Shloka 56
Brahmā’s Bewilderment and Kṛṣṇa Becoming the Calves and Cowherd Boys
Brahma-vimohana-līlā
ततोऽतिकुतुकोद्वृत्यस्तिमितैकादशेन्द्रिय: । तद्धाम्नाभूदजस्तूष्णीं पूर्देव्यन्तीव पुत्रिका ॥ ५६ ॥
tato ’tikutukodvṛtya- stimitaikādaśendriyaḥ tad-dhāmnābhūd ajas tūṣṇīṁ pūr-devy-antīva putrikā
Then, by the power of the effulgence of those Viṣṇu forms, Brahmā was shaken with wonder; his eleven senses became motionless, and, stunned by transcendental bliss, he fell silent—like a child’s clay doll before the village deity.
Brahmā was stunned because of transcendental bliss ( muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ ). In his astonishment, all his senses were stunned, and he was unable to say or do anything. Brahmā had considered himself absolute, thinking himself the only powerful deity, but now his pride was subdued, and he again became merely one of the demigods — an important demigod, of course, but a demigod nonetheless. Brahmā, therefore, cannot be compared to God — Kṛṣṇa, or Nārāyaṇa. It is forbidden to compare Nārāyaṇa even to demigods like Brahmā and Śiva, what to speak of others.
FAQs
This verse describes Brahmā becoming silent and motionless, his senses stunned, overwhelmed by the Lord’s own effulgence—showing Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy even over the creator.
After witnessing Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable manifestation, Brahmā’s pride and assumptions were shattered; the Lord’s splendor left him unable to speak, absorbed in awe and humility.
It teaches humility before the Divine—regular hearing of Kṛṣṇa’s līlā can quiet the restless senses and replace ego with reverent devotion.