14
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 5, Ch. 1]
atha —thus;  ha —indeed;  bhagavān —the most powerful;  ādi-devaḥ —the first demigod;  etasya —of this universe;  guṇa-visargasya —the creation of the three modes of material nature;  paribṛmhaṇa —the welfare;  anudhyāna —always thinking of;  vyavasita —known;  sakala —whole;  jagat —of the universe;  abhiprāyaḥ —by whom the ultimate purpose;  ātma —the Supreme Self;  yoniḥ —whose source of birth;  akhila —all;  nigama —by the  Vedas ;  nija-gaṇa —by personal associates;  pariveṣṭitaḥ —being surrounded;  sva-bhavanāt —from his own abode;  avatatāra —descended.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:  The first created being and most powerful demigod in this universe is Lord Brahmā, who is always responsible for developing universal affairs. Born directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he dedicates his activities to the welfare of the entire universe, for he knows the purpose of the universal creation. This supremely powerful Lord Brahmā, accompanied by his associates and the personified  Vedas , left his own abode in the highest planetary system and descended to the place of Prince Priyavrata's meditation.
PURPORT
Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Self ( ātmā ), is the source of everything, as explained in the  Vedānta-sūtra :  janmādy asya yataḥ . Because Brahmā was born directly from Lord Viṣṇu, he is called  ātma-yoni . He is also called  bhagavān , although generally  bhagavān  refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead ( Viṣṇu  or Lord  Kṛṣṇa ). Sometimes great personalities—such as demigods like Lord Brahmā, Nārada or Lord Śiva—are also addressed as  bhagavān  because they carry out the purpose of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Brahmā is called  bhagavān  because he is the secondary creator of this universe. He is always thinking of how to improve the situation of the conditioned souls who have come to the material world to enjoy material activities. For this reason, he disseminates the Vedic knowledge throughout the universe for everyone's guidance.
Vedic knowledge is divided into two parts:  pravṛtti-mārga  and  nivṛtti-mārga .  Nivṛtti-mārga  is the path of negating sense enjoyment, and  pravṛtti-mārga  is the path by which the living entities are given a chance