Ignorance of Brahman: Allegory of the Vedic Gods           
Brahman, according to the story, obtained a victory for the gods; and by that victory of Brahman the gods became elated. They said to themselves: "Verily, this victory is ours; verily, this glory is ours only."

Brahman here does not mean a personal Deity.  That is a Brahma, the first person of the Hindu Trinity; but Brahman is the Absolute, the One without a second, and the essence of all. There are different names and forms which represent certain personal aspects of Divinity, such as Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Siva the Transformer; but none of these can fully represent the Whole. 

Brahman is the vast ocean of being, on which rise innumerable ripples and waves of manifestation.  From the smallest atomic form to a Deva or an angel, all spring from that limitless ocean of Brahman, the inexhaustible Source of life.  No manifested form of life can be independent of its source, just as no wave, however mighty can be independent of the ocean.  Nothing moves without that Power.  He is the only Doer.  But the Devas thought: "This victory is ours, this glory is ours."

Brahman, to be sure, understood it all and appeared before them. But they did not know who that adorable Spirit was.

They said to Agni (Fire): "O Agni! Find out who this great Spirit is." "Yes," he said and hastened to It. Brahman asked him: "Who are you?" He replied: "I am known as Agni; I am also called Jataveda." Brahman said: "What power is in you, who are so well known?" Fire replied: "I can burn all— whatever there is on earth." Brahman put a straw before him and said: "Burn this." He rushed toward it with all his ardour but could not burn it. Then he returned from the Spirit and said to the gods: "I could not find out who this Spirit is,"

Then they said to Vayu (Air): "O Vayu! Find out who this great Spirit is." "Yes," he said and hastened to It. Brahman asked him: "Who are you?" He replied "I am known as Vayu; I am also called Matarisva." Brahman said: "What power is in you, who are so well known?" Vayu replied: "I can carry off all— whatever there is on earth." Brahman put a straw before him and said: "Carry this." He rushed toward it with all his ardor but could not move it. Then he returned from the Spirit and said to the gods: "I could not find out who this Spirit is,"

Then the gods said to Indra: "O Maghavan! Find out who this great Spirit is." "Yes," he said and hastened to It. But the Spirit disappeared from him. Then Indra beheld in that very region of the sky a Woman highly adorned. She was Uma, the daughter of the Himalayas. He approached Her and said: "Who is this great Spirit?"  

Here we see how the Absolute assumes concrete form to give knowledge of Himself to the earnest seeker.  Brahman, the impenetrable mystery, disappeared and in His place appeared a personal form to represent Him.  This is a subtle way of showing the difference between the Absolute and the personal aspects of Deity.  The Absolute is declared to be unknowable and unthinkable, but He assumes deified personal aspects to make Himself known to His devotees.  Thus Uma, daughter of the Himalayas, represents that personal aspect as the offspring of the Infinite Being; while the Himalayas stand as the symbol of the Eternal, Unchangeable One.