Shloka 17

Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa (Brahmā-stuti) and the Restoration of Vraja’s Lunch Pastime

Devanagari script

यस्य कुक्षाविदं सर्वं सात्मं भाति यथा तथा । तत्त्वय्यपीह तत् सर्वं किमिदं मायया विना ॥ १७ ॥

Transliteration

yasya kukṣāv idaṁ sarvaṁ sātmaṁ bhāti yathā tathā tat tvayy apīha tat sarvaṁ kim idaṁ māyayā vinā

Translation

Như toàn thể vũ trụ, kể cả chính Ngài, đã được hiển bày trong bụng Ngài, thì nay cũng y hệt hình dạng ấy mà hiện ra bên ngoài. Nếu không do năng lực bất khả tư nghị của Ngài sắp đặt, làm sao điều này có thể xảy ra?

Synonyms

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (6 विभक्ति), Singular; relative pronoun ‘whose/of whom’

• kukṣau: in the belly/womb
• kukṣau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kukṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7 विभक्ति), Singular

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; demonstrative ‘this’

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; qualifies idam ‘all’

• sa-ātmam: along with the self
• sa-ātmam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (सह/सम्-भाव) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva (अव्ययीभाव) ‘together with the self’; Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; qualifies idam sarvam

• bhāti: shines/appears
• bhāti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhā (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; Parasmaipada

• yathā: as
• yathā: Upamāna (उपमान/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Comparative adverb (उपमानवाचक) ‘as/just as’

• tathā: so
• tathā: Anvaya (अन्वय/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Correlative adverb (तदनुरूप) ‘so/likewise’

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; demonstrative ‘that’

• tvayi: in you
• tvayi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (7 विभक्ति), Singular; 2nd person pronoun

• api: also
• api: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) ‘also/even’

• iha: here
• iha: Desha-adhikaraṇa (देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (देशवाचक) ‘here/in this case’

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; resumptive ‘that’

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; qualifies tat

• kim: what
• kim: Prashna (प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Interrogative; Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adverbial ‘what then?’

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• māyayā: by māyā
• māyayā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3 विभक्ति), Singular

• vinā: without
• vinā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: Prepositional indeclinable (उपपद) ‘without’; governs instrumental

Purport

Śrīla Prabhupāda comments on this verse as follows in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “Lord Brahmā stressed herein that without accepting the inconceivable energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot explain things as they are.”

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about māyā being separate from Kṛṣṇa?

This verse teaches that since everything exists within Kṛṣṇa, māyā cannot be an independent reality; it is His potency and has no existence apart from Him.

Why did Brahmā say this to Kṛṣṇa in Canto 10 Chapter 14?

After being bewildered by Kṛṣṇa’s divine power, Brahmā offers prayers acknowledging Kṛṣṇa as the Absolute Truth in whom the entire cosmos rests, and he questions any notion of a separate, competing ‘illusion’ apart from Him.

Practical application of understanding māyā in modern life?

See life’s changing appearances as dependent on the Supreme, and anchor decisions in devotion and truthfulness—reducing anxiety by recognizing that nothing is outside God’s control.