Text 61] Brahmā Stealing the Boys and Calves
73
tatrodvahat paśupa-vaṁśa-śiśutva-nāṭyaṁ brahmādvayaṁ param anantam agādha-bodham vatsān sakhīn iva purā parito vicinvad ekaṁ sa-pāṇi-kavalaṁ parameṣṭhy acaṣṭa
tatra—there (in Vṛndāvana); udvahat—assuming; paśupa-vaṁśa-śiśutva-nāṭyaṁ—the play of being a child in a family of cowherd men (another of Kṛṣṇa’s names is Gopāla, “He who maintains the cows”); brahma—the Absolute Truth; advayam—without a second; param—the Supreme; anantam—unlimited; agādha-bodham—possessing unlimited knowledge; vatsān—the calves; sakhīn—and His friends, the boys; iva purā—just as before; paritaḥ—everywhere; vicinvat—searching; ekam—alone, all by Himself; sa-pāṇi-kavalam—with a morsel of food in His hand; parameṣṭhī—Lord Brahmā; acaṣṭa—saw.
TRANSLATION
Then Lord Brahmā 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.
PURPORT
The word  agādha-bodham , meaning “full of unlimited knowledge,” is significant in this verse. The Lord’s knowledge is unlimited, and therefore one cannot touch where it ends, just as one cannot measure the ocean. What is the extent of our intelligence in comparison to the vast expanse of water in the ocean? On my passage to America, how insignificant the ship was, like a matchbox in the midst of the ocean. Kṛṣṇa’s intelligence resembles the ocean, for one cannot imagine how vast it is. The best course, therefore, is to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Don’t try to measure Kṛṣṇa.
The word  advayam , meaning “one without a second,” is also significant. Because Brahmā was overcast by Kṛṣṇa’s  māyā , he was thinking himself the Supreme. In the material world, everyone thinks, “I am the best man in this world. I know everything.” One thinks, “Why should I read  Bhagavad-gītā ? I know everything. I have my own interpretation.”