Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 1
Brahmā Worships Vāmana; the Demons Attack; Bali is Bound and Questioned About the Third Step
श्रीशुक उवाच सत्यं समीक्ष्याब्जभवो नखेन्दुभि- र्हतस्वधामद्युतिरावृतोऽभ्यगात् । मरीचिमिश्रा ऋषयो बृहद्व्रता: सनन्दनाद्या नरदेव योगिन: ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca satyaṁ samīkṣyābja-bhavo nakhendubhir hata-svadhāma-dyutir āvṛto ’bhyagāt marīci-miśrā ṛṣayo bṛhad-vratāḥ sanandanādyā nara-deva yoginaḥ
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: When Lord Brahmā, who was born of a lotus flower, saw that the effulgence of his residence, Brahmaloka, had been reduced by the glaring effulgence from the toenails of Lord Vāmanadeva, he approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Brahmā was accompanied by all the great sages, headed by Marīci, and by yogīs like Sanandana, but in the presence of that glaring effulgence, O King, even Lord Brahmā and his associates seemed insignificant.
FAQs
This verse shows Brahmā approaching after realizing the truth, and even his own brilliance is eclipsed by the Lord’s splendor—highlighting Brahmā’s reverence and the Lord’s supreme position.
They represent exalted categories of Vedic authorities—Prajāpati sages and renounced yogīs—who accompany Brahmā to witness and honor the Lord’s actions in the unfolding narrative.
By cultivating humility and truth-seeking: even the greatest beings approach God with reverence, so a practitioner can approach prayer, study, and service with the same mood of surrender.