The creator himself is a student here: taught by four verses on a lotus, and humbled by a cowherd boy in Vraja.
Appears in
The four verses given to Brahma — Skandha 2, adhyaya 9 — Brahma, seated on a lotus with no idea how to create, hears 'tapa' twice, does penance, and is given the whole book in four verses.
Varaha raises the earth — Skandha 3, adhyayas 13; 17-19 — A boar no bigger than a thumb leaps from Brahma's nostril, grows to fill the sky, and dives into the ocean for the sunken earth.
Brahma steals the calves — Skandha 10, adhyayas 13-14 — The creator hides Krishna's calves and cowherd friends for a year to test him, and finds Krishna has quietly become all of them.
Embodies
Pride humbled — Brahma, Indra and the sage Durvasa each try to measure the Lord, and each one ends up on his knees asking pardon.
Who is a teacher — A son teaches his mother, a madman teaches a king, and an ascetic learns from a pigeon, a python and a courtesan.
Questions to explore
Why does the creator of the world need to be taught?
What did Brahma see when he returned to Vraja after a year?
Why does the Bhagavatam make Brahma the first to receive it?
