As Brahmadev soared high in the sky on his majestic swan, he gazed at the beauty of Vrindavan spread out below him. It had been just a truti (1/1687.5 seconds), in the timesphere of Brahmalok since the creator god brought the cowherd boys and calves, but in earthly time, a year had almost passed, just 5-6 days were left.
The lush green forests, the winding rivers, and the colorful flowers all seemed to dance in harmony, creating a mesmerizing tapestry of nature. But what caught Brahmadev's attention the most was the sight of Krishna, the mischievous cowherd boy, playing with his friends and the calves in a secluded meadow.
Brahmadev's heart skipped a beat as he realized that these were the very same cowherds and calves he had kidnapped and hidden away in his celestial abode, hoping to astonish Krishna with his divine powers. But instead of being shocked or dismayed, Krishna seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, laughing and frolicking with his friends as if nothing had happened.
Brahma wondered, "Inn sabhi gwaal-baal aur bacchdo ko toh maine apni mayamayi shaiyaa par achet kar sula diya tha, aur tab se woh sachet nahi huye. Fir yaha Krishna ke saath kaun khel raha hai ?"
Using his divine sight, Brahmadev peered into his Brahmalok and saw the children and calves sleeping peacefully and undisturbed. Confusion clouded his mind as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Were the children and calves that he was seeing in Vrindavan real, or the real were those that were sleeping in his abode ? He kept thinking and meditating for a long while upon this, trying to find an answer.
Brahmadev tried to surprise Krishna with his Maya, however he had forgotten that the entire world his affected by Krishna's Maya, but he remains unaffected and untouched by it. But now, the question to surprise him was far gone, Brahma himself was getting affected and confused by his own powers, just like how a firefly loses its own essence during the day in front of the sun.
And while Brahmadev was thinking and trying to understand what was happening, he saw that all the cowherd boys and calves took on the form of the four-armed Krishna, with shankh, chakra, gada and Padma in their hands. All of them were adorned with glorious crowns, glimmering earrings, armlets, bracelets, shimmering necklaces, tulsimala, beautiful flower garlands, and a golden line on their chest, the Shrivatsa mark.
As Brahma looked on in astonishment, he saw several other Brahmas like him, some with ten heads, some with a hundred heads, some with thousand and some with even more. They all descended upon Vrindavan, their divine swans fluttering in unison as they approached Krishna. Brahma was utterly bewildered, his mind reeling at the sight of so many versions of himself.
"Y-Yeh kaise sambhav hai ? Brahma toh mai hu !" He muttered, all his 11 senses seemed to have foresaken him.
He could not comprehend what was happening, as he watched the multiple Brahmas bowing down in reverence to Krishna, their heads touching the ground in surrender. The air was filled with the sound of mantras and prayers, as the Brahmas chanted hymns in praise of the divine Lord.
The atmosphere was electric with the energy of their devotion, and Chaturmukhi Brahma felt a sense of awe and wonder at the sight before him. He saw how these Brahmas, some seemingly superior to him, were accepting the sovereignty of Krishna. The creator god seemed to be deprived of his resplendence and became silent in front of the lord. His mind became calm, once it accepted that the one in front of him, cannot be comprehended by logic and even the vedant is incompetent in describing him completely.
The brilliance of Krishna seemed to be only increasing. Chaturmukhi Brahmadev closed his eyes. Krishna looked at him, and with a smile he ended his Maya. After a few moments, Brahmadev managed to open his eyes and saw that everything became just as it was, he looked around and saw the lush fields of the Vrindavan only. It seemed as though Brahma came back from the dead.
He looked down again and saw that Krishna was playing with the cowherd boys and calves just like before. Seeing the lord, Brahma descended down on earth. He approached Krishna and prostrated himself before him, touching the lotus like feet of the lord with his head. Tears of eternal bliss kept falling from his eyes as kept remembering what he was made to see just a moment before. He laid down in the feet of Krishna like this for a long time.
Brahmadev then arose and wiped his tears, but seeing Krishna, the embodiment of love and salvation, tears again began falling from his eyes as his heads automatically got lowered with humility. His form was trembling.
In a joyful voice he said, "Prabhu, iss sansaar mei keval ek maatra aap hi stuti karne yogya hai. Mai aapne charano mei namaskaar karta hu."
And so Brahmadev began doing Krishna's stuti, "O Achyut ! O Anant ! Iss lok mei bahut se Yogi huye hai. Jab unhe apne Yog adi se aap praapt nahi huye, toh unhone apne samast lokik aur vaidik karm aapko samarpit kar diye. Tab jaa ke unhe aapki bhakti praapt huyi....."
"Prabhu, meri kutilta toh dekhiye !" He said realising his folly, "Aap anant adi purush paramatma hai aur mere jaise bade bade mayavi bhi aapke Maya ke chakra mei hai. Fir bhi maine aap par apni maya ka prayog kar, apna aishwarya dekhna chaha. Prabhu, mai aapke samaan hu hi kya ? Agni ke samaksh chingari kya hai ?"
Looking at Krishna, with tears in his eyes, Brahma said, "Sachidanand swaroop Shri Krishna ! Aap sabke sakshi hai. Iss liye aap sab kuch jaante hai. Aap samast jagat ke swami hai. Aapse mai aur kya kahu ? Ab aap mujhe swikar kijiye. Mujhe apne lok mei jaane ki anumati dijiye."
Concluding his stuti he said, "Bhagwan, mai apne jeevanbhar, mahakalpaparynat aapko namaskaar hi karta rahu."
Having thus offered his prayers, Brahmadev circumambulated Krishna three times and then again bowed down at his lotus feet.
Krishna smiled, "Jaao Brahma. Shrishti ko apne racheta ki awashyakta hai."
The creator of the universe then returned to his own residence and returned all the cowherds with their lunch bags and the calves. They all woke up and found themselves exactly there from where they had been taken by Brahma. And though almost a year had passed, because of divine illusory powers, they believed only a moment had passed.
They stretched their arms and feet, looking around and then seeing Krishna approaching them with a smile on his face.
"Krishna ! Tum aa hi gaye. Dekho, tumhare bina hume ek kor tak nahi grahan kiya. Aao aur bhojan karo." They said showing their lunch and offering it to him.
Krishna smiled and sat down in the centre. He finished his lunch in the company of his friends. Once they were all done, their enchanted picnic finally came to an end, and they all prepared to leave.
While they all were returning from the forest to their homes in Braj, Krishna pointed at the skin of the dead Aghasur, "Woh dekho mitro. Smaran hai ?"
"Smaran kaise nahi rahega ? Tumne Aaj hi toh mara hai." Subala said.
Krishna couldn't help but laugh. Madhumangal said, "Vrindavan pahuch, hum tumhari veerta ki gatha sabko batayenge !"
As they all reached their village, they began singing the praises of Krishna as to how he saved them by killing Aghasur. Some glorified him by describing him as the son of Yashoda, others as the son of Nand. Though this incident had happened a year before, they believed it had happened just this morning.
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A/N
Krishna showed Brahmadev the truth ✨
Also, the stuti done by Brahmadev is very very very long, and I'm only showing selected parts. But if you want to read the full stuti, it's there in Srimad Bhagwatam, Skandh 10 purvardh (the 10th Skandh is divided into two parts - Purvardh and Utarardh), adhyaye 14.