Devanagari
एवं सकृद् ददर्शाज: परब्रह्मात्मनोऽखिलान् ।
यस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति सचराचरम् ॥ ५५ ॥
Verse text
evaṁ sakṛd dadarśājaḥ
para-brahmātmano ’khilān
yasya bhāsā sarvam idaṁ
vibhāti sa-carācaram
Synonyms
evam
—
thus
;
sakṛt
—
at one time
;
dadarśa
—
saw
;
ajaḥ
—
Lord Brahmā
;
para
—
brahma — of the Supreme Absolute Truth
;
ātmanaḥ
—
expansions
;
akhilān
—
all the calves and boys, etc.
;
yasya
—
of whom
;
bhāsā
—
by the manifestation
;
sarvam
—
all
;
idam
—
this
;
vibhāti
—
is manifested
;
sa
—
cara — acaram — whatever is moving and nonmoving .
Translation
Thus Lord Brahmā 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.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Thus Lord Brahmā 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.
KB 10.13.55
Brahmā realized that all the different forms of boys and calves transformed into Viṣṇu forms were not transformed by a mysticism of the type that a yogī or a demigod can display by specific powers invested in him. The calves and boys transformed into viṣṇu-mūrtis, or Viṣṇu forms, were not displays of viṣṇu-māyā, or Viṣṇu’s energy, but were Viṣṇu Himself. The respective qualifications of Viṣṇu and viṣṇu-māyā are just like fire and heat. In the heat there is the qualification of fire, namely warmth; and yet heat is not fire. The manifestation of the Viṣṇu forms of the boys and calves was not like the heat but was rather the fire—they were all actually Viṣṇu. Factually, the qualification of Viṣṇu is full truth, full knowledge and full bliss. Another example can be given with material objects, which are reflected in many, many forms. For example, the sun is reflected in many waterpots, but the reflections of the sun in the many pots are not actually the sun. There is no actual heat or light from the suns in the pots, although they appear like the sun. But the forms which Kṛṣṇa assumed were each and every one full Viṣṇu. The specific word used in this connection is satya-jṣānānantānanda. Satya means truth; jṣāna, full knowledge; ananta, unlimited; and ānanda, full bliss.
The glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are so great that the impersonalistic followers of the Upaniṣads cannot reach the platform of knowledge to understand them. Especially the transcendental forms of the Lord are beyond the reach of the impersonalists, who can only understand, through studying the Upaniṣads, that the Absolute Truth is not matter, or is not materially restricted. From Kṛṣṇa’s expansion into Viṣṇu forms, Lord Brahmā could understand by his limited potency that everything movable and immovable within the cosmic manifestation is existing due to the expansion of the energy of the Supreme Lord.
Purport
By this incident, Lord Brahmā was able to see how Kṛṣṇa maintains the entire universe in different ways. It is because Kṛṣṇa manifests everything that everything is visible.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Yasya here refers to parabrahman.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Simultaneously (sakṛt) Brahmā saw all the forms which were satya-jñānānantānanda-mātra. They are further explained. They were self-manifesting (bhāsā), and by their own śakti revealed the senses of Brahmā and revealed themselves to him, since they alone could reveal themselves and they revealed all other things. Previously it was said that the forms revealed themselves (vidṛṣyante) to Brahmā without another agent. By this means, even the glory of the previous calves and cowherd boys was seen by Brahmā. It should be understood that Kṛṣṇa was demonstrating that his pastimes were accomplished in this way. Otherwise they would be material creations.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Brahmā saw the forms simultaneously. They were made of Kṛṣṇa (para-brahma). “How could Brahmā, who was unqualified see these forms?” The second line answers. By the Lord’s knowledge all beings become conscious. By the Lord’s mercy, they were revealed to Brahmā. Or by Brahm’as power (bhāsā) the whole universe shines with a wealth of karma, jñāna and bhakti. Brahmā can create by the Lord’s mercy. The Kumāras say jagatāṁ paro guru: Brahmā is the guru of the universe. (SB 2.9.5) Since even Nārada and others are gurus, Brahmā naturally was qualified to see the Lord. Of course seeing the Lord is not some illusion.