Shloka 21
को वेत्ति भूमन् भगवन् परात्मन् योगेश्वरोतीर्भवतस्त्रिलोक्याम् । क्व वा कथं वा कति वा कदेति विस्तारयन्क्रीडसि योगमायाम् ॥ २१ ॥
ko vetti bhūman bhagavan parātman yogeśvarotīr bhavatas tri-lokyām kva vā kathaṁ vā kati vā kadeti vistārayan krīḍasi yoga-māyām
O Supreme Great One—Bhagavan, Paramatma, master of all mystic power! Your lilas unfold ceaselessly within the three worlds; but who can ever gauge where, how, how many, and when You expand Your Yogamaya and perform these innumerable pastimes?
Brahmā previously stated that Lord Kṛṣṇa incarnates among the demigods, human beings, animals, fish and so on. This does not mean, however, that the Lord is degraded by His incarnations. As Brahmā clarifies here, no conditioned soul can understand the transcendental nature of the Lord’s activities, which He enacts through His spiritual potency. Although the Lord is bhūman, the supremely great one, He is still Bhagavān, the supremely beautiful personality exhibiting pastimes of love in His own abode. At the same time He is Paramātmā, the all-pervading Supersoul, who witnesses and sanctions all the activities of conditioned souls. The Lord’s multiple identity is explained by the term yogeśvara. The Absolute Truth is the master of all mystic potencies, and although He is one and supreme, He manifests His greatness and opulence in many different ways.
FAQs
This verse says Kṛṣṇa expands Himself and performs His pastimes through His own Yogamāyā, making His appearances and activities ultimately beyond complete calculation or worldly measurement.
After witnessing Kṛṣṇa’s supreme power in Vraja, Brahmā admits the Lord’s manifestations—where, how, how many, and when—are inconceivable, because they arise from Kṛṣṇa’s independent divine potency.
Instead of trying to control everything through speculation, one can cultivate humility and devotion—accepting that the Lord’s workings are profound—and focus on sincere bhakti, prayer, and remembrance.