Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 8
Brahmā’s Tapasya, the Vision of Vaikuṇṭha, and the Lord’s Seed Instructions
Catuḥ-śloki
दिव्यं सहस्राब्दममोघदर्शनो जितानिलात्मा विजितोभयेन्द्रिय: । अतप्यत स्माखिललोकतापनं तपस्तपीयांस्तपतां समाहित: ॥ ८ ॥
divyaṁ sahasrābdam amogha-darśano jitānilātmā vijitobhayendriyaḥ atapyata smākhila-loka-tāpanaṁ tapas tapīyāṁs tapatāṁ samāhitaḥ
具不虚见的梵天，依天神之计数修行一千年之神圣苦行。他将自虚空而来的超然音声视为天启，由此制伏气息、心与诸根；其苦行成为众生的教诲，因此被称为诸苦行者之最。
Lord Brahmā heard the occult sound tapa, but he did not see the person who vibrated the sound. And still he accepted the instruction as beneficial for him, and therefore he engaged himself in meditation for one thousand celestial years. One celestial year is equal to 6 × 30 × 12 × 1000 of our years. His acceptance of the sound was due to his pure vision of the absolute nature of the Lord. And due to his correct vision, he made no distinction between the Lord and the Lord’s instruction. There is no difference between the Lord and sound vibration coming from Him, even though He is not personally present. The best way of understanding is to accept such divine instruction, and Brahmā, the prime spiritual master of everyone, is the living example of this process of receiving transcendental knowledge. The potency of transcendental sound is never minimized because the vibrator is apparently absent. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā or any revealed scripture in the world is never to be accepted as an ordinary mundane sound without transcendental potency.
FAQs
This verse describes Brahmā’s divine austerity as world-purifying—tapasya, done with full concentration and sense control, has the power to cleanse and elevate existence.
To show how the secondary creator, Brahmā, received qualification and clarity through intense tapasya—illustrating that spiritual realization and empowered service arise from disciplined absorption.
Practice steady regulation—reduce impulsive sense habits, adopt daily sādhana (japa, study, prayer), and keep attention fixed on the Lord; disciplined focus is the essence of “samāhitaḥ.”