31. The cows had given birth to new calves, but while coming down from Govardhana Hill, the cows, because of increased affection for the older calves, allowed the older calves to drink milk from their milk bags and then began licking the calves’ bodies in anxiety, as if wanting to swallow them.
32. The cowherd men, having been unable to check the cows from going to their calves, felt simultaneously ashamed and angry. They crossed the rough road with great difficulty, but when they came down and saw their own sons, they were overwhelmed by great affection.
33. At that time, all the thoughts of the cowherd men merged in the mellow of paternal love, which was aroused by the sight of their sons. Experiencing a great attraction, their anger completely disappearing, they lifted their sons, embraced them in their arms and enjoyed the highest pleasure by smelling their sons’ heads.
34. Thereafter the elderly cowherd men, having obtained great feeling from embracing their sons, gradually and with great difficulty and reluctance ceased embracing them and returned to the forest. But as the men remembered their sons, tears began to roll down from their eyes.
35. Because of an increase of affection, the cows had constant attachment even to those calves that were grown up and had stopped sucking milk from their mothers. When Baladeva saw this attachment, He was unable to understand the reason for it, and thus He began to consider as follows.
36. What is this wonderful phenomenon? The affection of all the inhabitants of Vraja, including Me, toward these boys and calves is increasing as never before, just like our affection for Lord Krishna, the Supersoul of all living entities.
37. Who is this mystic power, and where has she come from? Is she a demigod or a demoness? She must be the illusory energy of My master, Lord Krishna, for who else can bewilder Me?
38. Thinking in this way, Lord Balarama was able to see, with the eye of transcendental knowledge, that all these calves and Krishna’s friends were expansions of the form of Sri Krishna.
39. Lord Baladeva said, “O supreme controller! These boys are not great demigods, as I previously thought. Nor are these calves great sages like Narada. Now I can see that You alone are manifesting Yourself in all varieties of difference. Although one, You are existing in the different forms of the calves and boys. Please briefly explain this to Me.” Having thus been requested by Lord Baladeva, Krishna explained the whole situation, and Baladeva understood it.
40. When Lord Brahma returned after a moment of time had passed (according to his own measurement), he saw that although by human measurement a complete year had passed, Lord Krishna, after all that time, was engaged just as before in playing with the boys and calves, who were His expansions.
41. Lord Brahma thought: Whatever boys and calves there were in Gokula, I have kept them sleeping on the bed of my mystic potency, and to this very day they have not yet risen again.
42. A similar number of boys and calves have been playing with Krishna for one whole year, yet they are different from the ones illusioned by my mystic potency. Who are they? Where did they come from?
43. Thus Lord Brahma, thinking and thinking for a long time, tried to distinguish between those two sets of boys, who were each separately existing. He tried to understand who was real and who was not real, but he couldn’t understand at all.
44. Thus because Lord Brahma wanted to mystify the all-pervading Lord Krishna, who can never be mystified, but who, on the contrary, mystifies the entire universe, he himself was put into bewilderment by his own mystic power.
45. As the darkness of snow on a dark night and the light of a glowworm in the light of day have no value, the mystic power of an inferior person who tries to use it against a person of great power is unable to accomplish anything; instead, the power of that inferior person is diminished.
46. Then, while Lord Brahma looked on, all the calves and the boys tending them immediately appeared to have complexions the color of bluish rainclouds and to be dressed in yellow silken garments.
47-48. All those personalities had four arms, holding conchshell, disc, mace and lotus flower in Their hands. They wore helmets on Their heads, earrings on Their ears and garlands of forest flowers around Their necks. On the upper portion of the right side of Their chests was the emblem of the goddess of fortune. Furthermore, They wore armlets on Their arms, the Kaustubha gem around Their necks, which were marked with three lines like a conchshell, and bracelets on Their wrists. With bangles on Their ankles, ornaments on Their feet, and sacred belts around Their waists, They all appeared very beautiful.
49. Every part of Their bodies, from Their feet to the top of Their heads, was fully decorated with fresh, tender garlands of tulasi leaves offered by devotees engaged in worshiping the Lord by the greatest pious activities, namely hearing and chanting.
50. Those Visnu forms, by Their pure smiling, which resembled the increasing light of the moon, and by the sidelong glances of Their reddish eyes, created and protected the desires of Their own devotees, as if by the modes of passion and goodness.
51. All beings, both moving and nonmoving, from the four-headed Lord Brahma down to the most insignificant living entity, had taken forms and were differently worshiping those visnu-murtis, according to their respective capacities, with various means of worship, such as dancing and singing.
52. All the visnu-murtis were surrounded by the opulences, headed by anima-siddhi; by the mystic potencies, headed by Aja; and by the twenty-four elements for the creation of the material world, headed by the mahat-tattva.
53. Then Lord Brahma saw that kala (the time factor), svabhava (one’s own nature by association), samskara (reformation), kama (desire), karma (fruitive activity) and the gunas (the three modes of material nature), their own independence being completely subordinate to the potency of the Lord, had all taken forms and were also worshiping those visnu-murtis.
54. The visnu-murtis all had eternal, unlimited forms, full of knowledge and bliss and existing beyond the influence of time. Their great glory was not even to be touched by the jnanis engaged in studying the Upanisads.
55. Thus Lord Brahma saw the Supreme Brahman, by whose energy this entire universe, with its moving and nonmoving living beings, is manifested. He also saw at the same time all the calves and boys as the Lord’s expansions.
56. Then, by the power of the effulgence of those visnu-murtis, Lord Brahma, his eleven senses jolted by astonishment and stunned by transcendental bliss, became silent, just like a child’s clay doll in the presence of the village deity.
57. The Supreme Brahman is beyond mental speculation, He is self-manifest, existing in His own bliss, and He is beyond the material energy. He is known by the crest jewels of the Vedas by refutation of irrelevant knowledge. Thus in relation to that Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead, whose glory had been shown by the manifestation of all the four-armed forms of Visnu, Lord Brahma, the lord of Sarasvati, was mystified. “What is this?” he thought, and then he was not even able to see. Lord Krishna, understanding Brahma’s position, then at once removed the curtain of His yogamaya.
58. Lord Brahma’s external consciousness then revived, and he stood up, just like a dead man coming back to life. Opening his eyes with great difficulty, he saw the universe, along with himself.
59. Then, looking in all directions, Lord Brahma immediately saw Vrndavana before him, filled with trees, which were the means of livelihood for the inhabitants and which were equally pleasing in all seasons.
60. Vrndavana is the transcendental abode of the Lord, where there is no hunger, anger or thirst. Though naturally inimical, both human beings and fierce animals live there together in transcendental friendship.
61. Then Lord Brahma saw the Absolute Truth—who is one without a second, who possesses full knowledge and who is unlimited—assuming the role of a child in a family of cowherd men and standing all alone, just as before, with a morsel of food in His hand, searching everywhere for the calves and His cowherd friends.
62. After seeing this, Lord Brahma hastily got down from his swan carrier, fell down like a golden rod and touched the lotus feet of Lord Krishna with the tips of the four crowns on his heads. Offering his obeisances, he bathed the feet of Krishna with the water of his tears of joy.
63. Rising and falling again and again at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna for a long time, Lord Brahma remembered over and over the Lord’s greatness he had just seen.
64. Then, rising very gradually and wiping his two eyes, Lord Brahma looked up at Mukunda. Lord Brahma, his head bent low, his mind concentrated and his body trembling, very humbly began, with faltering words, to offer praises to Lord Krishna.
