The origins of the text known as Brahma-Samhita are lost in cosmic antiquity. According to Vedic tradition, these “Hymns of Brahma” were recited or sung countless millennia ago by the first created beings in the universe, just prior to the act of creation. The text surfaced and entered calculable history early in the sixteenth century when it was discovered by a pilgrim exploring the manuscript library of an ancient temple in what is now Kerala state in South India. Prior to the introduction of the printing press, texts like Brahma-Samhita existed only in manuscript form, painstakingly handwritten by scribes and kept under brahminical custodianship in temples, where often they were worshiped as sastra-Deity, or God incarnates in holy scripture.
The pilgrim who rescued Brahma-Samhita from obscurity was no ordinary pilgrim, and His pilgrimage was not meant, as is the custom, for self-purification but for world-purification. He was Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu—saint, mystic, religious reformer, and full incarnation of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, descending into the present epoch for the salvation of all souls. At the time of His discovery of the text, Sri Caitanya was touring South India, preaching His message of the love of Krsna and promulgating the practice of sankirtana, congregational singing of the holy names of God.
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