SB 10.14.13 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

जगत् त्रयान्तोदधिसम्प्लवोदे नारायणस्योदरनाभिनालात् । विनिर्गतोऽजस्त्विति वाङ्‍‍‍‍न वै मृषा किन्‍त्वीश्वर त्वन्न विनिर्गतोऽस्मि ॥ १३ ॥

Verse text

jagat-trayāntodadhi-samplavode nārāyaṇasyodara-nābhi-nālāt vinirgato ’jas tv iti vāṅ na vai mṛṣā kintv īśvara tvan na vinirgato ’smi

Synonyms

jagat — traya — of the three worlds ; anta — in the dissolution ; udadhi — of all the oceans ; samplava — of the total deluge ; ude — in the water ; nārāyaṇasya — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa ; udara — growing from the abdomen ; nābhi — from the navel ; nālāt — out of the lotus stem ; vinirgataḥ — came out ; ajaḥ — Brahmā ; tu — indeed ; iti — thus speaking ; vāk — the words ; na — are not ; vai — certainly ; mṛṣā — false ; kintu — thus ; īśvara — O Lord ; tvat — from You ; na — not ; vinirgataḥ — specifically emanated ; asmi — am I .

Translation

My dear Lord, it is said that when the three planetary systems are merged into the water at the time of dissolution, Your plenary portion, Nārāyaṇa, lies down on the water, gradually a lotus flower grows from His navel, and Brahmā takes birth upon that lotus flower. Certainly, these words are not false. Thus am I not born from You?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

My dear Lord, it is said that when the three planetary systems are merged into the water at the time of dissolution, Your plenary portion, Nārāyaṇa, lies down on the water, gradually a lotus flower grows from His navel, and Brahmā takes birth upon that lotus flower. Certainly, these words are not false. Thus am I not born from You? KB 10.14.13 Lord Brahmā then said that his birth was from the lotus flower which blossomed from the navel of Nārāyaṇa after the dissolution of the three worlds, or three planetary systems, known as Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka and Svarloka. The universe is divided into three divisions, namely Svarga, Martya and Pātāla. These three planetary systems are merged into water at the time of dissolution. At that time Nārāyaṇa, a plenary portion of Kṛṣṇa, lies down on the water, and gradually a lotus stem grows from His navel, and from that lotus flower, Brahmā is born. It is naturally concluded that the mother of Brahmā is Nārāyaṇa. Because the Lord is the resting place of all the living entities after the dissolution of the universe, He is called Nārāyaṇa. The word nāra means the aggregate total of all living entities, and ayana means the resting place. The form of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is called Nārāyaṇa because He rests Himself on that water.

Purport

Although every living being is a child of God, Lord Brahmā here makes a special claim because he takes birth on a lotus flower that emanates from the navel of Nārāyaṇa, the Personality of Godhead. Ultimately, all living beings are equally expansions of the transcendental body of the Supreme Lord. But Brahmā has an intimate relationship with the Lord because of the activities of universal creation, and so he uses the prefix vi in the word vinirgata to beg the Lord’s special mercy. Lord Brahmā is called aja because he is not born from any mother but rather emanates directly from the body of the Lord. As Śrīla Prabhupāda states in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “It is naturally concluded that the mother of Brahmā is Nārāyaṇa.” On these grounds, Lord Brahmā is requesting special forgiveness for his offenses.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"The son also comes out of the womb eventually. That is explained in this verse. During the time of dissolution of the universes in the water where all the oceans are merged, others may or may not come from you, but certainly do I not emerge from you?"

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Since my mercy you became my father, you should forgive me. He praises the Lord as Virāḍ-antaryāmī, known as Aniruddha (Kṣīrodakaśāyī), different from the second puruṣa. At the time of devastation of the universe (jagat-trayānta), in the water remaining at the beginning of Brahmā’s day, Brahmā came out of the lotus in Nārāyaṇa’s navel. Or in the Garbhodaka Ocean at the bottom (anta) of the three worlds, Brahmā was born from the lotus. There is another explanation. This describes Brahmā’s birth, not his day. The word udara suggests everything existed within him at that time. Nalāt means from the lotus, indicated by its stem. Or nāla means lotus accrording to Viśva-koṣa. It can be regarded as a taddhita formation (that which is related to the stem or nala). The word tu suggests that Brahmā came out without a mother. He also stayed for a long time within Viṣṇu before coming out (vi-nirgatah). He says “O Lord!” to indicate that he is still not qualified to think of the Lord as his father.