Section 35
In the previous verse, the term mäyä-dhamana (S.B. 10.14.16) indicates that the fact of showing the whole material creation by the Lord out of mercy within His visible form is real. To dispel any misunderstanding about the Reality of the Lord, Brahmä again establishes the earlier meaning (S.B.10.14.17):
Just as this entire universe, including You, was exhibited within Your abdomen, so also this externally manifested universe exists within you in the same exact form. How could such things happen unless arranged by Your inconceivable energy?
(Brahmä is saying) "Just as all this material world, along with Yourself, exists in Your belly, similarly all this which is manifest outside is in Your belly in exactly the same manner."
The meaning is this: The Lord showed that Vraja was inside Him, while He was standing inside Vraja. Seeing Vraja inside as well as outside, Mother Yaçodä considered (10.8.40), "Is this a dream or is it an illusory creation of the Lord?" In this way the Lord made Yaçodä recognize one out of her many thoughts of it being reams, an illusion or reflection. In the verse 10.3.40 she accepted the topmost conclusion" It is a manifestation of someone's natural mystic oulence." She then decided it was neither a dream, an illusion, nor a reflection. She concluded, "This is a manifestation of mystic opulence." By His inconceivable power, the Lord revealed that while manifesting a medium-sized body that appears limited, simultaneously He is all-pervading.
The Second Canto states that Yasoda became aware of Krsna's opulence only after her attempt to bind Him was frustrated. Thus Lord Brahmä concludes, "Just as this material world exists inside Your belly, it is also outside. You are within the universe yet You are all-pervading, everything exists in You."
PURPORT
In the previous Text Brahmä said that the universe Yaçodä saw in Kåñëa's mouth and the universe outside are both manifestations of Mäyä. A doubt may be raised: Why not consider that the universe outside is a product of Mäyä and the one inside is a reflection and thus false, and that Kåñëa is only the reflecting medium? Or, why not consider that both these universes are transcendental and thus there is no need to accept Mäyä? To dispel both of these doubts Brahmä speaks the next verse. He says bhäti yathä tathä--that as it exists inside, so it exists outside. There is no difference between the two. If the universe seen inside was a reflection then it cannot be the same as outside for the following reasons: 1). A reflection or image appears turned by 180 degrees; 2). The reflection of a three dimensional object is two dimensional; 3). Only visible objects have image, thus all objects that lack form, such as scent, taste, touch, and sound, would be absent in the reflection.
Moreover, an image never has the reflecting medium in it. One does not see a mirror reflecting in itself. In the verse however, Brahmä says, sa-ätman, "along with yourself". That means the Lord can be seen within the universe that is inside Him. This is most amazing. It is like a pot inside a room that contains the room in it and the pot is again contained in that second room.
To prove his point Brahmä relates Mother Yaçodä's experience of looking within Kåñëa's mouth to see if He had been eating dirt. In that pastime Balaräma and other boys told Yaçodä that Kåñëa ate mud. Mother Yaçodä was worried that He may fall sick so she caught Him by the hand and sternly asked, "O naughty boy, why did You eat mud? If You are hungry, why don't You come home and eat?" Kåñëa, trembling in fear, thought that if He admitted eating mud, surely Yaçodä would spank Him. He therefore denied having done so. He said that because He always defeats His friends while playing, out of envy they devised this plan to put Him in trouble. He complained that unfortunately Balaräma had joined them in their plot to get Him thrashed. Kåñëa further told Yaçodä, "Why do you listen to them? I am here before you. Check my mouth and see for yourself." He then opened His mouth and as Yaçodä looked inside, she saw the whole universe with all the planets and luminaries. She even saw herself holding Kåñëa's hand looking into His mouth. It was as if Kåñëa was saying, "If I have eaten mud, it means the whole universe has eaten it, and thus you should chastise everyone. Or eating meaning taking a eatble from outside and ingesting it. But if the whole universe is within my mouth how can I be accused of eating a small portion of the universe?" Mother Yaçodä was baffled by this and deliberated as follows (S.B. 10.8.40):
"Is this a dream, or is it an illusory creation by the external energy? Has this been manifested by my own intelligence, or is it some mystic power of my child?"
To this Çrédhara Swämé comments: "Yaçodä wondered, 'Am I dreaming?'. She then looked around and saw everything was normal, and concluded that it was not a dream. She further asked, 'Is this mäyä created by Lord Hari?' If it were, then others would have seen it. She then wondered if she saw a reflection of the universe in the mouth of her son owing to deluded intelligence. If she had, then how was it that she saw Kåñëa within His own mouth? One does not see the mirror within its reflection. The worlds within and without His mouth appear the same. Moreover, the object and its image appear opposite to each other, therefore she finally concluded, 'Oh, it is the natural mystic opulence of my son.'"
Çréla Jéva Gosvämé writes in the Text that the Lord revealed to Yaçodä that her final consideration was correct. This display is possible by the Lord's inconceivable energy. In Brahmä's description of Kåñëa's pastimes to Närada Muni (S.B. 2.7.30) he used the term pratibodhitäséta, meaning that Yaçodä could understand Lord Kåñëa's mystic opulence. Çré Sukadeva confirms this (S.B. 10.8.45):
"Mother Yaçodä, by the grace of the Lord, could understand the real truth, but then again, the Supreme Master, by the influence of the internal potency, yogamäyä, inspired her to become absorbed in intense maternal affection for her son."
In this way, Lord Brahmä has proven that Kåñëa's body is all-pervading and that he is within Kåñëa's belly like a child within the womb of his mother, and thus he prays for the Lord's pardon. In Section Thirty-two, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé quoted a mantra from the Maha-Näräyaëa Upaniñad (9.5) which says that Näräyaëa is all-pervading. Thus Brahmä has established that Kåñëa is Näräyaëa, and, as was proposed in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.14, Krsna is his father.
In the next Text Brahmä continues to relate his own experience about Lord Kåñëa's body.