Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jai Śiva Saṅkar. Jai Śrīla Prabhupāda.
All Glories To Śrīla Jīva Goswāmī.
kvāhaṁ tamo-mahad-ahaṁ-kha-carāgni-vār-bhū
saṁveṣṭitāṇḍa-ghaṭa-sapta-vitasti-kāyaḥ |
kvedṛg-vidhāvigaṇitāṇḍa-parāṇu-caryā
vātādhva-roma-vivarasya ca te mahitvam ||
How can we be compared? I (i.e., Brahmā), an ignorant being [tamaḥ], having a body measuring just seven spans of my own hand [sapta-vitasti], enclosed within this pot-like universe [aṇḍa-ghaṭa], surrounded by the coverings [ācchādana] of cosmic intellect [mahat], false ego [ahaṁ], ether [kha], air [cara], fire [agni], water [vāḥ] and earth [bhū]. And You [te], who is so great that countless such universes [avigaṇita-aṇḍa] pass through the pores of Your body [roma], like atomic dust [para-aṇu] pass through a window? ~~~(SB 10.14.11)
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments: “Lord Brahmā realized his actual position. He is certainly the supreme teacher of this universe, in charge of the production of material nature, consisting of the complete material energy, false ego, sky, air, fire, water, and earth. This particular universe may appear to be a very gigantic body, but it is nothing but the measurement of seven spans for Lord Brahmā. Millions and trillions of universes in their seedling form are coming out from the bodily pores of Mahā-Viṣṇu, and that Mahā-Viṣṇu is but a part of the plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Under these circumstances, although Lord Brahmā is the supreme creature within this universe, what is his importance in the presence of Lord Kṛṣṇa?”~~~[Kṛṣṇa—The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 14]
Śrī Brahmā expresses how insignificant he is in comparison to the Lord. He explains that his body is within this universe, which is covered with seven layers of—mahat, ahaṁ, sky, air, fire, water, and earth. The width of the inner-most layer is ten times the diameter of the universe, and each subsequent layer is ten times thicker than the previous one. Maitreya Muni states:
vikāraiḥ sahito yuktair
viśeṣādibhir āvṛtaḥ |
āṇḍakośo bahir ayaṁ
pañcāśat-koṭi-vistṛtaḥ ||
daśottarādhikair yatra
praviṣṭaḥ paramāṇuvat |
lakṣyate ’ntar-gatāś cānye
koṭiśo hy aṇḍa-rāśayaḥ ||
The egg-shaped universe [āṇḍa-kośaḥ], as a combination [saṃyoga] of eight material elements transformed into sixteen further categories, has a breadth of five million yojanas [pañcāśata-koṭi] and is covered outside by seven sheaths, each is ten times thicker than the one it surrounds [daśa-uttara-adhikaiḥ], and all the universes clustered together appear like atoms in a huge combination [aṇḍa-rāśayaḥ]. ~~~(SB 3.11.40-41)
“The first sixteen diversities are the eleven senses and five sense objects, and the eight elements are the gross and subtle matter, namely earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence, and ego. All these combined together are distributed throughout the entire universe, which extends diametrically to four billion miles. The coverings of the universes are also constituted of the elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether, and each is ten times thicker than the one before.”~~~Bhāśya By Śrīla Prabhupāda
“What is He (i.e., Bhagavān) like? The answer is: In whom the hair pores are like windows [vātādhvāno= gavākṣā] for the sake of the wandering [paribhramaṇaṁ tad] of atoms that are uncounted eggs of this kind [avigaṇitāny aṇḍāni]. Therefore, on account of being utterly insignificant, I deserve that You show me compassion.” ~~~Bhāśya By Śrīdhar Svāmī
“Describing the universe as a clay pot [ghaṭa-rūpakatvaṁ] is for the sake of expressing that it is destroyed after a very short period of time [naśvaratā-svalpa-kālata]. That the body of Brahmā measures seven spans of the hand signifies lowly strength. “Countless such universes [avigaṇita-aṇḍa]” is said because of the emergence and entrance of universes in Bhagavān during the creation and at cosmic dissolution [sṛṣṭi-pralayayor]. Each hair pore is extremely minute. This is stated in Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.9.53): yyasyāyutāyutāṁśāṁśe viṣṇu-śaktir iyaṁ sthitā, “This energy of the world is situated in a portion of a millionth portion of whom (i.e., Bhagavān Viṣṇu)”. ~~~Bhāśya By Śrīla Jīva Goswāmī
Śrīpada Vallabhācārya comments: “The universe consists of primordial nature (ādi prakṛtiḥ), ego, space, wind, fire, water, and the earth. This universe is compared (tulanā) to a huge “Pot”. In this manner, countless universes in the form of the finer atoms are seen circling in the tip of the hairs of our Lord—like the circling of dust, seen, in the rays of the sun, coming into a room, through a window! Here, countless universes (asaṃkhyāḥ) are compared to these countless “atoms”. Such is the power and spectacular greatness (mahimā) and glory of our Lord (i.e., Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa). Śrī Brahmā is obviously feeling so very small and petty for having got the “pride” before our Lord, on whose “hair” countless universes revolve, round the clock! Brahmā now felt ashamed (lajjitaḥ) that he set out to test our Lord! He now understood that he does not have the capacity to do this (sāmarthyaṃ nāsti).”
Jaya Nitai Gauranga 