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
我算什么——不过是以自己手掌七拃为量的小小众生，被囚于由昏暗性、总物质能、我执、虚空、风、火、水、地所构成的壶状宇宙之中。你的伟大又如何——无量宇宙如尘粒穿过纱窗缝隙般，穿行于你身上的毛孔。
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.