Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.3.26-27
Āśraya· The supreme shelterKṛṣṇa Creates; Brahmā Engineers
“Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the supreme lord within this universe. At the end of each day of his life, the universe is fully covered with dense darkness by the influence of time, and then again, during his next day, that self-effulgent lord, by his own effulgence, manifests, maintains and destroys the entire cosmic manifestation through the material energy, which is invested with the three modes of material nature. He, Lord Brahmā, is the shelter of those modes of nature — sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa.”
What the purport teaches
- Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the original creator. Lord Brahmā is the secondary creator, empowered by Kṛṣṇa to engineer the universe.
- Kṛṣṇa creates the total material energy. Brahmā uses what the Lord has supplied, working through the three modes of material nature.
- At the end of Brahmā’s day, everything up to Svargaloka is inundated with water. The next morning, Brahmā again brings the phenomenal manifestation into existence.
Try this today
Write one sentence explaining the distinction between Kṛṣṇa’s role and Brahmā’s role in creation.
Ask yourself
How does distinguishing the original creator from the engineer deepen my understanding of Brahmā’s dependence?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.