Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu .2.10
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
There is another example of indirect astonishment. Trying to test Kṛṣṇa to see if He were truly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Brahmā stole all the cowherd boys and cows from Him. But after a few seconds, he saw that Kṛṣṇa was still present with all the cows, calves and cowherd boys, exactly in the same way as before. When Lord Brahmā described this incident to his associates on the Satyaloka planet, they all became astonished. Brahmā told them that after taking away all the boys, he saw Kṛṣṇa again playing with the same boys in the same fashion. Their bodily complexion was blackish, almost like Kṛṣṇa’s, and they all had four arms. The same calves and cows were still present there, in the same original fashion. Even while describing this incident, Brahmā became almost overwhelmed. “And the most astonishing thing,” he added, “was that many other Brahmās from many different universes had also come there to worship Kṛṣṇa and His associates.”
These are the words of Brahmā at his assembly in Satyaloka. Of the various versions stambha-śriyā paśyata is the preferred version. It is implied that Brahmā had experienced what he is describing quite recently by the use of the present tense stūyante (they praise). This is according to the rule vartamāna-samīpye vartamānavat va: present tense can be used to indicate actions in the immediate past or future. (Pāṇini 3.3.131)
My note
Source: vedabase.io