Text 13
jagat-trayāntodadhi-samplavode
nārāyaṇasyodara-nābhi-nālāt
vinirgato ’jas tv iti vāṅ na vai mṛṣā
kintv īśvara tvan na vinirgato ’smi
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.
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?
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.