Shloka 40
तावदेत्यात्मभूरात्ममानेन त्रुट्यनेहसा । पुरोवदाब्दं क्रीडन्तं ददृशे सकलं हरिम् ॥ ४० ॥
tāvad etyātmabhūr ātma- mānena truṭy-anehasā purovad ābdaṁ krīḍantaṁ dadṛśe sa-kalaṁ harim
When Brahmā returned—by his own measure, after only a moment—he saw that, though by human calculation a full year had passed, Lord Hari (Kṛṣṇa) was still, just as before, playing with the boys and calves, who were His own expansions.
Lord Brahmā had gone away for only a moment of his time, but when he returned, a year of human time had passed. On different planets, the calculation of time is different. To give an example, a man-made satellite may orbit the earth in an hour and twenty-five minutes and thus complete one full day, although a day ordinarily takes twenty-four hours for those living on earth. Therefore, what was but a moment for Brahmā was one year on earth. Kṛṣṇa continued to expand Himself in so many forms for one year, but by the arrangement of yoga-māyā no one could understand this but Balarāma.
FAQs
This verse shows that what Brahmā thought was only a moment (truṭi) corresponded to a full year on earth, illustrating the relative flow of time across realms under the Lord’s control.
Because Kṛṣṇa’s līlā continued flawlessly; Brahmā’s brief absence by his own measure became a year in Vraja, and the Lord maintained everything exactly as it appeared earlier.
It encourages humility about our limited perception and reminds us that time and outcomes are ultimately governed by the Supreme—so one should rely on devotion and steady dharma rather than ego.