Shloka 16
Brahmā’s Bewilderment and Kṛṣṇa Becoming the Calves and Cowherd Boys
Brahma-vimohana-līlā
ततो वत्सानदृष्ट्वैत्य पुलिनेऽपि च वत्सपान् । उभावपि वने कृष्णो विचिकाय समन्तत: ॥ १६ ॥
tato vatsān adṛṣṭvaitya puline ’pi ca vatsapān ubhāv api vane kṛṣṇo vicikāya samantataḥ
Thereafter, unable to find the calves, Kṛṣṇa returned to the riverbank, but there He could not see the cowherd boys either. Thus He began searching for both calves and boys throughout the forest in every direction, as if He did not understand what had happened.
Kṛṣṇa could immediately understand that Brahmā had taken away both the calves and the boys, but as an innocent child He searched here and there so that Brahmā could not understand Kṛṣṇa’s māyā. This was all a dramatic performance. A player knows everything, but still he plays on the stage in such a way that others do not understand him.
FAQs
He goes to the riverbank and, finding neither the calves nor the boys, begins searching the forest in all directions—setting the stage for Brahmā’s bewilderment (vimohana) and Kṛṣṇa’s divine revelation.
To highlight the unfolding of Brahmā-vimohana-līlā: externally Kṛṣṇa acts like a loving friend and protector of Vraja, while internally He is fully in control of the divine pastime meant to teach Brahmā and glorify bhakti.
It encourages attentive responsibility and care: like Kṛṣṇa protecting His dependents, a devotee should act diligently in duty while trusting that the Lord’s deeper plan is always auspicious.