Brahmā’s Stotra at Vaikuṇṭha
This is the prayer Brahmā offered to Bhagavān Śrī Hari (Bhagavān Vishṇu) at Vaikuṇṭha. He sang it lying at Bhagavān Vishṇu’s lotus feet, with tears in his eyes. It is found in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, second skandha, chapter 9. In it Brahmā admits that he could not understand the one from whom he himself was born, tells of his confusion at the start of creation, and makes two requests.
The setting
Brahmā had heard a voice at the dawn of creation that said only “tapaḥ, tapaḥ”. He did tapas (austerity) for a thousand divine years, and his mind became fully pure. Bhagavān Vishṇu was pleased. He showed Brahmā the highest world, Vaikuṇṭha, and his own shining form there. His great pārshadas (attendants) and Lakshmī Devī were with him.
Brahmā was overcome. His heart filled with ānanda (joy), tears ran from his eyes and the hairs of his body stood up. He fell down at the lotus feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Brahmā had by then received the whole upadeśa (teaching) on the one reality, on māyā and on the nature of tapas. He offered his prayer from that lying position.
The prayer
Brahmā speaks to Bhagavān Vishṇu as the sākshī, the ever-present witness who lives in the buddhi (understanding) of all beings. The prayer has three parts.
The riddle of creation
Brahmā speaks of the riddle of his own being. He is the prabhu (master) of the Prajāpatis and is honoured by all. He is the maker of all living beings. Yet by his own understanding he could not know the one from whom he himself came. No created being can know Parabrahman by the light of its own small understanding. Brahmā came to see this not by reasoning but by the shock of actually seeing Bhagavān Vishṇu. What he had thought he knew about the source of creation was far too little.
He says, in the sense of the prayer: though I am the master of the Prajāpatis and the father of the world, even I could not know you, who lived as the witness in my own buddhi during my thousand years of confusion. You knew my confusion and stayed in it, unseen.
Brahmā’s confusion before creation
Brahmā tells how bewildered he was when he first rose on the lotus. There was water in every direction and there was silence. There was no guide and no companion. He could not begin the work of creation, which was his very purpose. He had not hidden this from Bhagavān Vishṇu, who as the inner witness had seen every moment of it. Brahmā keeps nothing back from the one who already knows everything.
The two requests
Brahmā had said who he was before Bhagavān Vishṇu, and who Bhagavān Vishṇu is before him. He then made two requests.
- Give the śakti for sṛshṭi (creation). The creative understanding that the upadeśa had lit in him must be strengthened and kept by the continuing grace of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Brahmā does not call the power to create his own. He asks for it as a gift and a charge.
- Show the sthūla and sūkshma rūpas (the gross and the subtle forms). Brahmā asks this so that he may know what he creates within, the sūkshma, which is the inner order of the world, and what he creates for, the sthūla, which is the outer world and the Virāṭ. With both views, creation is not just a machine. Brahmā acts as a knowing instrument of the purpose of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
The answer of Bhagavān Vishṇu
Bhagavān Vishṇu took Brahmā’s hands in a sign of acceptance and love. He granted both requests. He showed Brahmā the teaching of the Virāṭ Purusha, the frame of the world, and the whole structure of its tattvas (principles). Then he went out of Brahmā’s sight (antardhāna). Brahmā was left ready and inspired.
His going is part of the teaching. Bhagavān Vishṇu gives his darśana (sight) to make the sādhaka (seeker) ready for work, not to take the place of work. Brahmā must now act. He acts with the memory of Vaikuṇṭha alive in his heart and with the full creative understanding that Bhagavān Vishṇu has woken in him.
What is plain in this prayer
In this prayer there is no hymn on the qualities of Bhagavān Vishṇu, no list of names and epithets, and no long verse form. Brahmā offers himself as he really was: confused at the start of creation, overcome at the sight of Vaikuṇṭha, thankful for the upadeśa, and open about his need. The Bhāgavatam shows this prayer as the pattern for how even the first creator stands before Parabrahman: as one who depends on him, receives his grace, and is given work that he could not do alone.
Sources
- Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, second skandha, chapter 9