara bhrt, who take topics of Krsna as their goal, the center of their words, hearing and thoughts, because they have at ever moment an astonishing thirst for the names form and qualities of Acyuta. As a lusty man is attracted to topics about women, the sarabhrt is attracted to topics of the Lord.

5 Here is a glorification of a suitable place for a picnic. There was a place which was wide enough for a large number of people to sit down and eat. It had soft clean sand, suitable for sitting on. It had pools full of blossoming lotuses, whose fragrance attracted bees and birds. In the Yamuna water various sounds arose, echoing in the trees which stood there giving shade.

The sun has risen up high in the sky (diva ruddham) .

Sadvale means “in a field full of green grass.” They confined the calves to the green fields. This means they were led to the fields but because of greed for that grass, they would not go anywhere else.

Here is a description of the arrangement for eating. The boys sat in lines on all sides of Krsna. The boys sat facing him (abhyanana). Because out of love they all wanted to face Krsna, by his sarva sankalpata sakti it was achieved, and Krnsa’s face and limbs appeared in all directions at once. Thus each boy thought, “I am sitting on the nearest row facing Krsna. Others are sitting at a distance, with their backs or sides to Krsna.” This illustrates the vedic verse : sarvatah panipadam tat sarvto ‘ksiromukha” (Everywhere are his hands and feet eyes and head mouth and ears.) Saha upavista means they sat with no spaces between them. They sat in rows around Krsna like lotus petals surrounding the center of the flower.

For fun, each boy made his plate out of a different material, such as flowers, or leaves.

10 Tasting a little of the different items brought from their houses, the boys would then call out to their friends. “O friend, Krsna, Sridama, Subala, see how tasty my bara is!” Saying this they would take from their plates and make Krsna and the others eat. This is the meaning rucim darsyantah. Stuffing some jasmine flower in the bada while no one was looking, a boy would say, “O friends, please taste these nice badas!” Believing his statement, they would take his food and eat it. When they started making faces because of the bitterness, the giver would laugh and make the receiver laugh. “Ca” indicates that the giver would get playfully beaten and run away.

This verse describes the outstanding qualities of Krsna and his friends eating. Krsna had his flute tucked in his cloth at the waist at the right side. On the left side were tucked his horn and stick. In his left hand was a big lump of curd rice. And in between his fingers he held small pieces of things like lemon and amla pickles for spreading on it. Or the words can mean that he held small lumps of rice in his right hand, taking from the left hand small amounts into the right hand in order to eat. Sitting in a circle facing Krsna, they all chattered as they ate. “O bee, why are you flying near my face? Go to Madhumangala in front of you and get a drink.” “O friend, do you want the bee to bite me? Are you not afraid of killing a brahmana?” “ Look at that band of wild monkeys! Though you are hungry and alert, the boys are eating peacefully. Approach so they don’t see you and eat their food.” His sarva kalpa sakti and lila sakti then fulfilled this wish. “ O Lord! If you want some obstacle during this lunch for some amusement, then we will go and bring Brahma.” While the inhabitants of svarga loka were watching in amazement, Krsna, the enjoyer of the offering of ghee purified by mantra and offered in sacrifice (yajna bhuk), absorbed in playing with his friends--scolding, praising, giving and taking half eaten food (balakeli)-- ate his lunch.

Seeing the fear in the boys, Krsna, who gives fear to fear (asya bhibhayam) , said in affection, “O friends, do not interrupt your eating (asanat). I alone will bring back all the calves.”

Holding a lump of curd rice in his hand (sapani kavala) he went off, in order to eat a little while he was looking for the calves.

Brahma is addressed as “ambhojanma jani”, who is born from the lotus. This indicates that Brahma, though a living being, has a material birth. The hint is here given that he was so covered by material energy that he wanted to test Krsna , who is the very source of maha maya. One should not claim that Brahma’s power of illusion could actually exert influence over all knowledgeable Krsna and his dear cowherd boys, because a later verse says “vatsan pulinam aninya…” (as before Krsna took the calves to the river bank). Putana’s bewildering Krsna and Yasoda was permitted by the lila sakti for production of pastimes producing vismaya rasa (astonishment). That bewildering could never be done by her. By Brahma’s power of illusion the boys were put to sleep, but this was allowed for the production of pastimes. Thus they were put to sleep by Krsna’s yogamaya potency. This can be understood from the later statement: Krsna maya hatatmanam (the cowherd boys were bewildered by Krsna’s maya).

One should not claim that after being bewildered by Krsna the boys were taken somewhere else by Brahma, because Brahma later said, “ These boys are not sleeping by my maya. Where did they come from?” And Sukadeva says after this that Brahma could not understand which boys were produced by Krsna and which were created by the external energy. Sukadeva would not describe the real cowherd boys as being created by the external energy. It is proper to stay that Brahma had stolen some other forms of boys created by the external energy.

After seeing the killing of Aghasura, Brahma wanted to see more of Krsna’s powers, and therefore came to this spot (tad antargatah). Brahma then took the cowherd boys and calves from the bank of the Yamuna elsewhere (itah) and hid them and then disappeared. The calves and boys whom Brahma stole were created by maya. Since that maya arises from the Lord’s maya, one could say that everything was under the Lord’s maya. Bewildered by the Lord’s energy, Brahma stole the calves and boys created by maya in order to see Krsna’s powers. “When I steal the boys and calves will Krsna show some power, some wonderful pastimes? Will he look and find the cows by himself or come to me and pray to get them back? Or will he not be able to understand anything?” Such thoughts were not possible except if Brahma were bewildered by the Lord’s energy. Thus When Brahma desired to steal the boys and calves, yogamaya hide the real boys and calves and mahamaya at that instant produced some exact replicas to show to Brahma for stealing.

Prabhavata means from Krsna. Being astonished from seeing Krsna kill Aghasura, Brahma came there.

In the statement “not seeing the calves, Krsna returned,” one should understand that this was an appearance of not seeing them, for he knew where they were. He did this to make Brahma believe that he could bewilder anyone. Then he began looking for the boys and calves. Acting distressed like an actor, he put on the appearance of looking from them, for a later verse says “Brahma saw Krsna, the actor (natyam) in the form of a cowherd boy”.10.13.61

17 This verse show why Krsna began searching further. Though Krsna is omniscient, not seeing the calves in other fields and not seeing the boys on other banks, he began searching. Did Krsna understand the theft at the time of stealing, after the theft or after looking for some time? Without having to think (sahasa), at the very time of the theft, Krsna could understand that it was theft, and that Brahma had done it.

While Brahma, bewildered by the Lord’s energy, believed he had bewildered Krsna, Krsna returned home and began performing his pastimes such as eating, as if not bewildered by Brahma, along with the calves and boys. This is not at all astonishing. In order to show his power of illusion of all people even up to Balarama, in order to fulfill the desires of the gopas and gopis to have Krsna as their own son, in order to bewilder Brahma and throw him into the ocean of dismay, in order to show him thousands of forms of Vasudeva, the object of brahma’s devotion, having taught him the Bhagavatam, Krsna took the form of all the calves and boys. To give bliss to Lord Brahma (ka) and the mothers, he expanded himself into both the calves and boys (ubhayayitam). He could do this because he is the master of the mahat tattva which creates the universe (visvakrt isvara).

This is a more elaborate description of the expanded calves and boys. It is in the singular because it is describing the class (jati). They all had very small bodies just like the original boys (yavat). They had remembrance of their previous activities and how they acted in relation to their parents (viharadikam). Krsna is addressed as ajah unborn, but it also stands for ajanya, an unfavorable portent to be feared (by Brahma). He is the original form of all the forms (sarva svarupa), and he is the embodied form of the statement “sarvam visnu mayam jagat” (the whole universe is Visnu).

Five verses describe how Krsna would daily perform pastimes in the day and afternoon, and return to the village in the evening just as before. Krsna, the soul of all (sarvatma), entered Vraja. How? As svayam atma, as himself the subject, he brought back the calves (object) who were himself (atma govatsan), by means of the cowherd boys (means ) who were himself (atma vatsapah) and played with other boys who were himself. The boys would sit on the same bank of the river and eat, herd the calves to green meadows, and Krsna, to search for the calves, would wander from forest to forest. In this way one moment spread for a whole year with Krsna acting as everyone. This was unnoticed by all. This went on every day, in all those places, with different pastimes, with Krsna and the calves and cowherd boys, untouched by rain, wind, sun, so even Baladeva could not detect the difference, by the power of the acintya sakti. After his illusion was ended, Brahma saw and praised that same Krsna-- with stick and lump of curd rice.

Krsna, playing the role of each calf and cowherd boy (tat tad atma), herded each calf into its respective pen, and, expanded as Sridama, Sudama, Subala and others, entered their respective houses.

“O can we ever be like Yasoda and have Krsna as our child?” This verse describes how Krsna fulfilled this desire of the gopis without their knowing it. The mothers , treating their sons like God, put them on their laps and fed them breast milk. The reading “uduhya” is also sometimes found in stead of utthapya. They held their children more affectionately than before and the milk flowed from their breasts in affection more than before (nirbharam—excessively). And param brahma Krsna drank that milk thinking it the sweetest nectar. That is the indication from the word sudhasavam. That milk was filled with their intense affection. Krsna relished that milk as tasty as nectar (sudha), as intoxicating as wine (asavam) by tasting their prema, and was absorbed in joy. From before, Krsna had a desire to become the sons of these mothers. It was finally achieved in the Brahma mohana pastimes. For this reason Krsna kept their sons under the influence of his yoga maya for one year. That is why Brahma said, “In great pleasure they drank the nectar from their mothers’ breasts.”

With the passing of time (yama yamena), in the evening, Madhava (meaning Krsna and his expansions as cowherd boys), returned home (to their respective homes.) The mothers attended to him by smearing fragrant oil on his body (unmardana), bathing him (majja), anointing him with sandalwood, ornamenting him, tying him with raksa bandha, applying tilaka and offering asana and food in the evening.

The bewilderment of the cows was similar to that of the mothers. First calling out for their calves, they then came close. The words satvara (quickly), muhur lihanti (licking continuously), muhu sravat (constantly flowing), give a hint of more affection than before.

The motherly affection of the mothers and cows for Krsna remained as before. But the love for him had been greater than their love for their own children and calves. But now, when Krsna became their sons and calves, their love for their sons and calves became equal to that for Krsna. Krsna’s affection as a child toward the mothers was the same as before, but from the commencement of the Brahma mohana pastime, Krsna became their sons in actuality (mayaya vina). It may be objected that Krsna in the form the cowherd boys should have had the same affection for their mothers as the actual boys, since the verse says the Krsna took up exactly the character, dress, form and age as each cowherd boy. But, though Krsna is supreme, and all from Brahma to even his personal expansions are dependent on him, he is dependent on prema. Prema is not dependent on him. He cannot control or restrict prema. Sridhara Swami says, “This irregularity is difficult to prevent in Krsna.” Such uncontrollable prema was in the hearts of the mothers towards Krsna in the form of their sons. Thus Krsna in the form of their sons forgot his powers as God, as he took up the role of their sons, and remained dependent on them, like a commander next to the king. One should not say that such dependence is a fault--rather it is Krsna’s ornament. As dependence of the jiva on maya is the cause of his sorrow, so Krsna’s dependence on prema is the cause of ever- increasing bliss. This is the realization of the great devotees.

Though the love for Krsna as son of Yasoda and the love for Krsna as the cowherd boys were essentially the same, additional affection for Krsna the son of Yasoda also appeared at this time. For one year the affection of the mothers for their sons (Krsna) grew like a creeper. Previously the mothers had more affection for Krsna than their own sons. Now, they had that same affection for their sons. But now (tu), though that affection was equal, the affection for Yasoda Krsna became every increasingly fresh (apurvavat). Here, the word Krsna should be understood to be repeated again, though it is mentioned only once. Why did the love for him increase even more? Because Krsna is the amsi, the original possessor of all saktis and beauty, and his expansions as the cowherd boys are amsa in relation to beauty and other qualities. So the sentence would read as follows. “As much as they had love for Krsna previously (yatha Krsne vavrdhe), their love for their sons increased to that degree (sva tokesu vavrdhe), but love for him personally now increased even more (krsne tu apurvavat vavrdhe). Or the sentence can be read : As much as their love for their sons increased (yatha sva tokesu vavrdhe), so their love for Krsna increased even more (krsne tu apurvavat vavrdhe). In this interpretation the word Krsna does not need repetition.

In this way, Krsna (atma), becoming king of the cowherd boys (vatsapa), playing the roles of calves and cowherd boys (vatsa pala misena), herding himself by himself (atmanam atmana), played for one year in the forests and fields.

This verse shows that in this pastime even Baladeva became bewildered. It happened five or six nights before the completion of one year (hayana puranisu panca-sasu tri yamasu. Three yamas equal one night).

While the cows were eating grass (trnam carantah) on top of Govardhana they saw not far off from there (tatah) near vraja (upavrajam) their calves grazing.

30 Forgetting themselves the cows (sa go vraja) ran off (agat). They overcame the obstacles of the cowherds (atmapa) and the difficult path (durga marga). With both front legs moving as one and both back legs as one, they appeared to run on two legs. They stretched their necks out in longing. Their heads and tails were raised. Their tears and milk flowed in streams.

When the cows reached the bottom of Govardhana, though they were about to give birth to more calves in a two or three days, they made the old calves drink the milk which was flowing from their udders (svaudhasam payah). Licking the calves as if devouring them, they showed their excessive affection.

The cowherd men tried to stop the cows using sticks (rodhanayasam), and became ashamed and very angry (urumanyuna) because their attempts were useless (maughya). With injuries from running down the rough path, they arrived in front of the cows (samupetya) and saw their sons with the calves.

Oh ignorant men! Why were the cows drawn towards their calves? The elders wanted to scold the cows , but by glancing at their children, they became filled with prema. Having attained the fifth stage of prema, with two types of anuraga, (jatanuragah), intense thirst and intense happiness, they forgot their anger.

The elders (pravayasah) with great difficulty, (krchracchanaih) freed themselves from the embrace of their children (apagata) to tend the cows. Thinking of separation from them, tears flowed from their eyes (uda srava).

With an increase of prema there develops such longing (utkantha). Though the calves had stopped suckling, the cows who were about to bear new calves had an increase in love. Seeing this unexplainable (ahetuvit) situation, Baladeva began to think. From the day after the Brahma mohan pastime, every day at the time of milking all the cows would ignore their newly born calves and feed their calves which had stopped taking milk from the udder. Why Balarama realized this now, after seeing it for so many days, and why the other cowherd men even now did not notice this? It was because of yogamaya. Because they were all covered by yoga maya from the day of the Brahma mohana pastimes, though they saw the strange behaviour of the cows, Baladeva, the cows, gopis and gopas, did not think to investigate it.

Because Baladeva was the elder brother of the cause of the universe and Visnu sleeping on the ocean, because he was a dear friend, Krsna should not have deceived him. Though he should have desired to reveal everything to Baladeva before this, such a desire did not arise, because he did not want Balarama to suffer any separation from Sridama and the others for the period of a year. He did not suffer from separation himself, because he was close to them in an expanded form who was looking for the calves. (Balarama did not appear in any expanded form during this pastime.) Then, after a year passed, when the Lord desired, yogamaya withdrew her cover gradually from Balarama. It was not sudden, in order to make Baladeva take the viewpoint of the devotee and immerse him also in an ocean of the Lord’s power.

With the first stage of relaxing yogamaya’s influence, Balarama began thinking of the strangeness of what he was seeing. Why should the mothers have the same love for their sons as they had for Krsna before? That is astonishing. And how astonishing it was that he himself also was experiencing excessive prema as if towards Krsna, on seeing those boys.

Thinking for a moment about this, and invoking his sakti of omniscience, to understand the reason for the strange behavior, the second portion of maya’s influence was removed. “It is maya definitely, but what kind of maya? Where did it come from? Who does it belong to?” In this way he began to think. “Which maya is this? From which place did it come. Is it the maya of the devatas like Brahma (daivi)? In order to test their powers, have they become the boys and calves, to make us attracted to them? Are the boys not really Sridama and others? Is it some human maya (nari)? To test their knowledge, have some rsis become the calves and boys? Is it the maya of the demons (asuri)? Are kamsa and others, not able to kill us by their strength, trying to kill us by some trick, disguised themselves as the boys and calves?”

Thinking in this way, the third portion of maya dissolved, and he again considered. “It may be the maya of my master Krsna--the extraordinary maha yogamaya sakti, which has control over even me, the controller of maya, filled with pure knowledge, for other saktis cannot bewilder me. By the maya of my amsa, who creates the mahat tattva, Brahma and others are bewildered. “

“Well, having concluded in this way, let me test it by looking with my eye of knowledge (vayunena caksusa).” By Krsna’s will the fourth portion of maya departed, and he was able to see the form of Krsna in each of the boys and calves.

“Now, what is Krsna’s reason for becoming the calves and boys? What is the necessity? Where has he hidden the real boys and calves? Because even with long meditation it is not possible to understand this matter, it should be understood that the cause is not material maya, but rather Krsna’s extraordinary power. This power is so great that even his personal expansions such as Narayana, though omniscient and omnipresent, do not know much about this power. They do not have a natural knowledge of it.” Visnu stealing the children of the brahmana in Dvaraka is the proof (10.89).

Thus Balarama, only after looking at Krsna, could understand all of this. With this intent the verse is spoken. “It is not possible that the devatas became the boys, nor the rsis, nor the demons. Though all the calves and boys are separate entities, you, one person, have entered into all of them. Though you are one, please tell why you have become all these boys and calves.” When he asked Krsna, Balarama understood everything about of the Brahma mohana pastime.

After describing the bewilderment of the cowherd men and women, the bewilderment of Brahma is described. Though one year of human calculation had passed, Brahma returned after the blinking of an eye by Brahma loka calculation, very quickly, out of fear, because he was directly born from Hari (atma bhu). He saw the calves and boys (sarvam), who were actually expansions of Krsna, and Krsna, playing as previously, for a year. Baladeva, however, as on the previous year, was kept home by his mother to perform auspicious rites on his birthday.

The doubts of Brahma after seeing all of this are now described in two verses. “Where have all these boys and calves that I see come from? Are these the ones bewildered by my maya? Or are they other boys and calves brought by Krsna? From here (itah) a little distant, there (pointing with his forefinger) in the forest of Gokula they are playing with Krsna. Different from the ones I bewildered, where did those ones come from? What are they?”

In this way Brahma was thinking and investigating. “Of the two groups-those bewildered by me and those playing here with Krsna, which group is real and which is false? The ones that I bewildered who are here sleeping, are they the real ones or something created by Krsna? Or are the ones playing in the distance the real ones or something created by Krsna? Or are both something newly created by Krsna, while he took the real ones to some other universe? Or has Krsna made two forms which are real and brought one set over there and one set here where I am? Let that be. In any case I am looking at two different groups in two different places at the same time. Seeing the boys in both places I am confused.” After meditating for some time, he then thought, “I will use my power of omniscience to understand this”. But even then, after a long time in samadhi, Brahma could not understand. “Of the two groups situated in different places, which is the real group (satyah) , created by the Lord, and which is false, created by maya devi. This I cannot understand at all.”

44 Then Brahma fell into the whirlpool of bewilderment. That is described in this verse. Though he tried to bewilder the Lord by stealing the calves and boys (sammohayan), Brahma, though unborn (ajah), was bewildered by using his energy against the Lord (svaya mayaya). (He was not bewildered “by his own energy.” This is the superficial meaning of the words svaya mayaya.) Vimohitah here indicates that he was bewildered in a special way (visesena mohitah). The reason for this extreme bewilderment was his great offense in using his powers of maya against bhagavan. One should not think that Brahma was bewildered by his own maya, because maya does not have the power to bewilder its shelter. An example illustrating this is given in a later verse.

45 No type of maya is able to cover the Lord, who is the controller of mahamaya. Rather, that attempt shows the insignificance of the person directing that inferior maya. Two examples are given to show this.

In the dense darkness of night (tamyam) fog (naiharam) has just a resemblance to darkness (tamovat). In other words, in dense darkness the darkness created by fog cannot cover that darkness, but rather makes the darkness darker, and the fog itself gets covered by darkness, and becomes insignificant. In this way Brahma’s maya could not cover the Lord, but rather it made the Lord’s power greater, and Brahma became covered by that, making Brahma insignificant.

As the example only attributes a little causality to Brahma, another more satisfying example is given. As a firefly may desire to the light up the day just as he does the night, he is not able to do so. Rather it becomes known to all that he has lost his power to light. In this way, Brahma, though being powerful in some places, when he desired to show his powers by spreading maya over the Lord, he lost his power. Directing the maya towards a great person (mahati) destroys the power of the person directing that power.

46-48 While Brahma was contemplating these matters, he saw all the calves and cowherd boys (vatsa palah), but they gave no heed to him (pasyato’ jasya). “O resident of satya loka, unborn (aja) Brahma! True (satya), you are aja (a goat). By your intelligence you create the universe, and now you want to bewilder us with your maya. You don’t know at all who we are. We will show you! Look! Though we are all the calves grazing on Vrndavana’s grass, and all the cowherd boys herding those calves, our real form is only one form.” Endowed with spiritual vision, he was able to see it spontaneously (vyadrsyantah). They were marked with the line of laksmi (sri) on the chest (vatsa). They had armbands (angada) on their upper arms (dos), kaustubha jewels (ratna) on their necks (kambu). Their hands were ornamented with bracelets (kankana) and their feet with anklets (katakaih).

49.bhuri punya vat arpitaih means “offered by thousands of devotees who worship the Lord with hearing and chanting.”

The brightness of their smiles made the moon light lament. They looked forward with pink eyes. They appears as creators and maintainers of the desires of their devotees worthy of mercy, through rajas and sattva modes, with the pink of their eyes (rajas) and white of the smiles (sattva).

He saw them being worshipped by all beings beginning from himself (atma) down to the grass, using many items (naikarhaih).

They were surrounded by the eight powers (mahimabhih), by maya and other saktis (ajadyabhih vibhuti bhih) and by the twenty four elements (caturvimsatibhih tattvaih) starting with mahat tattva. In this enumeration of the twenty four elements starting with mahat tattva, a distinction is made between mahat tattva (twenty fourth element, instead of prakrti) and sutra tattva (a state where the gunas are slightly manifested, becoming the twenty third element, instead of mahat tattva). Tattvaih means “by causes of the universe.”

They were worshipped by time and its assistants: svabhava, samskara, kama karma and guna, whose powers were made insignificant by the powers of the Lord (sva mahi dhvasta mahibhih). Time is the agitator of the gunas. Svabhava is the cause of transformation, the cause of an object changing from one state to another. Samskara is that which brings remembrance or revelation.

One should not think that all these forms were just creation of the Lord’s illusory energy. The bodies of the boys and calves were all one form of truth, knowledge, infinity and bliss without foreign mixture, and without the interruptions of time. Or the meaning can be: the calves and boys were the personification of the srutis statement: satyam vijnanam anandam brahmeti, anandam brahmano rupa (The supreme is knowledge and bliss. The form of Brahman is bliss.) Objection may be raised that the vedantists never say that Brahman has many forms and variations. But here it is stated that the seers or readers of the upanisads (upanisad drsam), because of absence of devotion, cannot understand the meaning of the upanisads, and cannot see the forms of the boys and calves (asprstah), which were full of glory.

bhaktya aham ekaya grahyah,

(I am obtainable only by devotion.)

bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah,

(I am known as I am only by devotion.)

na caksusa pasyati rupam asya

yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas tasyesa atma vivrnute tanum svam,

(His form cannot be seen by material eye. He is attainable by one whom the Lord favorss. The Lord reveals himself to that person.)

aditya varnam tamasah parastat,

(He is effulgent, beyond darkness.)

ananda matram ajaram puranam eka santam bahudah drsyamanam

(He who is bliss itself, unborn, old and one, is seen as many.)

bahumurty eka murtika

(He appears as many and as one.)

sarve nityah sasvatas ca deha stasya paratmanah hanopadana rahita naiva prakrti jah dvacit paramananda sandoha jnana matras ca sarvatah.

(All his bodies are eternal, without materials that decay. They are not born of matter, they are filled with supreme bliss, and completely filled with knowledge.)

Like this there many statements in the sruti and smrti revealing that Brahman has non-material form and qualities, which, by the Lord’s will, are visible to the devotional eye.

55 Yasya here refers to parabrahman.

Out of astonishment, Brahma’s eleven senses became roused and then stunned in bliss. Uddhrta is an alternative reading for udvrtya. He lost the power of speaking and acting in the presence of power (tejasa) of those four armed forms. He looked like a child’s neglected, unworshipped clay doll next to a village deity being worshipped by many people.

57 Seeing that Brahma was unable to realize even whatever sweet glory he had shown him, and that Brahma was not qualified to view thousands of more of his unprecedented glories, Krsna stopped showing his opulences. Brahma, the husband of Sarasvati (irese), though he was highly learned, said, “Oh, what an amazing thing I have seen”, and being bewildered, was unable to see those forms any longer. Krsna (parama ajah), knowing this, considering Brahma’s qualification to understand his powers, immediately drew the curtain of yoga maya (aja javanikam) to make them disappear. In other words, by the agency of yogamaya, he covered the cowherd boys, the calves grazing on grass and himself looking for the calves, and then showed new forms of the same produced from himself, in four armed forms. Then he made that yogamaya disappear. That which covers real things and shows unreal things is called maya. That which covers some of the real things and shows others, is called yogamaya. Because of this extreme difference between functions of maya and yogamaya, the word aja in this verse cannot mean the external energy maya. From what came Brahma’s bewilderment? By seeing the powers of four handed forms (nija mahimani). What is the Lord’s description? He is beyond logic, self manifesting (svapramiti) and filled with bliss (ke). If he does not reveal himself, then any means, even scripture, is useless to reveal him. Therefore he is beyond logic or argument. He is beyond prakrti (paratra ajatah). He is known (mitih) by the head of the srutis which define the Brahman in terms of negation with saying “Not that”( atat nirasana mukhe) (asthulam an anu a hrasva”). By that form Brahma was bewildered.

58 Getting back his external vision (arbak aksah), and opening his eyes, Brahma (kah) , as if returning from death, saw this universe (idam), the object of his possessiveness along with himself, the object of false identity as creator of the universe.

Then Krsna revealed to Brahma his wealth of sweetness. He saw Vrndavana, that place where living entities, dear to the Lord, were living together, (samapriyam), filled with trees nourishing to all.

This verse describes the sweetness of Vrndavana, where tigers and men, though naturally enemies (naisarga durvairah), lived together as friends. Because it was Krsna’s residence (ajitasya avasa), anger, greed and other anarthas (ruta tarsakadikam) had fled from there (drutah).

61 Covering up the four handed forms generated from his own form by yogamaya, Krsna showed Brahma his original form described in the srutis as akhanda advitiya brahma. There (tatra), in Vrndavana, Brahma ( paramesthi) saw (acasta) Krsna (Brahma). How did he look? He was the most skilful representation (natyam) of a child in a cowherd family, in order to make Brahma accept his false conception of “I can bewilder my master”. He made a show in which Brahma saw and did not see the calves in the fields and the boys on the river bank. He is addressed as advaya (without two) because all the forms that Brahma had seen until he became stunned had now been covered up by yoga maya. Because he is the root of all the other forms, without a second he is called param, supreme. He is ananta because of the presence of powers thousands of times greater than what he showed to Brahma. He is called agadha bodha because, what to speak of Brahma, even Baladeva and other expansions find it difficult to understand him.

Because he was performing like an actor, Krsna was looking for the calves and boys here and there one year before. One year before, Brahma, under illusion took that to be actual fact. But now, after seeing the calves grazing on the grass in the pasture and boys taking lunch on the river bank, and no longer seeing the illusory boys created by maya that he had stolen, and thererby getting free from his illusion, he understood that this searching for the calves and boys again was some act of Krsna for bewildering him. Thus in the first verse of chapter 14, when Brahma prays, there is no mention of Krsna searching for the calves and boys. Because of yogamaya’s covering of the four handed forms coming from himself, he is described as one ( eka). Because he has many pastimes which attract the devotee, he appeared with curd rice in his hand. Sometimes Krsna shows his formless, quality less aspect to the less qualified person. This is because yogamaya covers the sweetness of Krsna’s form qualities, pastimes, dhama and associates, and leaves only the revelation of the formless to that person. Though there is this extreme difference in realization of Brahman, there is no contradiction in the scriptures which describe this, if this is understood.

Some will claim that because of the statement “ putting on the dress of a cowherd boy (natyam),” the cowherd boy form is not Brahman’s svarupa, but simply a form illustrates the Lord’s power to bewilder. The Lord only accepts this form of a cowherd boy as convenient object of praise for Brahma in chapter 14 (naumidya te abhra). But this is not in agreement with Sridhara Swami’s opinion, for the subject of prayers should never be unreal things. The form of Krsna holding the curd rice in his hand is eternally existing.

Understanding that the supreme Brahman was this human form, the source of all , he quickly jumped off the back of his swan (nija dhorantah) and fell on the ground. There is a famous saying “devatas never touch the ground”. His breaking this rule indicates that he forgot his identity as a devata. He bathed the Lord’s feet with his tears (akrta abhisekam). Because his four heads were facing in four directions, to touch the Lord’s feet, he raised himself again and again and fell again and again on the ground. With great force, because of their profusion, his tears bathed the feet of Krsna. The prefix “su” (su-jalaih:with fine water) indicates that these tears were pure, being the symptom of devotion.

He remained on the ground after paying obeisances many times because the intense bliss. The verse is in the present tense because Sukadeva was directly experiencing the pastime.

This verse mentions that Brahma saw the Lord with two eyes. That is because all eight eyes were brimming with tears. With two hands he managed to wipe the two eyes facing Krsna. With choked up voice he began to praise the Lord (Ailata means aitta. Aitta comes from id-to praise. “la” has been added to imitate the choked voice of Brahma: gadayailatelaya).