FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.13.18

श्रीभगवानुवाच एवं पृष्टो महादेव: स्वयम्भूर्भूतभावन: । ध्यायमान: प्रश्न‍बीजं नाभ्यपद्यत कर्मधी: ॥ १८ ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
[shree-bhagavaan uvaacha]
evaṁ pṛṣṭo mahā-devaḥ
[evam prishto mahaa-devah]
svayambhūr bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
[svayambhoor bhoota-bhaavanah]
dhyāyamānaḥ praśna-bījaṁ
[dhyaayamaanah prashna-beejam]
nābhyapadyata karma-dhīḥ
[naabhyapadyata karma-dheeh]
śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said evam — thus pṛṣṭaḥ — questioned mahā-devaḥ — the great god Brahmā svayam-bhūḥ — without material birth (born directly from the body of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu) bhūta — of all conditioned souls bhāvanaḥ — the creator (of their conditioned life) dhyāyamānaḥ — seriously considering praśna — of the question bījam — the essential truth na abhyapadyata — did not reach karma-dhīḥ — intelligence bewildered by his own activities of creation.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
the Supreme Personality of Godhead said
evaṁ pṛṣṭo mahā-devaḥ
evam
thus
pṛṣṭaḥ
questioned
mahā-devaḥ
the great god Brahmā
svayambhūr bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
svayam-bhūḥ
without material birth (born directly from the body of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu)
bhūta
of all conditioned souls
bhāvanaḥ
the creator (of their conditioned life)
dhyāyamānaḥ praśna-bījaṁ
dhyāyamānaḥ
seriously considering
praśna
of the question
bījam
the essential truth
nābhyapadyata karma-dhīḥ
na abhyapadyata
did not reach
karma-dhīḥ
intelligence bewildered by his own activities of creation.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Uddhava, Brahmā himself, who is born directly from the body of the Lord and who is the creator of all living entities within the material world, being the best of the demigods, seriously contemplated the question of his sons headed by Sanaka. The intelligence of Brahmā, however, was affected by his own activities of creation, and thus he could not discover the essential answer to this question.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has quoted three verses from the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as follows. In the Ninth Chapter, verse 32, Lord Kṛṣṇa blessed Brahmā with realized knowledge of the Lord’s actual form, qualities and activities. In the Ninth Chapter, verse 37, the Lord ordered Brahmā to rigidly carry out the Lord’s injunctions and affirmed that Brahmā would thus never be bewildered in his cosmic decision-making. In the Sixth Chapter, verse 34, Lord Brahmā assured his son Nārada, “O Nārada, because I have caught hold of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, with great zeal, whatever I say has never proved to have been false, nor is the progress of my mind ever deterred, nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to matter.”

In the present verse in this Thirteenth Chapter of the Eleventh Canto, Lord Kṛṣṇa states that Brahmā unfortunately did become bewildered by his creative functions, thus providing a grave lesson to all of the Lord’s empowered representatives. Although one may be elevated to an exalted position in the Lord’s transcendental service, at any moment there is danger of false pride polluting one’s devotional mentality.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The Supreme Lord said: On being asked, Brahmā, who was born directly from the body of the Lord, who is the creator of all living entities within the material world, and who was the best of the devatās, could not understand the nature of ātmā after considering the matter because his mind was absorbed in creation of the universe. Though Brahma was the head of the devatās, not born from any mortal (svayambhūḥ), and the creator of all other beings, and though he considered the question deeply, he could not understand the nature of the pure ātmā because his intelligence was attached to the action of creation. .
Brahmā himself, born from the Lord and best of demigods, seriously contemplated his sons' question — meaning even creators of the universe pause to think about real questions. Reverence for hard questions is universal.
Reflection Questions
  • What hard question do I usually wave away instead of contemplating seriously?
  • What would 'serious contemplation' actually feel like?
📝 My note

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