Verse Text
aparādhāt, yathā śrī-daśame –
paśyeśa me ’nāryam ananta ādye
parātmani tvayy api māyi-māyini
māyāṁ vitatyekṣitum ātma-vaibhavaṁ
hy ahaṁ kiyān aiccham ivārcir agnau ||19||
Translation
Remorse arising from committing an offense, from the Tenth Canto: My Lord, just see my uncivilized impudence! To test Your power, I tried to extend my illusory potency to cover You, the unlimited and primeval Supersoul, who bewilder even the masters of illusion. What am I compared to You? I am just like a small spark in the presence of a great fire. SB 10.14.9
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Āryam means the condition of a well-bred person (aryaḥ). The opposite of that is condition of an uncultured person, anāryam. What was that? I desired (aiccham) to see (īkṣitum) Your (ātma) great power (vaibhavam). This was already mentioned in the previous chapter:
ambhojanma-janis tad-antara-gato māyārbhakasyeśitur
draṣṭuṁ maṣju mahitvam anyad api tad-vatsān ito vatsapān
nītvānyatra kurūdvahāntaradadhāt khe ’vasthito yaḥ purā
dṛṣṭvāghāsura-mokṣaṇaṁ prabhavataḥ prāptaḥ paraṁ vismayam
O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Brahmā, who resides in the higher planetary system in the sky, had observed the activities of the most powerful Kṛṣṇa in killing and delivering Aghāsura, and he was astonished. Now that same Brahmā wanted to show some of his own power and see the power of Kṛṣṇa, who was engaged in His childhood pastimes, playing as if with ordinary cowherd boys. Therefore, in Kṛṣṇa’s absence, Brahmā took all the boys and calves to another place. Thus he became entangled, for in the very near future he would see how powerful Kṛṣṇa was. SB 10.13.15
If that is the case, what is the fault in doing so? Brahmā then explains. “To see Your powers, I tried to extend my powers beyond Yours. But how low I am (kiyāt)!” He gives an example of his lowness: “I am just like the spark of a fire.”
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
In the Tenth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, verse 9, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a statement by Brahmā: “My dear Lord, just see my impudence! You are the unlimited, the original Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul—and You rule over the most perfect illusory energies! And just see my impudence! I wanted to supersede You by my own personal power, and I was very puffed up with this tiny power of mine. Just as a simple spark from a fire cannot do any harm to the fire, so my bewildering potency was completely unsuccessful in thwarting Your superior illusory power. Therefore I find myself to be most insignificant and think of myself as a most useless person.” This statement by Brahmā is an instance of lamentation caused by committing an offense.