Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.15

tac cej jala-stham tava saj jagad-vapuh

kim me na drishtam bhagavams tadaiva

kim va su-drishtam hridi me tadaiva

kim no sapady eva punar vyadarsi

SYNONYMS

tat -- that; cet -- if; jala-stham -- situated upon the water; tava -- Your; sat -- real; jagat -- sheltering the entire universe; vapuh -- the transcendental body; kim -- why; me -- by me; na drishtam -- was not seen; bhagavan -- O Supreme Lord; tada eva -- at that very time; kim -- why; va -- or; su-drishtam -- perfectly seen; hridi -- within the heart; me -- by me; tada eva -- just then; kim -- why; na -- not; u -- on the other hand; sapadi -- suddenly; eva -- indeed; punah -- again; vyadarsi -- was seen.

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, if Your transcendental body, which shelters the entire universe, is actually lying upon the water, then why were You not seen by me when I searched for You? And why, though I could not envision You properly within my heart, did You then suddenly reveal Yourself?

PURPORT

Lord Brahma here refers to his experience at the dawn of cosmic creation. As described in the Second Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Lord Brahma took birth on the seat of a giant lotus whose stem emanated from the navel of Narayana. Brahma was bewildered as to his whereabouts, function and identity, and therefore he tried to trace out the source of the lotus stem, searching for clear information. Unable to find the Personality of Godhead, he returned to his seat and engaged in severe austerities, having been ordered to do so by the transcendental voice of the Lord, who could be heard but not seen. After long meditation, Brahma saw the Lord but then again lost sight of Him. Thus Brahma concludes that the transcendental body of the Personality of Godhead is not material but rather an eternal, spiritual form endowed with inconceivable mystic potencies. In other words, Lord Brahma should not have challenged the Personality of Godhead, the Lord of all mystic power.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari