Shloka 39
Brahmā’s Bewilderment and Kṛṣṇa Becoming the Calves and Cowherd Boys
Brahma-vimohana-līlā
नैते सुरेशा ऋषयो न चैते त्वमेव भासीश भिदाश्रयेऽपि । सर्वं पृथक्त्वं निगमात् कथं वदे- त्युक्तेन वृत्तं प्रभुणा बलोऽवैत् ॥ ३९ ॥
naite sureśā ṛṣayo na caite tvam eva bhāsīśa bhid-āśraye ’pi sarvaṁ pṛthak tvaṁ nigamāt kathaṁ vadety uktena vṛttaṁ prabhuṇā balo ’vait
Sinabi ni Baladeva, “O Kataas-taasang Tagapamahala! Hindi sila mga dakilang diyos, ni mga rishi gaya ni Narada. Ngayon ay nakikita ko: Ikaw lamang ang nahahayag sa lahat ng pagkakaiba—bagaman iisa, Ikaw ay naririto bilang mga guya at mga batang pastol. Ipagkaloob Mo sanang ipaliwanag ito nang maikli.” Pagkahiling na ito, ipinaliwanag ni Bhagavan Sri Krishna ang lahat, at naunawaan ni Baladeva.
Inquiring from Kṛṣṇa about the actual situation, Lord Balarāma said, “My dear Kṛṣṇa, in the beginning I thought that all these cows, calves and cowherd boys were either great sages and saintly persons or demigods, but at the present it appears that they are actually Your expansions. They are all You; You Yourself are playing as the calves and cows and boys. What is the mystery of this situation? Where have those other calves and cows and boys gone? And why are You expanding Yourself as the cows, calves and boys? Will You kindly tell Me what is the cause?” At the request of Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa briefly explained the whole situation: how the calves and boys were stolen by Brahmā and how He was concealing the incident by expanding Himself so that people would not know that the original cows, calves and boys were missing. Balarāma understood, therefore, that this was not māyā but Kṛṣṇa’s opulence. Kṛṣṇa has all opulences, and this was but another opulence of Kṛṣṇa.
FAQs
This verse states that although the Lord may appear within a framework of difference, He alone shines as all beings; apparent separateness is secondary to His all-pervading identity as the Supreme Reality.
Because the Lord’s own words and reasoning revealed that the unusual “others” present were not independent beings at all, but manifestations of Kṛṣṇa’s own potency—leading Balarāma to grasp the real situation in the Brahmā-mohana episode.
See the Lord’s presence behind changing appearances, reduce envy and sectarian thinking, and cultivate steady bhakti by remembering that all power and identity ultimately rest in Kṛṣṇa.