Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 02, Chapter 08, Text 09

SB 2.8.9

ajah srjati bhutani
bhutatma yad-anugrahat
dadrse yena tad-rupam
nabhi-padma-samudbhavah
 
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: 
 
Brahma, who was not born of a material source but of the lotus flower coming out of the navel abdomen of the Lord, is the creator of all those who are materially born. Of course, by the grace of the Lord, Brahma was able to see the form of the Lord.
 
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: 
 
The first living creature, Brahma, is called ajah because he did not take his birth from the womb of a mother materially born. He was directly born from the bodily expansion of the lotus flower of the Lord. Thus it is not readily understandable whether the body of the Lord and that of Brahma are of the same quality or different. This must also be clearly understood. One thing is, however, certain: Brahma was completely dependent on the mercy of the Lord because after his birth he could create living beings by the Lord’s grace only, and he could see the form of the Lord. Whether the form seen by Brahma is of the same quality as that of Brahma is a bewildering question, and Maharaja Pariksit wanted to get clear answers from Srila Sukadeva Gosvami.
 
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 02, Chapter 08, Text 08
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 02, Chapter 08, Text 10