Question
Is there any Vedic verse that explicitly says Brahma and Shiva did not exist before creation?
Answer
Is there any Vedic verse that explicitly says Brahma and Shiva did not exist before creation?
Yes. For example this verse from the Maha Upanishad:
eko ha vai nArAyaNa AsIt, na brahmA neshAnaH
Only Narayana was there. Not Brahma, nor Shiva.
The modern day Mahopanishad is interpolated but this verse was cited by many ancient Vedantins including Yamunacharya, Ramanujacharya, Vedanta Desika, Yadavaprakasha, and Narayanacharya.
Also, this verse also exists in the Paingirahasya Brahmana in a slightly modified form with sandhis:
eko ha vai nārāyaṇa āsīn na brahmā na ca śaṅkaraḥ
The Paingirahasya Brahmana is an extinct Brahmana of the Rig Veda. Only some verses have survived through citations.
Also, according to the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Devas, Indra, Brihaspati, and Brahma are not the supreme Brahman because the bliss that they experience is much less than the bliss that Brahman experiences:
One hundred times that bliss of the Devas is one measure of the bliss of Indra, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of Indra is one measure of the bliss of Brihaspati, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of Brihaspati is one measure of the bliss of Pragâpati, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of Pragâpati is one measure of the bliss of Brahman, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
Because Brahman is mentioned apart from Prajapati, Brihaspati, Indra, and the Devas, it stands that those Devas are not Brahman according to this Upanishad.
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