Shloka 1
Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Nārāyaṇa and the Lord’s Empowering Instructions for Creation
ब्रह्मोवाच ज्ञातोऽसि मेऽद्य सुचिरान्ननु देहभाजां न ज्ञायते भगवतो गतिरित्यवद्यम् । नान्यत्त्वदस्ति भगवन्नपि तन्न शुद्धं मायागुणव्यतिकराद्यदुरुर्विभासि ॥ १ ॥
brahmovāca jñāto ’si me ’dya sucirān nanu deha-bhājāṁ na jñāyate bhagavato gatir ity avadyam nānyat tvad asti bhagavann api tan na śuddhaṁ māyā-guṇa-vyatikarād yad urur vibhāsi
ब्रह्मा बोले—हे भगवन्, आज दीर्घ तपस्या के बाद मैं आपको जान सका। देहधारी जीव कितने दुर्भाग्यशाली हैं कि वे आपकी गति को नहीं जान पाते। आपके सिवा कोई परम नहीं; जो कुछ आपसे श्रेष्ठ माना जाए, वह परम सत्य नहीं। आप माया-गुणों की सृजन-शक्ति प्रकट करके परमेश्वर रूप से विराजते हैं।
The highest peak of the ignorance of the living entities who are conditioned by material bodies is that they are unaware of the supreme cause of the cosmic manifestation. Different people have different theories regarding the supreme cause, but none of them are genuine. The only supreme cause is Viṣṇu, and the intervening impediment is the illusory energy of the Lord. The Lord has employed His wonderful material energy in manifesting many, many wonderful distractions in the material world, and the conditioned souls, illusioned by the same energy, are thus unable to know the supreme cause. The most stalwart scientists and philosophers, therefore, cannot be accepted as wonderful. They only appear wonderful because they are instruments in the hands of the illusory energy of the Lord. Under illusion, the general mass of people deny the existence of the Supreme Lord and accept the foolish products of illusory energy as supreme.
FAQs
This verse says it is not a fault that embodied beings cannot know the Lord’s “gati” (course), because the Supreme is beyond the limited perception of conditioned souls influenced by Māyā.
After being bewildered in the darkness of creation, Brahmā receives the Lord’s revelation and begins offering prayers, acknowledging that only after a long time has he truly understood the Lord and the role of Māyā in cosmic manifestation.
Recognize that many confusions arise from the changing modes of nature; cultivate humility and devotion, and seek clarity through sādhana (hearing, chanting, and remembrance of Bhagavān) rather than relying only on limited material reasoning.