Table of Contents

1. Why Brahma stole the Calves and Friends of Krishna?

2. Three Sets of Gopas in the pastime with Brahma.

3. Where was the first original set of Gopas or Friends of Krishna when
Brahma stole the Yogamaya Set?

4. Guards Stop Brahma at his own Abode

5. Tasks Achieved by Krishna in Brahma Vimohana Lila

6. Year Long Lunch

7. The Anarthas

8. The Prayers by Lord Brahma and Commentaries by Gaudiya Acaryas

 Bachavan – Forest of Kids

1. Why Brahma stole the Calves and Friends of Krishna?

 Brahma very well knew that Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead,
when he witnessed the killing of Aghasura. He witnessed that the soul of
Aghasura merged in to the Lotus feet of Krishna.

 Brahma thought “How wonderful this is! I want to see sweeter pastimes”
That is why he thought of stealing the calves and boys.

 Simultaneously Krishna was thinking how to fulfill the 4 wishes

o Wish 1 : The desire of the teenage Gopis : “If Krishna becomes our
beloved, our lives will be successful”

o Wish 2: The desires of the cows and mothers: “If Krishna becomes our
baby, we would be able to feed him as much milk as he desires, directly
from our udders”

o Wish 3: The desire of Lord Brahmā : To see more sweeter pastimes

o Wish 4: Krishna’s own desire to taste the affection of his devotees

eka līlāya karena prabhu kārya pāñca-sāta

Ś rī Caitanya-caritā mṛta (Antya-līlā 2.169) thus, through performing one
pastime he accomplishes five or seven purposes. In other words, by
performing a single pastime, Śrī Kṛṣṇa accomplishes many tasks.
2. Three Sets of Gopas in the pastime with Brahma.

 When Kṛṣṇ a was contemplating on the 4 wishes, Yogamā yā at once

appeared to Him and said, “Prabhu, you are thinking about tasting these
relationships, so I will arrange for this right away.” This is why she caught
hold of Brahmā and brought him under her influence. She made this thought
arise in him: “I am Brahmā . I should steal away the cowherd boys and
calves. Then I will see what He will do. Maybe He will come to me and ask
where they are.”

 Brahmā saw all the cowherd boys sitting together, with Kṛṣṇ a in the center,
absorbed in laughing and joking and enjoying prasā dam. By the influence of
Yogamā yā , Brahmā thought, “This is the perfect time to steal the boys and
calves.” He created very green grass far away, and the calves became allured
to go there and graze. At that time Brahmā stole them and put them in a
cave.

 Kṛṣṇ a told His friends, “Just wait here and take prasā dam while I personally
go to look for the calves.” Then, as soon as Kṛṣṇ a left the cowherd boys,
Brahmā took them and put them in the cave, and then he returned to
Brahma-loka.

 Who were the calves and cowherd boys stolen by him? The real cowherd
boys and calves are nitya-parikaras (eternal associates) of Kṛṣṇ a. Lord
Brahmā is not qualified to even touch the dust of their feet, what to speak of
kidnap them.

 Actually, there were three sets of boys: The first set was the original
cowherd boys and calves. Yogamāyā created the second set, which Lord
Brahmā stole, and Kṛṣṇa personally expanded as the third set
3. Where was the first original set of Gopas or Friends of
Krishna when Brahma stole the Yogamaya Set?

 Kṛṣṇ a told Yogamā yā , “Please cover them in such a way that they will sit
and take their meal, and the calves will graze as usual. No one, not even
Baladeva Prabhu or any Vrajavā sī, should see them.”

 Yogamā yā thus covered the original cowherd boy associates of Kṛṣṇ a for
one year. No Vrajavā sī could see them, and even Baladeva could not see
them.

 When Kṛṣṇ a was with them, they had been eating yogurt and rice just as He
was doing. Now that Kṛṣṇ a had left just as they were about to put their next
morsel of prasā dam (Their mothers had offered the prasā dam to the Deity of
Śā lagrā ma in their homes) in their mouths, they began thinking, “We will
not eat anything until our sakhā, Kṛṣṇa, returns to us. Being worried
that we are not eating without Him, He will surely return very soon.”

 In this way, for one year Yogamā yā influenced their minds in thinking that
Kṛṣṇ a would return in the very next moment, and this year passed for them
like a moment.
4. Guards Stop Brahma at his own Abode

When Lord Brahmā went to his own planet, his guards questioned him,
“Who are you?” Lord Brahmā said, “You are my guards. You do not
recognize me?”

The guards replied, “You are not Brahmā . Our Prabhu is on His throne and
managing everything. He told us that if an imposter tries to come in, we
should not allow him entrance.”

Lord Brahmā wondered, “Why is this happening?” Then, in his trance of

meditation he realized, “I have made a mistake.” There is so much deep
siddhā nta in this pastime.

Brahmā jī then returned to Earth and meditated on the possible reasons why
his servants had treated him in that way. During his trance of meditation, he
realized that Śrī Kṛṣṇ a was behind the whole incident. Kṛṣṇ a had ordered
them to do so; He had bewildered them

Brahmā returned to Earth after one year of Earth-time. He saw that so many
wonderful pastimes had taken place in Vraja during that year, like the
betrothal of the young gopīs. He looked in the cave where he had put the
cowherd boys and calves created by Yogamā yā , and saw that they were still
there. Then he looked further and saw that all of the calves and cowherd
boys were continuing to play with Kṛṣṇ a as before. He then saw those
cowherd boys transforming into the four-armed forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇ a known
as Lord Nā rā yaṇ a. Seeing this, he understood that Śrī Kṛṣṇ a had personally
taken the form of all of His cowherd boyfriends and calves.
 5. Tasks Achieved by Krishna in Brahma Vimohana Lila
 Task 1: To Teach Brahma
When Brahmā jī desired to see the pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇ a, the Lord showed him
many of his pastimes. He even showed him a pastime by which Brahmā jī could
not return to his own personal abode in Brahmaloka. Ś rī Kṛṣṇ a took the form
of Brahmā and instructed the guards to prohibit the impostor Brahmā , who
would be arriving soon, from entering the palace. When Brahmā jī reached his
palace gate, his own guards accused him of being an impostor and forced him
to turn away, something Brahmā jī could never have even imagined would be
possible.
Later, Ś rī Kṛṣṇ a showed Brahmā jī that, what to speak of the calves and sakhā s,
even the sticks the sakhā s carried were actually four-armed Viṣṇ u forms, each
carrying a conch, chakra, club and lotus. Through this pastime, Śrī Kṛṣṇ a
instructed Brahmā jī, “Oh Brahmā , Even the sticks in Vraja are worthy of your
worship.”
 Task 2: Fulfil Mother and Cow’s desires
The mothers in Vraja constantly longed to have Kṛṣṇ a as their own son. “If Ś rī
Kṛṣṇ a was my own darling baby boy,” they thought, “then I would always be
able to affectionately caress him as Yaśodā does now.” to answer this prayer,
Ś rī Kṛṣṇ a became the sons of all those mothers for one year and fulfilled the
desires of all the elderly gopīs who were filled with parental love for him.The
mother cows thought, “if Kṛṣṇ a was my calf, I would give him my milk until
he became totally full.” So Ś rī Kṛṣṇ a became their calves for one year and
fulfilled the desires of all the mother cows.

 Task 3: Fulfil desires of the Gopis

But the most important thing he accomplished was fulfilling the desire of all
the young gopīs. With intense desire, all the young gopīs in Vraja constantly
prayed, “If Kṛṣṇ a was my husband, my life would be successful.” therefore, Ś rī
Kṛṣṇ a became the sakhā s and married all of the gopīs. Thus in that year he
actually fulfilled their heart’s desire. (Rays of The Harmonist Kārttika 2010)

6. Year Long Lunch

Back to Godhead – Year 1977
Adapted from Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His
Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

“Dear friends,” said Lord Krishna to the other cowherd boys, “Look at this
wonderful place!” He’d brought them to the sun-dappled bank of the
Yamuna River, after an adventurous morning in the pastures outside
Vrndavana town. “This is an ideal place to eat our lunch. Afterward, we can
play on the soft, sandy river bank.”

Krishna turned to the sparkling river and glorified its beauty. “See those
lotus flowers in the water, their petals opened wide; and smell their
fragrance drifting all around us. And listen—nearby in the trees the
peacocks are calling out to one another, and their calls are mingling with the
songs of other birds and the whispers of the leaves. This is clearly the best
place for us to have our lunch. The calves can stay close to us, drink water
from the Yamuna, and graze on the tasty grass.”

Krishna’s friends were glad to hear what sounded to them like a brilliant
suggestion. It was late and they were feeling hungry, what’s more, they all
agreed that Lord Krishna had found a perfect place for them to sit and eat.
So they let loose the calves and arranged themselves in a big circle. Krishna
sat in the center, and all the boys turned toward Him, so that while they ate
they could see Him face to face. Krishna was like the whorl of a big lotus
flower, and the other boys were like the petals. Together, they opened up
the lunch boxes their mothers had given them early that morning. Then they
began to eat and joke with one another.

But as the boys ate, their attention given completely to Krishna and the
delicious food, they failed to notice that the calves had wandered away,
allured by the fresh new grass of the deep forest. Soon the calves were out
of sight entirely. When the boys discovered this, they became scared and
called to Krishna for help, as they always did when they were in distress.

“Oh, Krishna!” they cried out. “The calves have disappeared! What should
we do?”
“Don’t worry,” Lord Krishna answered. “And don’t interrupt your lunch.
Go on enjoying. I’ll look for them Myself.” So, sparing His friends the
trouble, the Lord got up and walked away to search for the lost calves. He
spent much time in His search, looking in the thickets and the forests and in
the nearby caves and mountain crevices. The calves were nowhere to be
found.

But Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, knew what was
happening. He didn’t really have to look for the calves, because He knows
everything. Still, He was playing the part of an ordinary human being—just
to please His friends. So He knew exactly where the calves were, and He
also knew they hadn’t left the riverbank on their own.

They’d been lured away by none other than four-headed Brahma, the
demigod who directs universal affairs. And, as Krishna was enjoying
climbing around the hills and looking in the caves, back at the lunch site
Brahma was now using his mystic powers to steal the cowherd boys. Then
he hid the boys and the calves in a secret place and put them into a long,
deep steep.

Krishna was aware, too, of the reason why Brahma was playing these tricks
on Him. Somebody had told Brahma that the Supreme Personality of
Godhead was living in the little town of Vrndavana as a five-year-old boy
named Krishna, the son of Nanda. On hearing this, Brahma was skeptical.
So he hit upon a plan to test Krishna’s powers for himself. He thought,
“After His friends and calves have mysteriously disappeared, what will this
little boy Krishna do?”

Now, by Brahma’s magic, the picnic spot was deserted. Lord Krishna
thought, “Brahma has taken away the boys and the calves. How can I go
back to Vrndavana alone? The boys’ mothers will cry in despair, and the
calves’ mothers will feel sick with grief.”

The Lord asked Himself this question, but He was hardly at a loss for an
answer. At once He manifested Himself in multiple forms—boys and calves
who looked and acted precisely like the very boys and calves Lord Brahma
had hidden. Each new boy was in fact Krishna but had the bodily features
and behavior of one of the original boys; and the same was true of each of
the new calves. Appearances thus restored, soon the happy boys and calves
were making their way back to town.

None of the townspeople in Vrndavana knew what had transpired that

afternoon out in the pasture. They simply saw Krishna and His friends
strolling into the village, casually tapping the calves with sticks to keep
them in order and raising up a cloud of golden dust in the late afternoon sun.
There seemed to be nothing unusual. And, as always, the boys put the
calves into their cowsheds and then went home.

Long before the boys arrived, the mothers had heard the sound of their
flutes. Now the mothers ran out of their homes and embraced the boys. On
account of their maternal affection, milk flowed from their breasts, and they
allowed the boys to drink it. Although they didn’t know it, their offering
was not to their sons but to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then the
boys played at home, as usual. Also, during the evening the mothers bathed
the children, decorated them with ornaments, and gave them the food they
needed after a hard day’s work. In the cowsheds the mother cows, who had
been away in the pasture during the day, now called the calves. The calves
came joyfully, and the mothers licked their bodies.

Thus, family relations for the cows and the cowherds remained unchanged,
except that the mothers’ affection for the children grew and continued to
grow day after day. Clearly, the cows and women of Vrndavana had even
greater love for Krishna than for their own offspring. And for many months
Krishna maintained Himself as the boys and calves of Vrndavana.

One day, after a full year had elapsed, Krishna and His brother Balarama
were in the forest tending some calves. All at once, they noticed that the
cows grazing atop Govardhana Hill were looking down upon the boys and
calves in the valley. On sighting the calves, the cows started running toward
them and leaping down the hill. Practically melting with love for the calves,
the cows didn’t care about the roughness of the path down to the pasture.
With their milk bags full and their tails raised, they sped toward the calves,
pouring milk on the ground as they ran.
The calves in the valley were older than the cows’ own calves—they
weren’t expected to drink milk directly from the milk bag, but were
ordinarily satisfied with grass. Yet the cows came running down to them
anyway. When the cows reached the bottom, they licked the calves’ bodies,
and the calves drank the cows’ milk. There appeared to be an extraordinary
bond of love.

While the cows had been running down the hill, the men taking care of
them had tried to stop them but had failed. Now the men felt baffled,
ashamed, and angry. Yet as they came down the hill and into the valley,
they saw the boys taking care of the calves and felt overwhelming paternal
affection. At once, the fathers’ anger and shame disappeared, and they
lovingly lifted the boys up into their arms. After embracing the boys, the
fathers went about the business of bringing the cows up the hill. Along the
way, they thought of the children, and tears fell from their eyes.

As Balarama gazed upon this remarkable exchange of love between the

cows and calves and fathers and boys—when neither calves nor boys
needed so much care—He began to wonder how it all had come about.
Before long He concluded, “It was arranged by Krishna, and even I couldn’t
perceive His mystic power.” In other words, Balarama understood that all
the boys and calves were really Lord Krishna’s expansions.

Balarama quizzed Krishna about the incident. “My dear Krishna,” He said,
“at first I thought the boys and the calves were great sages or demigods in
disguise. But now I think they are actually Your expansions. They are all
You! You Yourself are playing as the boys and calves. Please, clear up this
mystery for Me. Where have Our friends, the original boys and calves, gone
to?”

Now Lord Krishna briefly explained how Brahma had stolen the boys and
calves, and how He had concealed the theft so that the families wouldn’t be
distressed. While They were talking, Brahma returned to Vrndavana. Only a
moment had passed—by his reckoning of time. By human reckoning, a
whole year had come and gone. At any rate, Brahma wanted to see the fun
caused by his kidnapping. But he was dumbfounded to see that the boys and
calves were still playing with Krishna, just as they had been a year earlier!
How could this be? He was confident that he’d put them to sleep by his
mystic spell. “How is it,” he marveled, “that they appear to be here, playing
with Krishna?!”

As Brahma stared at the scene, something even more wonderful happened.

To convince Brahma that these weren’t the original boys and calves,
Krishna transformed His expansions into four-armed Visnu forms. Besides
a bluish complexion and yellow garments, They all had four hands and held
a club, a disk, a lotus flower, and a conchshell. On Their heads They wore
golden, jeweled helmets that glittered. Pearls, earrings, armlets, and flower
garlands also bedecked Their beautiful bodies, and there were golden bells
around Their waists and legs, splendid rings on Their fingers, and strings of
gems around Their smooth necks. This display of divine potency left
Brahma utterly confounded.

At that time Krishna took compassion upon the demigod. He saw that
Brahma’s mind was reeling, so He decided to change things back to the way
they’d been before He had expanded Himself as calves and cowherd boys.

Relieved from his confusion, Brahma felt that he was waking up from a
state near death. Before him he saw Lord Krishna playing the part of a small
cowherd boy—holding a lump of fruit salad in His left hand and searching
for His lost calves and friends, just as He’d been doing a year earlier.

With great devotion, Brahma bowed down on the ground before the Lord,
his four helmets touching Krishna’s lotus feet. Joyfully, Brahma washed
Lord Krishna’s feet with his tears. He repeatedly fell and rose, praying to
Krishna and recalling His wonderful activities. Having emptied his heart,
Brahma stood up, smeared his hands over his eyes, and with the Lord’s
permission returned to his abode. He was convinced, at last, of Krishna’s
identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Krishna had left His cowherd boyfriends eating lunch on the bank of the
Yamuna—a year before. Then Brahma had put the boys to sleep and had
hidden them away, but the boys knew nothing of that. Now Krishna brought
them back, woke them up, and walked onto the picnic site as if nothing had
happened. It was a whole year later, but the cowherd boys thought He’d
returned after being away for just a moment. They laughed: Krishna could
never leave them for any longer than a little while. Overjoyed, they greeted
Him. “Dear Krishna, You’ve returned so quickly! Please, come and join us.
Let’s eat together.” Krishna smiled and accepted their invitation. Once
again He enjoyed the lunchtime company of His friends, the cowherd boys.
7. The Anarthas

 Caitanya Siksamrita : Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Attachment to karma and jnana can lead to disregard of madhurya. The

Brahma-mohana-lélä, the illusory enchantment of Lord Brahmä,
represents the skepticism that may arise because of attachment to the
paths of jïäna and karma and further presents disregard for the superior
sweetness of Kåñëa from over-attachment to the Lord’s majestic aspect.
Dissipated by Kåñëa, this offence is to be avoided.

 Krsna Samhita : Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Again a warning about jïäna If one intensely absorbs his mind in various
arguments, opinions, and their respective literatures, then all realizations
attained through samädhi are practically lost. This is called illusion
based on the flowery words of the Vedas. Being overwhelmed with this
illusion, Brahmä doubted the supremacy of Kåñëa. The Vaiñëavas
should regard this illusion as the seventh obstacle.
8. The Prayers by Lord Brahma and Commentaries by Gaudiya
Acaryas
SB 10.14.1

śrī-brahmovāca
naumīḍya te  ’bhra-vapuṣe taḍid-ambarāya
guñjāvataṁsa-paripiccha-lasan-mukhāya
vanya-sraje kavala-vetra-viṣāṇa-veṇu-
lakṣma-śriye mṛdu-pade paśupāṅgajāya
Lord Brahmä said: My dear Lord, You are the only worshipable Lord, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and therefore I offer my humble obeisances and prayers just to
please You. O son of the king of the cowherds, Your transcendental body is dark blue like a
new cloud, Your garment is brilliant like lightning, and the beauty of Your face is enhanced
by Your guïjä earrings and the peacock feather on Your head. Wearing garlands of various
forest flowers and leaves, and equipped with a herding stick, a buffalo horn and a flute, You
stand beautifully with a morsel of food in Your hand.
Commentaries by Santana Goswami and Jiva Goswami
Brahma has seen 4 handed forms during this pastime, but in the firstverse in Chapter 14 he offers his
obeisances to the cowherd form. He is attracted by that form.

Commentaries by HDAC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Although Brahmä had seen innumerable four-armed forms of the Lord, he now surrendered
unto the lotus feet of the two-armed form of Kåñëa, who appeared as the son of Nanda
Mahäräja. Brahmä offered his prayers to that form.
 SB 10.14.31

aho  ’ti-dhanyā vraja-go-ramaṇyaḥ

stanyāmṛtaṁ pītam atīva te mudā
yāsāṁ vibho vatsatarātmajātmanā
yat-tṛptaye  ’dyāpi na cālam adhvarāḥ

O almighty Lord, how greatly fortunate are the cows and ladies of Våndävana, the nectar of
whose breast-milk You have happily drunk to Your full satisfaction, taking the form of their
calves and children! All the Vedic sacrifices performed from time immemorial up to the
present day have not given You as much satisfaction.
Commentaries by Sridhar Swami
Brahma is celebrating in eagerness.
Commentaries by Sanatana Goswami
Brahma is applying the logic that "sweetness rounds everything up nicely." Also He is
showing that he understands that the description of the dear devotees of the Lord is the
greatest way of glorifying Him.
Commentaries by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Brahma is one of the leaders of those who perform the sacrifices he is referring to.
SB 10.14.32

aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ

nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām
yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ
pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam
How greatly fortunate are Nanda Mahäräja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of
Vrajabhümi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source
of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend.
Commentaries by Jiva Goswami
Even Your own greatness cannot be as great as this great fortune of the devotees of
Våndävana.
Commentaries by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
This is praising those in the rasa of friendship (and then all others).
 SB 10.14.33

eṣāṁ tu bhāgya-mahimācyuta tāvad āstām

ekādaśaiva hi vayaṁ bata bhūri-bhāgāḥ
etad-dhṛṣīka-caṣakair asakṛt pibāmaḥ
śarvādayo  ’ṅghry-udaja-madhv-amṛtāsavaṁ te
Yet even though the extent of the good fortune of these residents of Våndävana is
inconceivable, we eleven presiding deities of the various senses, headed by Lord Çiva, are
also most fortunate, because the senses of these devotees of Våndävana are the cups through
which we repeatedly drink the nectarean, intoxicating beverage of the honey of Your lotus
feet.
Commentaries by Sanatana Goswami
Oh who is capable of describing the glory of these devotees? Ourselves, simply by
connection with these devotees, have become all successful.
Commentaries by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Actually the senses of the inhabitants of Vrndavana are completely spiritual, so how can the
material demigods have any contact with them? It is only that they think they have contact
with them.
SB 10.14.34

tad bhūri-bhāgyam iha janma kim apy aṭavyāṁ

yad gokule  ’pi katamāṅghri-rajo-’bhiṣekam
yaj-jīvitaṁ tu nikhilaṁ bhagavān mukundas
tv adyāpi yat-pada-rajaḥ śruti-mṛgyam eva
My greatest possible good fortune would be to take any birth whatever in this forest of
Gokula and have my head bathed by the dust falling from the lotus feet of any of its
residents. Their entire life and soul is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mukunda, the
dust of whose lotus feet is still being searched for in the Vedic mantras.
Commentaries by Sridhar Swami
Restating the request of verse 30
Commentaries by Sanatana Goswami
He is even happy to be bathed by one particle of dust. (There is a statement by Sanatana
Goswami in his purport to verse 35, that Baka and Agha became fortunate through being in
the same family as Putana)
 SB 10.14.42

tato  ’nujñāpya bhagavān

sva-bhuvaṁ prāg avasthitān
vatsān pulinam āninye
yathā-pūrva-sakhaṁ svakam
After granting His son Brahmä permission to leave, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
took the calves, who were still where they had been a year earlier, and brought them to the
riverbank, where He had been taking His meal and where His cowherd boyfriends remained
just as before.

 Kåñëa was thinking: "Where did this four-headed Brahma come from? What is he doing?
What are these words which he keeps on speaking? I am busy looking for My calves. I am
just a cowherd boy and do not understand this." (This is indicated by the silence of Lord
Kåñëa when Brahma finishes his prayers.)

 Even though in the rest of the pastime, even when the Lord revealed Himself to Brahma in
the 13th chapter, the Lord was in full understanding of His great position as the Supreme
Lord, still it is fitting that later on the Lord, coming under the control of the great love of
persons in vatsalya rasa, such as Mother Yaçoda, would become ignorant of His own great
opulence., it becoming covered by the rasa of sweetness of their great love for Him
SB 10.14.45

ūcuś ca suhṛdaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ

sv-āgataṁ te  ’ti-raṁhasā
naiko  ’py abhoji kavala
ehītaḥ sādhu bhujyatām
The cowherd boyfriends said to Lord Kåñëa: You have returned so quickly! We have not eaten
even one morsel in Your absence. Please come here and take Your meal without distraction.
 What did the boys say to Kåñëa when they saw Him again (they were returned to the same
positions they had been in, in the middle of their meal when the Lord had gone to look for the
calves): "You have returned so quickly! We have not even eaten a morsel in Your absence.
Come here.