(Analysis of the First Verse of Brahma-saṁhitā)

This Brahma-samhita, which was often quoted by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the inaugurator of the current Hare Krsna movement, was sung by Brahma, the first created entity in this universe. Brahma, who was born out of a lotus flower sprouting from the navel of the Garbhodakasayi Visnu, a plenary expansion of Lord Sri Krsna, is the greatest of the demigods, being directly empowered by Lord Krsna to create the solar and planetary systems and all life that dwells therein. Despite his great power, at his birth Brahma knew neither his whereabouts nor his identity. Therefore the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, imparted Vedic knowledge into his heart, and these hymns of the Brahma-samhita are Brahma's articulation of that knowledge. It is not surprising then that the Brahma-samhita is in praise of Govinda (Krsna), the primeval Lord who is the very origin of Brahma.

From the very first verse, the Brahma-samhita asserts that of all the gods and the demigods, Lord Krsna, also called Govinda, is the Supreme. This is also stated in Bhagavad-gita by Lord Sri Krsna Himself: "Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin, for in every respect, I am the source of the demigods and the sages." (10.2) In the Gita, Arjuna also proclaims the supremacy of Lord Sri Krsna: "You are the father of this complete cosmic manifestation, the worshipable chief, the spiritual master. No one is equal to You, nor can anyone be one with You. Within the three worlds, You are immeasurable." (11.43)

The word Govinda (one who gives pleasure to the cows) also establishes that the Supreme Godhead is a personality who has characteristic pastimes, such as cow-tending. When Lord Sri Krsna descended on this earth some 5,000 years ago, He exhibited His eternal transcendental pastimes in Vrndavana, where He herded and tended cows along with His many cowherd boy friends. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati explains the appellation "Govinda" in this way: "Krsna, as truly envisioned in His variegated pastimes as the owner of transcendental cows, chief of cowherds, consort of milkmaids, ruler of the terrestrial abode Gokula and the object of worship of the beautiful transcendental residents of Goloka, is Govinda." (Purport to Verse 1 of Brahma-samhita) Indeed, the cow is very dear to Lord Sri Krsna. In Srimad-Bhagavatam the cow and the bull represent the earth and religion respectively. Lord Sri Krsna is also called Govinda because He not only gives pleasure to the cows but to all other living entities as well, being that He is the reservoir of all pleasures. The word go also means senses. The senses are always craving some satisfaction, and to get some satisfaction, the senses are always roving from one object to another, but only Krsna, Govinda, can give the senses unlimited satisfaction, for only Krsna is unlimited. Through the chanting of Hare Krsna, the living entity participates in the infinite bliss of Krsna, and thus his senses are automatically satisfied. It is Lord Brahma who laments that he has only four heads with which to praise Krsna. Brahma feels he can not adequately chant His praises with even a thousand heads and thousand tongues.

Of all the demigods, Brahma is considered to be the chief being directly empowered by Lord Sri Krsna to create all beings within the universe. Brahma himself is an isvaraḥ (controller), but in the first verse Lord Brahma says isvaraḥ paramaḥ krsnaḥ, which means that the supreme (paramaḥ) controller is Lord Sri Krsna. Because living entities have some controlling capacity, however great or minute, they are always trying to control one another. One animal tries to devour or conquer another animal, one man tries to conquer another man, or the husband tries to control his wife or children, or one nation tries to control another nation, or the inhabitants of one planet may try to "conquer space," or the demigods may control a variety of phenomena such as wind, rain, fire, water, etc., but ultimately there is a limit to the control of living entities. There is a point, despite a living entity's power, beyond which he has no control. In Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna tells Arjuna: "There are two classes of beings, the fallible and the infallible. In the material world every entity is fallible, and in the spiritual world every entity is called infallible. Besides these two, there is the greatest living personality, the Lord Himself, who has entered into these worlds and is maintaining them. Because I am transcendental, beyond both the fallible and the infallible, and because I am the greatest, I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as that Supreme Person." (Bg. 15.16-18)