Shloka 11
Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa (Brahmā-stuti) and the Restoration of Vraja’s Lunch Pastime
क्वाहं तमोमहदहंखचराग्निवार्भू- संवेष्टिताण्डघटसप्तवितस्तिकाय: । क्वेदृग्विधाविगणिताण्डपराणुचर्या- वाताध्वरोमविवरस्य च ते महित्वम् ॥ ११ ॥
kvāhaṁ tamo-mahad-ahaṁ-kha-carāgni-vār-bhū- saṁveṣṭitāṇḍa-ghaṭa-sapta-vitasti-kāyaḥ kvedṛg-vidhāvigaṇitāṇḍa-parāṇu-caryā- vātādhva-roma-vivarasya ca te mahitvam
Who am I—a tiny creature only seven spans of my own hand, confined within a potlike universe made of tamas, the mahat-tattva, false ego, ether, air, fire, water, and earth? And what is Your glory—countless universes pass through the pores of Your body like dust through the openings of a screened window.
In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Chapter Five, text 72, Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the following purport for this verse: “Then Lord Brahmā, after having stolen all Kṛṣṇa’s calves and cowherd boys, returned and saw that the calves and boys were still roaming with Kṛṣṇa, he offered this prayer in his defeat. A conditioned soul, even one so great as Brahmā, who manages the affairs of the entire universe, cannot compare to the Personality of Godhead, for He can produce numberless universes simply by the spiritual rays emanating from the pores of His body. Material scientists should take lessons from the utterances of Śrī Brahmā regarding our insignificance in comparison with God. In these prayers of Brahmā there is much to learn for those who are falsely puffed up by the accumulation of power.”
FAQs
It contrasts Brahmā’s limited position within a single, seven-layer-covered universe with Kṛṣṇa’s immeasurable majesty, where innumerable universes and even atoms move as if swept by wind through the pores of His body.
After attempting to test Kṛṣṇa by stealing the calves and cowherd boys, Brahmā realized Kṛṣṇa’s supreme divinity and offered prayers of surrender, admitting his own smallness and Kṛṣṇa’s limitless supremacy.
It teaches humility: recognizing our limited perspective and power helps us surrender ego, cultivate reverence for the Divine, and practice devotion with sincerity rather than pride in knowledge or achievement.