Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 10 - Chapter 1 - Verse 13

Sanskrit:

जगत् त्रयान्तोदधिसम्प्लवोदेनारायणस्योदरनाभिनालात् ।विनिर्गतोऽजस्त्विति वाङ्‍‍‍‍न वै मृषाकिन्‍त्वीश्वर त्वन्न विनिर्गतोऽस्मि ॥ १३ ॥

ITRANS:

jagat-trayāntodadhi-samplavodenārāyaṇasyodara-nābhi-nālātvinirgato ’jas tv iti vāṅ na vai mṛṣākintv īśvara tvan na vinirgato ’smi

Translation:

My dear Lord, it is said that when the three planetary systems are merged into the water at the time of dissolution, Your plenary portion, Nārāyaṇa, lies down on the water, gradually a lotus flower grows from His navel, and Brahmā takes birth upon that lotus flower. Certainly, these words are not false. Thus am I not born from You?

Purport:

Although every living being is a child of God, Lord Brahmā here makes a special claim because he takes birth on a lotus flower that emanates from the navel of Nārāyaṇa, the Personality of Godhead. Ultimately, all living beings are equally expansions of the transcendental body of the Supreme Lord. But Brahmā has an intimate relationship with the Lord because of the activities of universal creation, and so he uses the prefix vi in the word vinirgata to beg the Lord’s special mercy. Lord Brahmā is called aja because he is not born from any mother but rather emanates directly from the body of the Lord. As Śrīla Prabhupāda states in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “It is naturally concluded that the mother of Brahmā is Nārāyaṇa.” On these grounds, Lord Brahmā is requesting special forgiveness for his offenses.