etad evÄtma-bhÅ« rÄjan
nÄradÄya vipá¹›cchate
veda-garbho 'bhyadhÄt sÄká¹£Äd
yad Äha harir Ätmanaḥ
etat - on this matter; eva - exactly; Ätma-bhūḥ - the firstborn (BrahmÄjÄ«); rÄjan - my dear King; nÄradÄya - unto NÄrada Muni; vipá¹›cchate - having inquired about it from; veda-garbhaḥ - one who is impregnated with Vedic knowledge from birth; abhyadhÄt - apprised; sÄká¹£Ät - directly; yat Äha - what he spoke; hariḥ - the Lord; Ätmanaḥ - unto His own (BrahmÄ).
As soon as BrahmÄ was born of the abdominal lotus petals of Viṣṇu, he was impregnated with Vedic knowledge, and therefore he is known as veda-garbha, or a VedÄntist from the embryo. Without Vedic knowledge, or perfect, infallible knowledge, no one can create anything. All scientific knowledge and perfect knowledge are Vedic. One can get all types of information from the Vedas, and as such BrahmÄ was impregnated with all-perfect knowledge so that it was possible for him to create. Thus BrahmÄ knew the perfect description of creation, as it was exactly apprised to him by the Supreme Lord Hari. BrahmÄ, on being questioned by NÄrada, told NÄrada exactly what he had heard directly from the Lord. NÄrada again told exactly the same thing to VyÄsa, and VyÄsa also told Åšukadeva exactly what he heard from NÄrada. And Åšukadeva was going to repeat the same statements as he had heard them from VyÄsa. That is the way of Vedic understanding. The language of the Vedas can be revealed only by the above-mentioned disciplic succession, and not otherwise.
There is no use in theories. Knowledge must be factual. There are many things that are complicated, and one cannot understand them unless they are explained by one who knows. The Vedic knowledge is also very difficult to know and must be learned by the above-mentioned system; otherwise it is not at all understood.
Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«, therefore, prayed for the mercy of the Lord so that he might be able to repeat the very same message that was spoken directly by the Lord to BrahmÄ, or what was directly spoken by BrahmÄ to NÄrada. Therefore the statements of creation explained by Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« are not at all, as the mundaners suggest, theoretical, but are perfectly correct. One who hears these messages and tries to assimilate them gets perfect information of the material creation.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Second Canto, Fourth Chapter, of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, entitled “The Process of Creation.â€