Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §72 · English §76
Source[७२] कृतवान् किल कर्माणि सह रामेण केशवः । अतिमर्त्यानि भगवान् गूढः कपट-मानुषः ॥ [भ्प् १.१.२०] टीका च - अतः श्री-कृष्ण-चरितानि कथयेत्य् आशयेनाहुः कृतवान् इति । अतिमर्त्यानि मर्त्यान् अतिक्रान्तानि गोवर्धनोद्धरणादीनि । मनुष्येष्व् असम्भावितानीत्य् अर्थः इत्य् एषा । ननु कथं मानुषः सन्न् अतिमर्त्यानि कृतवान् ? तत्राह कपट-मानुषः । पार्थिव-देह-विशेष एव मानुष-शब्दः प्रतीतः तस्मात् कपटेनैवासौ तथा भातीत्य् अर्थः । वस्तुतस् तु नराकृतेर् एव पर-ब्रह्मत्वेनासत्य् अपि प्रसिद्ध-मानुषत्वे नराकृति-नर-लीलात्वेन लब्धम् अप्रसिद्ध- मानुषत्वम् अस्त्य् एव । (पगे २७) तत् पुनर् ऐश्वर्याव्याघातकत्वान् न प्रत्याख्यायत इति भावः । अतएव स्यमन्तकाहरणे पुरुषं प्राकृतं मत्वा [भ्प् १०.५३.२२] इत्य् अनेन जाम्बवतोऽन्यथा-ज्ञान-व्यञ्जकेन तस्य प्राकृतत्वं निषिध्य पुरुषत्वं स्थाप्यते । एवं माया-मनुष्यस्य वदस्व विद्वन्न् [भ्प् १०.१.७] इत्य् आदिष्व् अपि ज्ञेयम् । यस्मात् कपट-मानुषस् तस्माद् एव गूढः स्वतस् तु तद्- रूपतयैव भगवान् इति ॥ ॥ १.१ ॥ श्री-शौनकः ॥ ६४-७२ ॥
[72] kṛtavān kila karmāṇi saha rāmeṇa keśavaḥ | atimartyāni bhagavān gūḍhaḥ kapaṭa-mānuṣaḥ || [BhP 1.1.20] ṭīkā ca - ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-caritāni kathayety āśayenāhuḥ kṛtavān iti | atimartyāni martyān atikrāntāni govardhanoddharaṇādīni | manuṣyeṣv asambhāvitānīty arthaḥ ity eṣā | nanu kathaṃ mānuṣaḥ sann atimartyāni kṛtavān ? tatrāha kapaṭa-mānuṣaḥ | pārthiva-deha-viśeṣa eva mānuṣa-śabdaḥ pratītaḥ tasmāt kapaṭenaivāsau tathā bhātīty arthaḥ | vastutas tu narākṛter eva para-brahmatvenāsaty api prasiddha-mānuṣatve narākṛti-nara-līlātvena labdham aprasiddha- mānuṣatvam asty eva | (page 27) tat punar aiśvaryāvyāghātakatvān na pratyākhyāyata iti bhāvaḥ | ataeva syamantakāharaṇe puruṣaṃ prākṛtaṃ matvā [BhP 10.53.22] ity anena jāmbavato'nyathā-jñāna-vyañjakena tasya prākṛtatvaṃ niṣidhya puruṣatvaṃ sthāpyate | evaṃ māyā-manuṣyasya vadasva vidvann [BhP 10.1.7] ity ādiṣv api jñeyam | yasmāt kapaṭa-mānuṣas tasmād eva gūḍhaḥ svatas tu tad- rūpatayaiva bhagavān iti || || 1.1 || śrī-śaunakaḥ || 64-72 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 76
Anuccheda 76
Text 1
That Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead is again confirmed in the following verse (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.2.21):
"Lord Sri Krsna is the Lord of all kinds of threes and is independantly supreme by achievement of all kinds of fortune. He is worshiped by the eternal maintainers of the creation, who offer Him the paraphernalia of worship by touching their millions of helmets to His feet."*
Text 2
In this verse the word "asamyatisayah" means "He, than whom no one is superior and to whom no one is equal". This Supreme Person has no equal or superior because He is the origin of all living entites and all forms of Godhead also, and for this reason He is called "Tryadhisa", which means "The master of Lord Sankarsana, Lord Pradyumna, and Lord Aniruddha."
This Supreme Person is described as: "He who has achieved all kinds of fortune". The fortune referred to may be understood to begin with hte opulence of possessing a form of transcendental bliss, greater than all other forms. This verse explains:
"That Supreme Person is worshiped by the eternal maintainers of the creation, who offer Him the paraphernalia of worship by touching their millions of helmets to His feet."*
The "eternal maintainers of hte creation" described in this verse cannot refer to Lord Brahma and the other temporary demigods who, in the eyes of the Lord, live for a only short time. The "eternal maintainers" must therefore refer to the innumerable forms of the all-pervading Supersoul(antaryami). In an indirect way htis verse describes Sri Krsna as the Suprem Personality of Godhead, just as He was more directly described in our paribhasa-sutra(Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam)
Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §73 · English §77
Source[७३] अथ श्री-सूतस्यापि इति सम्प्रश्न-संहृष्टः [भ्प् १.२.१] इत्य् आद्य्-अनन्तरं नारायणं नमस्कृत्य [भ्प् १.२.२] इत्य्-आद्य्-अन्ते पुराणम् उपक्रम्यैवाह -- मुनयः साधु पृष्टो ऽहं भवद्भिर् लोक-मङ्गलम् । यत् कृतः कृष्ण-सम्प्रश्नो येनात्मा सुप्रसीदति ॥ [भ्प् १.२.५] टीका च - तेषां वचः प्रतिपूज्येति यद् उक्तं तत् प्रतिपूजनं करोति । हे मुनयः साधु यथा भवति तथाहं पृष्टः । यतो लोकानां मङ्गलम् एतत् । यतः कृष्ण-विषयः संप्रश्नः कृतः । सर्व-शास्त्रार्थ-सारोद्धार- प्रश्नस्यापि कृष्णे पर्यवसानाद् एवम् उक्तम् । इत्य् एषा । इत्य् एवोत्तरेष्व् अपि पद्येषु अधोक्षज-वासुदेव-सात्वतां-पति-कृष्ण-शब्दास् तत्-प्राधान्य-विवक्षयैव पठिता । अत्र श्रेयः-प्रश्नस्याप्य् उत्तरं लोक- मङ्गलम् इत्य् अनेनैव दत्तं भवति । तथात्म-सुप्रसाद-हेतोश् च येनात्मा सुप्रसीदति इत्य् अनेन । ॥ १.२ ॥ श्री-सूतः ॥ ७३ ॥
[73] atha śrī-sūtasyāpi iti sampraśna-saṃhṛṣṭaḥ [BhP 1.2.1] ity ādy-anantaraṃ nārāyaṇaṃ namaskṛtya [BhP 1.2.2] ity-ādy-ante purāṇam upakramyaivāha -- munayaḥ sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṃ bhavadbhir loka-maṅgalam | yat kṛtaḥ kṛṣṇa-sampraśno yenātmā suprasīdati || [BhP 1.2.5] ṭīkā ca - teṣāṃ vacaḥ pratipūjyeti yad uktaṃ tat pratipūjanaṃ karoti | he munayaḥ sādhu yathā bhavati tathāhaṃ pṛṣṭaḥ | yato lokānāṃ maṅgalam etat | yataḥ kṛṣṇa-viṣayaḥ saṃpraśnaḥ kṛtaḥ | sarva-śāstrārtha-sāroddhāra- praśnasyāpi kṛṣṇe paryavasānād evam uktam | ity eṣā | ity evottareṣv api padyeṣu adhokṣaja-vāsudeva-sātvatāṃ-pati-kṛṣṇa-śabdās tat-prādhānya-vivakṣayaiva paṭhitā | atra śreyaḥ-praśnasyāpy uttaraṃ loka- maṅgalam ity anenaiva dattaṃ bhavati | tathātma-suprasāda-hetoś ca yenātmā suprasīdati ity anena | || 1.2 || śrī-sūtaḥ || 73 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 77
Anuccheda 77
In the following verse Sukadeva Gosvami uses an elegant metaphor to explain that Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.3.8):
"Then the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, who is situated in the core of everyone's heart, appeared from the heart of Devaki in hte dense darkness of night, like the full moon rising on the eastern horizon, because Devaki was of the same category as Sri Krsna."*
Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §74 · English §78
Source[७४] तद् एवं श्रोतृ-वक्तॄणाम् ऐकमत्येन च तात्पर्यं सिद्धम् । [वृ. अद्द्स् हेरे: अथ श्रुति-लिङ्गादिभिः षड्भिर् अपि प्रमाणैः स एव प्रमीयते । तत्र निरपेक्ष-रवा श्रुतिर् दर्शितैव कृष्णस् तु भगवान् स्वयम् इत्य् अत्र । अथ श्रुति-सामर्थ्य-रूपं लिङ्गं च । तावत् सर्वे वत्स-पालाः पश्यतोऽजस्य तत्-क्षणात् । व्यदृश्यन्त घन-श्यामाः पीत-कौशेय-वाससः ॥ [भ्प् १०.१३.४६] इत्य् आदौ ज्ञेयम् । किन्त्व् अन्यत्र बर्हिर् देव-सदनं दामि इत्य् अस्य मन्त्र-रूपस्य लिङ्गस्य बलात् श्रुतिः कल्प्यते । अत्र तु कृष्णस् तु भगवान् स्वयम् इति साक्षाद् एव तद्- रूपोऽस्तीति विशेषोऽप्य् अस्ति । अथाकाङ्क्षा-योग्यतासत्ति-मद्-अनेक-पद- विशिष्टैकार्थ्य-प्रतिपादक-शब्द-रूपं वाक्यं च यस्यां वै श्रूयमानायां [भ्प् १.७.७] इति अश्वाभिधानीम् आदत्ते इति ब्राह्मण-वाक्याद् अश्व-रसना-दाने विनियोगः प्रतीयते । तथात्रापि भक्ति-योगेन मनसि सम्यक् प्रणिहितेऽमले । अपश्यत् पुरुषं पूर्णं [भ्प् १.७.६] इत्य् अत्र पूर्ण- पुरुषत्वेनोक्तस्य कृष्णत्वम् । यस्यां वै श्रूयमानायां कृष्णे परम- पूरुषे [भ्प् १.७.७] इति वाक्याद् व्यज्यते इति । तथारभ्याधीत-रूपं प्रकरणं चात्र सूत जानासि भद्रं ते [भ्प् १.१०.१२] इत्य् आदि-रूपम् । यथा दर्श-पूर्णमासाभ्यां यजेत इत्य् अत्र तृतीयया श्रुत्या दर्श-पूर्णमासयोः प्रकरणत्वेन प्राप्ते करणस्य चेति कर्तव्यताकाङ्क्षायां अग्निष्टोमेन स्वर्ग-कामो यजेत इति तद् आरभ्य प्रकरणार्थारब्धेन स्वर्ग-काम इत्य् अनेन योजना । तथा सूत जानासि भद्र ते इत्य् अत्र श्रवणारम्भ एव श्री- कृष्णस्यावतारे हेतुं विज्ञातुम् इच्छद्भिः शौनकादिभिस् तत्र परमाद्भुततां व्यज्य श्री-कृष्णस्यैव सर्वत्र ज्ञेयत्वेन योजना गम्येति तस्यैव स्वयं भगवत्त्वं व्यक्तम् । दर्शितं तच् च सर्व-श्रोतृ-वक्तॄणां तद् ऐकमत्य-प्रकरणेनेति । अथ क्रम-वर्तिनां पदार्थानां क्रम-वर्तिभिः पदार्थैः यथा-क्रम- सम्बन्ध-रूपं स्थानं चात्र सूत जानासि भद्रं ते इत्य् आदाव् एव ज्ञेयम् । यथा दर्श-पौर्णमास-प्रकरणे कानिचित् कर्माणि उपांशु-याग-प्रभृतीनि दर्विर् असि इत्य् आदयः केचन मन्त्राश् च समाम्नायन्ते । तत्र यस्य क्रमेण यो मन्त्रः समास्नातस् तेनैव तस्य च सम्बन्धस् तथा मुनयः साधु पृष्टोऽहं भवद्भिर् लोक-मङ्गलम् । यत्-कृतं कृष्ण-सम्प्रश्नः इत्य् अत्र कृष्ण-शब्दस्य प्रथम-प्रश्नोत्तर-गतत्वेन पठितस्य देवकी-जात- वाचकत्वम् एव लभ्यते । अथ नामादिना तुल्यताख्यान-रूपा समाख्या च जगृहे पौरुषं रूपं भगवान् इत्य् अस्य एते चांश-कलाः पुंसः कृष्णस् तु भगवान् स्वयम् इत्य् अत्र पर्यवसानम् इत्य् एवं ज्ञेयम् । यथाध्वर- संज्ञानां मन्त्राणाम् अग्निर् यज्ञं नयतु प्रजानन् इत्य् आदीनां आध्वर्य- संज्ञके कर्मणि नियोग इति । [एन्द् वृ. अद्दितिओन्.] किं च एतस्याम् अष्टादश-साहस्र्यां संहितायां श्री-कृष्णस्यैवाभ्यास- बाहुल्यं दृश्यते । तत्र प्रथम-दशमैकादशेष्व् अतिविस्तरेणैव । द्वितीये श्री-ब्रह्म-(पगे २८)-नारद-संवादे । तृतीये श्री-विदुरोद्धव-संवादे । चतुर्थे ताव् इमौ वै भगवतो हरेर् अंशाव् इहागताव् [भ्प् ४.१.५७] इत्य् आदौ, यच् चान्यद् अपि कृष्णस्य [भ्प् ४.१७.६] इत्य् आदौ च । पञ्चमे राजन् पतिर् गुरुर् अलम् [भ्प् ५.६.१८] इत्य् आदौ । षष्ठे मां केशवो गदया प्रातर् अव्याद् गोविन्द आसङ्गवम् आत्त-वेणुः [भ्प् ६.८.२०] इत्य् अत्र । सप्तमे नारद-युधिष्ठिर- संवादे । अष्टमे तन्-महिम-विशेष-बीजारोप-रूपे कालनेमि-वधे तादृश- श्रीमद्-अजित-द्वारापि तस्य मुक्तिर् नाभवत् किन्तु पुनः कंसत्वे तद्- द्वारैवेति तत्-तन्-महिम-विशेष-कथन-प्रथमाङ्गत्वात् । नवमे सर्वान्ते । द्वादशे च श्री-कृष्ण-कृष्ण-सख-वृष्ण्य्-ऋषभावनि-ध्रुग्- राजन्य-वंश-दहनानपवर्ग्य-वीर्य [भ्प् १२.११.२५] इत्य् आदौ । श्री-भागवतानुक्रमणिकायां च उत्तरोत्तरत्र सर्वतोऽपि भूयस्त्वेन गीयते । तथा च यस्याभ्यासस् तद् एव शास्त्रे प्रधानम् इत्य् आनन्दमयोऽभ्यासाद् [व्स् ४.१.१२] इत्य् अत्रापरैर् अपि समर्थितत्वाद् इहापि श्री- कृष्ण एव प्रधानं भवेद् इतीति तस्यैव मूल-भगवत्त्वं सिध्यति । यत्- प्रतिपादकत्वेनास्य शास्त्रस्य भागवतम् इत्य् आख्या । अपि च न केवलं बहुत्र सूचन-मात्रम् अत्राभ्यासनम् अपि त्व् अर्धाद् अप्य् अधिको ग्रन्थस् तत्- प्रस्तावको दृश्यते । तत्रापि सर्वाश्चर्यतया । तस्मात् साधूक्तम् एते चांस- कलाः पुंसः कृष्णस् तु भगवान् स्वयम् [भ्प् १.३.२८] इति । तद् एवम् अस्य वचन-राजस्य सेना-सङ्ग्रहो निरूपितः । तथा तस्य प्रतिनिधि- रूपाणि वाक्यान्तराणि अपि दृश्यन्ते । यथा - अष्टमस् तु तयोर् आसीत् स्वयम् एव हरिः किल ॥ इति [भ्प् ९.२४.५५] किल-शब्देन कृष्णस् त्व् इति प्रसिद्धिः सूच्यते । ततो हरिर् अत्र भगवान् एव । यथोक्तम् - वसुदेव-गृहे साक्षाद् भगवान् पुरुषः परः [भ्प् १०.१.२३] इति च । ॥ ९.२४ ॥ श्री-शुकः ॥ ७४ ॥
[74] tad evaṃ śrotṛ-vaktṝṇām aikamatyena ca tātparyaṃ siddham | [Vṛ. adds here: atha śruti-liṅgādibhiḥ ṣaḍbhir api pramāṇaiḥ sa eva pramīyate | tatra nirapekṣa-ravā śrutir darśitaiva kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam ity atra | atha śruti-sāmarthya-rūpaṃ liṅgaṃ ca | tāvat sarve vatsa-pālāḥ paśyato'jasya tat-kṣaṇāt | vyadṛśyanta ghana-śyāmāḥ pīta-kauśeya-vāsasaḥ || [BhP 10.13.46] ity ādau jñeyam | kintv anyatra barhir deva-sadanaṃ dāmi ity asya mantra-rūpasya liṅgasya balāt śrutiḥ kalpyate | atra tu kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam iti sākṣād eva tad- rūpo'stīti viśeṣo'py asti | athākāṅkṣā-yogyatāsatti-mad-aneka-pada- viśiṣṭaikārthya-pratipādaka-śabda-rūpaṃ vākyaṃ ca yasyāṃ vai śrūyamānāyāṃ [BhP 1.7.7] iti aśvābhidhānīm ādatte iti brāhmaṇa-vākyād aśva-rasanā-dāne viniyogaḥ pratīyate | tathātrāpi bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite'male | apaśyat puruṣaṃ pūrṇaṃ [BhP 1.7.6] ity atra pūrṇa- puruṣatvenoktasya kṛṣṇatvam | yasyāṃ vai śrūyamānāyāṃ kṛṣṇe parama- pūruṣe [BhP 1.7.7] iti vākyād vyajyate iti | tathārabhyādhīta-rūpaṃ prakaraṇaṃ cātra sūta jānāsi bhadraṃ te [BhP 1.10.12] ity ādi-rūpam | yathā darśa-pūrṇamāsābhyāṃ yajeta ity atra tṛtīyayā śrutyā darśa-pūrṇamāsayoḥ prakaraṇatvena prāpte karaṇasya ceti kartavyatākāṅkṣāyāṃ agniṣṭomena svarga-kāmo yajeta iti tad ārabhya prakaraṇārthārabdhena svarga-kāma ity anena yojanā | tathā sūta jānāsi bhadra te ity atra śravaṇārambha eva śrī- kṛṣṇasyāvatāre hetuṃ vijñātum icchadbhiḥ śaunakādibhis tatra paramādbhutatāṃ vyajya śrī-kṛṣṇasyaiva sarvatra jñeyatvena yojanā gamyeti tasyaiva svayaṃ bhagavattvaṃ vyaktam | darśitaṃ tac ca sarva-śrotṛ-vaktṝṇāṃ tad aikamatya-prakaraṇeneti | atha krama-vartināṃ padārthānāṃ krama-vartibhiḥ padārthaiḥ yathā-krama- sambandha-rūpaṃ sthānaṃ cātra sūta jānāsi bhadraṃ te ity ādāv eva jñeyam | yathā darśa-paurṇamāsa-prakaraṇe kānicit karmāṇi upāṃśu-yāga-prabhṛtīni darvir asi ity ādayaḥ kecana mantrāś ca samāmnāyante | tatra yasya krameṇa yo mantraḥ samāsnātas tenaiva tasya ca sambandhas tathā munayaḥ sādhu pṛṣṭo'haṃ bhavadbhir loka-maṅgalam | yat-kṛtaṃ kṛṣṇa-sampraśnaḥ ity atra kṛṣṇa-śabdasya prathama-praśnottara-gatatvena paṭhitasya devakī-jāta- vācakatvam eva labhyate | atha nāmādinā tulyatākhyāna-rūpā samākhyā ca jagṛhe pauruṣaṃ rūpaṃ bhagavān ity asya ete cāṃśa-kalāḥ puṃsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam ity atra paryavasānam ity evaṃ jñeyam | yathādhvara- saṃjñānāṃ mantrāṇām agnir yajñaṃ nayatu prajānan ity ādīnāṃ ādhvarya- saṃjñake karmaṇi niyoga iti | [end Vṛ. addition.] kiṃ ca etasyām aṣṭādaśa-sāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ śrī-kṛṣṇasyaivābhyāsa- bāhulyaṃ dṛśyate | tatra prathama-daśamaikādaśeṣv ativistareṇaiva | dvitīye śrī-brahma-(page 28)-nārada-saṃvāde | tṛtīye śrī-viduroddhava-saṃvāde | caturthe tāv imau vai bhagavato harer aṃśāv ihāgatāv [BhP 4.1.57] ity ādau, yac cānyad api kṛṣṇasya [BhP 4.17.6] ity ādau ca | pañcame rājan patir gurur alam [BhP 5.6.18] ity ādau | ṣaṣṭhe māṃ keśavo gadayā prātar avyād govinda āsaṅgavam ātta-veṇuḥ [BhP 6.8.20] ity atra | saptame nārada-yudhiṣṭhira- saṃvāde | aṣṭame tan-mahima-viśeṣa-bījāropa-rūpe kālanemi-vadhe tādṛśa- śrīmad-ajita-dvārāpi tasya muktir nābhavat kintu punaḥ kaṃsatve tad- dvāraiveti tat-tan-mahima-viśeṣa-kathana-prathamāṅgatvāt | navame sarvānte | dvādaśe ca śrī-kṛṣṇa-kṛṣṇa-sakha-vṛṣṇy-ṛṣabhāvani-dhrug- rājanya-vaṃśa-dahanānapavargya-vīrya [BhP 12.11.25] ity ādau | śrī-bhāgavatānukramaṇikāyāṃ ca uttarottaratra sarvato'pi bhūyastvena gīyate | tathā ca yasyābhyāsas tad eva śāstre pradhānam ity ānandamayo'bhyāsād [Vs 4.1.12] ity atrāparair api samarthitatvād ihāpi śrī- kṛṣṇa eva pradhānaṃ bhaved itīti tasyaiva mūla-bhagavattvaṃ sidhyati | yat- pratipādakatvenāsya śāstrasya bhāgavatam ity ākhyā | api ca na kevalaṃ bahutra sūcana-mātram atrābhyāsanam api tv ardhād apy adhiko granthas tat- prastāvako dṛśyate | tatrāpi sarvāścaryatayā | tasmāt sādhūktam ete cāṃsa- kalāḥ puṃsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam [BhP 1.3.28] iti | tad evam asya vacana-rājasya senā-saṅgraho nirūpitaḥ | tathā tasya pratinidhi- rūpāṇi vākyāntarāṇi api dṛśyante | yathā - aṣṭamas tu tayor āsīt svayam eva hariḥ kila || iti [BhP 9.24.55] kila-śabdena kṛṣṇas tv iti prasiddhiḥ sūcyate | tato harir atra bhagavān eva | yathoktam - vasudeva-gṛhe sākṣād bhagavān puruṣaḥ paraḥ [BhP 10.1.23] iti ca | || 9.24 || śrī-śukaḥ || 74 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 78
Anuccheda 78
That Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also confirmed by hte following statement of Sukadeva Gosvami (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.20.44):
"During autumn the moon looks very bright along with the stars in the clear sky. The Suprem Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna Himself, appeared in the sky of the Yadu dynasty, and he was exactly like the moon surrounded by hte stars, or the members of Yadu dynasty."*
Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §75 · English §79
Source[७५] यथा वा - अहो भाग्यम् अहो भाग्यम् इत्य् आदि ॥ [भ्प् १०.१४.३२] ब्रह्मत्वेनैव बृहत्तमत्वे लब्धेऽपि पूर्णम् इत्य् अधिकं विशेषणम् अत्रोपजीव्यते ॥ ॥ १०.१४ ॥ श्री-ब्रह्मा भगवन्तम् ॥ ७५ ॥
[75] yathā vā - aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyam ity ādi || [BhP 10.14.32] brahmatvenaiva bṛhattamatve labdhe'pi pūrṇam ity adhikaṃ viśeṣaṇam atropajīvyate || || 10.14 || śrī-brahmā bhagavantam || 75 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 79
Anuccheda 79
Srimad-Bhagavatam affirms that Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead. The Bhagavatam is primarily devoted to describing Sri Krsna, and indeed, the Bhagavatam is itself considered one of the forms of Sri Krsna. This is confirmed by Sukadeva Gosvami in the following words (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.43):
"This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krsna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age Kali shall get light from this Purana."*
Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §76 · English §80
Source[७६] अतएव - स्वयं त्व् असाम्यातिशयस् त्र्यधीशः स्वाराज्य-लक्ष्म्य्-आप्त-समस्त-कामः । बलिं हरद्भिश् चिर-लोक-पालैः किरीट-कोटीडित-पाद-पीठः ॥ [भ्प् ३.२.२१] न साम्यातिशयौ यस्य यम् अपेक्ष्यान्यस्य साम्यम् अतिशयश् च नास्तीत्य् अर्थः । तत्र हेतवस् त्र्य्-अधीशस् त्रिषु सङ्कर्षण-प्रद्युम्नानिरुद्धेष्व् अप्य् अधीशः । सर्वांशित्वाद् अतएव स्वाराज्य-लक्ष्म्या सर्वाधिक-परमानन्द- स्वरूप-सम्पत्त्यैव प्राप्त-समस्त-भोगः । बलिं तद्-इच्छानुसरण-रूपम् अर्हणं हरद्भिः समर्पयद्भिश् चिरैर् लोक-पालैर् भगवद्-दृष्ट्य्- अपेक्षया ब्रह्मादयस् तावद् अचिर-लोक-पालाः अनित्यत्वात् ततश् च चिर- कालीनैर् लोक-पालैर् अनन्त-ब्रह्माण्डान्तर्यामि-पुरुषैः किरीट-कोटि-द्वारा ईडितं स्तुतं पाद-पीठं यस्य सः । अत्यन्त-तिरस्कृत-वाच्य-ध्वनिना परम-श्रेष्ठ इत्य् अर्थः । समस्त-पाद-पाठेऽपि (पगे २९) स एवार्थः । श्री-कृष्ण इति कृष्णस् तु भगवान् स्वयम् इतिवत् स्वयं भगवत्ताम् एव व्यनक्ति । ॥ ३.२ ॥ श्रीमद्-उद्धवो विदुरम् ॥ ७६ ॥
[76] ataeva - svayaṃ tv asāmyātiśayas tryadhīśaḥ svārājya-lakṣmy-āpta-samasta-kāmaḥ | baliṃ haradbhiś cira-loka-pālaiḥ kirīṭa-koṭīḍita-pāda-pīṭhaḥ || [BhP 3.2.21] na sāmyātiśayau yasya yam apekṣyānyasya sāmyam atiśayaś ca nāstīty arthaḥ | tatra hetavas try-adhīśas triṣu saṅkarṣaṇa-pradyumnāniruddheṣv apy adhīśaḥ | sarvāṃśitvād ataeva svārājya-lakṣmyā sarvādhika-paramānanda- svarūpa-sampattyaiva prāpta-samasta-bhogaḥ | baliṃ tad-icchānusaraṇa-rūpam arhaṇaṃ haradbhiḥ samarpayadbhiś cirair loka-pālair bhagavad-dṛṣṭy- apekṣayā brahmādayas tāvad acira-loka-pālāḥ anityatvāt tataś ca cira- kālīnair loka-pālair ananta-brahmāṇḍāntaryāmi-puruṣaiḥ kirīṭa-koṭi-dvārā īḍitaṃ stutaṃ pāda-pīṭhaṃ yasya saḥ | atyanta-tiraskṛta-vācya-dhvaninā parama-śreṣṭha ity arthaḥ | samasta-pāda-pāṭhe'pi (page 29) sa evārthaḥ | śrī-kṛṣṇa iti kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam itivat svayaṃ bhagavattām eva vyanakti | || 3.2 || śrīmad-uddhavo viduram || 76 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 80
Anuccheda 80
Text 1
Sri Krsna is the perfect and complete Personality of Godhead described in all Vedic literatures. This is explained in the following verse from Mahabharata: "Sri Krsna is the Supreme worshipable Personality of Godhead, the ultimate goal of all knowledge, all Vedic literatures and all sacrifices. O King, they who understand Sri Krsna in truth are automatically brahmanas, and they obtain the pious results of performing all varieties of Vedic sacrifices, without having to endeavour for them."
Text 2
In the following verses from Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna affirms that He is the Original Personality of Godhead. The Lord says:
"By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas."* - 15.15
"I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman."* - 14.27
Text 3
That Sri Krsna is the Original Personlaity of Godhead is also confirmed in the following statements of Brahma-samhita(verses 29 & 48):
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the progenitor, who tending the cows, yielding all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune.**
"The Brahmas and other lords of the mundane worlds appear from the pores of the Maha-Visnu and remain alive for the duration of His one exhalation. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, for Maha-Visnu is a portion of His plenary portion."**
Text 4
Someone may object: The Uttara-khanda of the Padma Purana says: "Lord Narayana is the supreme monarch of the spiritual world, and the source of all incarnations. These scriptures do not say that Krsna is the origin of all incarnations and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsna is certainly different from Narayana and Vasudeva. His abode, associates, names, and form are all different from those of Narayana. How is it possible, then, that Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead, the source of all incarnations of Godhead? This doctrine is certainly refuted in these quotes from the Padma Purana and the Pancaratra-sastra.
To this I reply: In the first sandarbha(Tattva-sandarbha), I have already demonstrated that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the most important of all scriptures. The Bhagavatam contains the ultimate perfection of complete transcendental knowledge revealed by Srila Vyasadeva, and therefore any scriptural statement contradicting the version of the Bhagavatam should be rejected by the wise.
Fallacious conceptions sometimes presented in the scriptures and the supremacy of the Bhagavatam, are both described in the following verse(Sriamd-Bhagavatam 10.57.31):
Text 5
"The citizens of Dvaraka felt themselves threatened with pestilence and natural disturbances due to the abscence of Akrura from the city. This was a kind of superstition because while Lord Krsna was present there could not be any pestilence, famine, or natural disturbances."*
This misconception thought by the residents of Dvaraka may be taken as an example of the false ideas which may sometimes find their way into the Vedic literatures. For this reason, the supreme Vedic literature. Srimad-Bhagavatam, should be always taken as the final authority, and any statement contradicting the Bhagavatam should be rejected.
Text 6
This is also described in the following verse(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.77.30):
"O King Pariksit, although Krsna lamented when Salva attemoted to trick Him into thinking that His father Vasudeva was killed, we should understand that in actuality, Lord Krsna was not at all fooled, and He did not lament. Although some sages may say that the Lord lamented, such statements are not fit to be excepteds as truth."*
This verse clearly describes how untrue statements may sometimes be found in the Vedic literatures. The careful eader must be prepared, therefore to sometimes reject scriptural quotations. The guideline for accepting and rejecting such statements should be the authority of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Text 7
That Srimad-Bhagvatam is the best of all Vedic literatures is confirmed in the following verse(Srimad-Bhagvatam 9.22.22-23):
"From Vyasadeva, I [Sukadeva Gosvami] was born, and from him I studied this great work of litereature, Srimad-Bhagavatam. The incarnation of Godhead Vedavyasa, rejecting his disciples, headed by Paila, instructed Srimad-Bhagavatam to me because I was free from all material desires."*
Vyasadeva had instructed the Four Vedas and the Puranas to His disciples, but He did not teach them the Bhagavatam. Only Sukadeva wsa qualified to study the Bhagavatam, because he was free fromm all material desires. This shows the superiority of the Bhagavatam to all Vedic literatures.
Text 8
Because Srimad-Bhagavatam is the best of all Vedic literatures the statement of the Bhagavatam, that Sri Krsn ais the Supreme Personality of Godhead, should be accepted as the actual truth. In this context the example of the village-chief and the king may be given. In the village chief's assembly hall a certain thing may be praised as the best of all, and in the king's assembly hall a different thing may be praised as the best of all. The standards of the village chief and the king are not on the same level. What is considerd best by the king may be accepted as superior to what is praised by the village chief. In the same way, the Srimad-Bhagavatam is the best of all scriptures, and because in the verses of the Bhagavtam, Sri Krsna is glorified as the Original Personality of Godhead, this must be accepted as truth, even if someone may be able to find some evidence to contradict it in some othre Vedic literatures. Any scriptural statement contradicting Bhagavatam's affirmation "Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam" (Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead) should therefore be rejected, and there is no improprietory.
Text 9
In truth these two quotations from the Uttarakanda of the Padma Purana and from the Mahabharata do not contradict the version of the Bhagavatm because the forms of Narayana and Vyasadeva are manifestations of the original form of Krsna. This is confirmed in the Bhagavatam (10.14.14) where Lord Brahma says:
"O Krsna, You are actually Narayana, for Narayana is expanded from You."
Originally in the names "narayana" and "vasudeva" refers to Lord Krsna, who is famous for His pastimes in Dvaraka-puri and other places. Both Narayana and Vasudeva are names of the Supreme Lord Krsna.
The Narayana Upanisad says:
"The son of Devaki, Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personlaity of Godhead."
And the Vasudeva Upanisad says:
"Sri Krsna, the son of Devaki, fills the entire world with transcendental bliss."
That Sri Krsna is not actually different from Vasudeva, and that Vasudeva is simply another name of Sri Krsna, is confirmed by Lord Krsna Himself, who said in the Srimad-Bhagavatam(11.16.29):
"Among those possessing remarkable power and opulence I appear as Vasudeva."***
Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §77 · English §81
Source[७७] तद् एतत् पूर्णत्वं दृष्टान्त-द्वारापि दर्शितम् अस्ति । देवक्यां देव-रूपिण्यां विष्णुः सर्व-गुहा-शयः । आविरासीद् यथा प्राच्यां दिशीन्दुर् इव पुष्कलः ॥ [भ्प् १०.३.८] यथा यथावत् स्व-स्वरूपेणैवेत्य् अर्थः ॥ ॥ १०.३ ॥ श्री-शुकः ॥ ७७ ॥
[77] tad etat pūrṇatvaṃ dṛṣṭānta-dvārāpi darśitam asti | devakyāṃ deva-rūpiṇyāṃ viṣṇuḥ sarva-guhā-śayaḥ | āvirāsīd yathā prācyāṃ diśīndur iva puṣkalaḥ || [BhP 10.3.8] yathā yathāvat sva-svarūpeṇaivety arthaḥ || || 10.3 || śrī-śukaḥ || 77 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 81
Anuccheda 81
Text 1
That " Vasudeva" is simply another name of Lord Krsna is confirmed by Lord Krsna Himself in the following statement found in Srimad- Bhagavatam(11.16.32):
"Among the nine most prominent forms of the Personality of Godhead, I am the most important form, known as Vasudeva."***
Text 2
Sridhara Svami explans this verse in the following way:
"In this verse the word ' satvatam' means 'of the Personality of Godhead'. The nine forms of the Lord referred to in this verse are Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Narayana, Hayagriva, Varaha, Nrsimha, and Brahma. Amongst all these forms, Lord Krsna declares that He is Vasudeva."
Text 3
Following the principles of the Vyasa-puja-paddhati, even the mayavadi sannyasis place the forms of Vasudeva and other forms of the Lord on Lord Krsna's throne, and worship Lord Vasudeva as identical with Lord Krsna. In the Astaksara-patala of the Krama-dipika, it is also explained that Lord Vasudeva and other forms of the Lord are worshipable, just as Lord Krsna Himself is.
Text 4
In the Bhagavad-gita (10.37) Lord Krsna identified Himself as "Vasudeva". The Lord said:
"Of the descendants of Vrsni I am Vaudeva."*
In this statement the word "Vasudeva" means "the son of Maharaja Vasudeva, " and refers to the Lord's elder brother Baladeva.
Text 5
In the verses of the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna describes the manifestation of His opulences. In this verse "Vasudeva" is counted among Lord Krsna's opulences, and therefore this word cannot refer to Lord Krsna directly, but must refer to Lord Balarama, who is also a son of Maharaja Vasudeva.
Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §78 · English §82
Source[७८] यथा च - अखण्ड-मण्डलो व्योम्नि रराजोडु-गणैः शशी । यथा यदु-पतिः कृष्णो वृष्णि-चक्रावृतो भुवि ॥ [भ्प् १०.२०.४४] स्पष्टम् ॥ १०.२० ॥ श्री-शुकः ॥ ७८ ॥
[78] yathā ca - akhaṇḍa-maṇḍalo vyomni rarājoḍu-gaṇaiḥ śaśī | yathā yadu-patiḥ kṛṣṇo vṛṣṇi-cakrāvṛto bhuvi || [BhP 10.20.44] spaṣṭam || 10.20 || śrī-śukaḥ || 78 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 82
Anuccheda 82
Text 1
Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His holy names, qualities, and pastimes are sublime and unequaled. That no other holy name of the Lord is equal to the name of Krsna is confirmed in the following verse from the Sri Krsnastottara-sata-nama-stotra, found in the Brahmanda Purana:
"By chanting yhe holy name of Lord Krsna only once one achives the same purifying effect obtained by chanting other names of the Supreme Lord three thousand times."*
Sarva-samvadini Comment
Text 2
The verses quited in Anuccheda 81, Text 1 and Anuccheda 82, Text 2 may be explained by quoting the following verse from the Visnu-dharma:
"Lord Hari, who holds the Sudarsana-cakra is the master of all the demigods, and He is full of all potencies of all the demigods, and He is full of all potencies. Everything worthy of being obtained becomes available for one attached to chanting His holy names."
Text 3
That the chanting of any of the Supreme Lord's names brings all good results and does not depend on any other process for it's effectiveness is confirmed in the following statement of the Nama-kaumudi:
"If one once chants the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he attains all the benefits attained by performing a multitude of purificatory rituals."
Text 4
We may note that in the quoted in Text 1, the word "abhirucitam" means "dear". In some manuscripts the second half of this verse reads:
hareh priyena govinda- namna nihatani sadyah
"By chanting the name Govinda, the favorite name of Lord Hari, one immediately attains the ultimate benefit of life."
Text 5 Someone may present the following objection: Is it not so that the Brhat-sahasra-nama-stotra in the 96th Chapter of the Uttara-khanda of the Padma Purana, Lord Siva says to Parvati:
"O beautiful goddess, a single utterance of the holy name of Rama is equal to a thousand utterances of these other names of the Supreme Lord."*
From this we should certainly understand that Rama is the most important name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the name of Krsna is only secondary. Furthermore this same explanation may be found also in the Brahmanda Purana.
To this objection we reply: This statement of Lord Siva certainly explains the superior postion of the name of Rama, but it does not specifically state that the name of Krsna is secondary. We may also note that in other verses from the Vedic literature the primary importance of the name of Krsna is revealed.
Text 6
We may note that because the word "sahasra-namnam" is in the plural, we cannot interpret it to be a dvigu-samasa, and thus mean "of thousands of names of Krsna". For this reason the word "sahasra-namnam" should be interpreted to mean "of those prayers containing the holy name of Rama three times one gets the same benefit of chanting a thousand other names of the Lord, as contained in these groups of a thousand names. One also gets, in the same way, the same result of chanting many Vedic hymns. This is confirmed in the following verse from the Ramacandra-sahasra-nama-stotra found in the 96th Chapter of the Uttara-khanda of the Padma Purana:
"O goddess, please listen, and I shall speak to you one hundred and eight names of the Lord. The chanting of these names purifies one of all sins, and gives the same results which are obtained by reciting all the sets of one thousand names of the Lord."
Text 7
As Lord Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead, from whom the various visnu-tattva expansions of the Lord emanate, so Krsna is the simply part and parcel of that original name Krsna. The original name Krsna is more powerful than the other names, and the result of chanting the name of Krsna is greater than that of chanting the other names of the Lord.
The result obtained by chanting the name of Krsna is different from that obtained by chanting any othe one obtains liberation, and by performing the rituals of the Vedas one only obtains the upper material mantras of Svargaloka, and as by chanting the mantras of the Vedas, even though they may sometimes contain prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot obtain a result greater than residence on the Brahmaloka planet, so, by chanting the holy name of Lord Rama, one obtains only the same result obtained by chanting the prayers known as the Brhat-sahasra-nama (assuming one omits the name of Lord Rama, which is included within the Brhat-sahasra-nama prayers). The result obtained by chanting the names of the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not equal to the result of chanting the names (such as Krsna and others) that directly refer to the original form of the Lord as Sri Krsna.
Text 8
The Nama-kaumudi explains that, in general, the removal of ignorance and unwanted materialistic habits are the results obtained by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Lord Siva refers to these results when He says to Parvati:
"O beautiful goddess by the holy name of Rama, one obtains the results of chanting the thousand names of the Lord found in the Brhat-sahasra-nama-stotra."
Chanting these names of the Supreme Lord, however does not bring to the chanter the state of exalted pure love of God attained by those who chant the name of Krsna. Because the chanting of Krsna brings pure love of God, it gives the best results among all the names of the Lord Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead, the source of all incarnations of Godhead, the chanting of His name brings a better result than the chanting of the names of the various incarnations manifested from Him.
Text 9
Someone may argue: By performing various Vedic sacrifies such as the darsa and paurnamasa, one may obtain all material desires. For this reason, these should be performed, and not the chanting of the holy names of Krsna and Rama.
This argument is answered in the following explanation of the Brhat-sahasra-nama prayers, where Lord Siva says to Parvati:
"My dear Parvati, by chanting the holyname of Rama even once, you will become successful, pure and perfect. By thus chanting the holy names, you will be able to enjoy transcendental bliss in My association."
The paltry material benefits so eagerly sought by our opponent are thus completely rejected by the chanters of the holy name of Lord Krsna, the best of the Lord's holy names.
Text 2 (Main text of Krsna-sandarbha is again resumed at this point)
In the Mathura-mahatmya section of the Patala Khanda of the Padma Purana, in the description of the holy names of Krsna and Rama, Lord Siva says:
"From one holy name liberation is obtained, and from the other holy name purification and love of God are obtained."
In other words, by chanting the holy name of Lord Rama, one attains liberation, and from chanting the holy name of Lord Krsna, one attains pure love of God, which makes the happiness of liberation seem very insignificant.
Text 3 The potency of the holy name Sri Krsna is also described in the Visnu-dharmottara Purana:
"O best of men, both saints and demons attain love of God by chanting the holy name of Krsna."
Text 4
That Sri Krsna is the most important of all holy names of the Lord is described by Lord Krsna Himself. As recorded in the conversation between Narada and Kusadhvaja in the Prabhasa Purana, Lord Krsna said:
"O Arjuna, of all My holy names, the name Krsna is the most important."
Text 5
That Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, worthy of the worship and glorification of all living entities is proved by this description of the superexcellent glories of His holy name. His holy transcedental qualities, form, pastimes, and abodes (such as Mathura and other places where He enjoyed pastimes), are also glorified in the same way in all the Vedic literatures, and they are described as superior to the qualities, pastimes, forms, etc. of any incarnation of the Lord. Afried of unnecessarily increasing the size of this book, we will not present all these quotations now.
At the conclusion of Bhagavad-gita, which is the essence of all Vedic literature, Lord Krsna, whose glories are unequaled, and who is worshiped by all the devotees, instructed Arjuna, who was full of love for Him, to neglect the worship of the various incarnations of Godhead, and simply worship Sri Krsna. The Lord said that this direct worship of Him is the most confidential of all knowledge. This explanation is recorded in the following verses of Srimad Bhagavad-gita (18.60-66) where Lord Krsna says:
Text 7
"Under illusion you are now declining to work according to My direction. But, compelled by your own nature, you will act all the same, O son of Kunti.*
Text 8
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.*
Text 9
"O scion of Bharata, surrender unto Him utterly. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode.*
Text 10
"Thus I have explained to you the most confidental of all knowledge. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.*
Text 11
"Because you are My very dear friend, I am speaking to you the most confidential part of knowledge. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit.*
Text 12
"Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."*
Text 13
"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear."*
Sarva-samvadini Comment (Part 2)
Text 1
In these six verses from Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna explains the worship performed by one situated in a little transcendental knowledge (in verse 18.61, beginning with the words "isvarah sarva-bhutanam"), and he openly states the supreme secret of pure devotional service (in verse 18.65, beginning with the words "man-mana bhava"). In the first quote the reference to Lord Krsna is remote, but in the second quote the reference to Him is obivious.
Text 2
This same description of pure devotional service was also given previously in almost the same words in the following verse (Bhagavad-gita 9.34):
"Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me."*
Text 3
Lord Krsna also describes Himself as the all-pervading Supersoul present in the hearts of all living entities (Bhagavad-gita 8.4):
"Physical nature is known to be endlessly mutable. The universe is the cosmic form of the Supreme Lord, and I am that Lord represented as the Supersoul, dwelling in the heart of every embodied being."*
Text 4
Someone may question : Lord Krsna explains (18.63-64) that the last verses of Bhagavad-gita are the most confidential part of knowledge. This last part of Bhagavad-gita, however simply restates what has already been stated in a general way in the previous verses of the Gita. Why does Lord Krsna say that this last part is more confidential?
Text 5
I answer: It is not that in the later part of Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna explains a higher method of worship, but rather, in the last part of the Gita He explains a higher object of worship. Earlier in the Gita, the Lord describes Himself as the Original Supreme Person ("mat=me). In this way Lord Krsna is described as the ultimate object of worship, just as in the Vedanta-sutra (3.2.39), the Personality of Godhead (and not the demigods) is described as the ultimate bestower of the results of sacrifice.
Text 6
That pure devotinal service was described by the Lord before 18.63 is confirmed by verse 18.62 ("O scion of Bharata, surrender to Him utterly. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace, and the supreme and eternal abode"*). In this verse the word "eva (certainly)" emphasizes the meaning, and the phrase "sarva-bhavena" should be interpreted according to the primary meaning of the words ("in all respects"). The secondary meaning of the words ("by accepting the process of meditation") should not be accepted here. We may also notethat the Lord's own planet in the spiritual world is also described in the words "You will attain the supreme and eternal abode."* In this way it should be understood that the great secret revealed after verse 18.64 is not the process of pure devotional service, but rather, the ultimate object of that sevice: Sri Krsna.
Text 7
It is not, therefore, that in the earlier portions of Bhagavad-gita, the Lord describes an inferior process of worship, and neither does He describe the object of worship in a more indirect way in that portion of the Gita. In the beginning portion of the Gita, therefore, the Lord describes the all pervading Supersoul, and afterwards He describes Himself as the Original Personality of Godhead, above the Supersoul.
Text 8
That the form of Sri Krsna is more important than the form of the Supersoul is confirmed in the following verse of Bhagavad-gita (7.30), where Lord Krsna says:
"The Supersoul form of Mine is the governing principal of the material manifestation, the one underlying all the demigods, and the one sustaining all sacrifices. The devotees know that I am the Original Supreme Lord, and that My form as the Supersoul."
We may note the use of the word "sa" (with) in the words "sadhibhutadhidaivam" and "sadhiyajnam" in this verse. The word "sa" in these compound words indicates that the word understood to be in the instrumental case in these compounds is considered secondary, and the word expressed by the whole compound is considered primary. This is confirmed in the following sutra of Panini (Astadyayi 2.3.19): "saha-yukte 'pradhane". From this we may understand that the form of Sri Krsna is most important, and the form of the Supersoul is only secondary.
Text 9
Someone may object to our interpretation of this verse, and claim that Lord Krsna described Himself as the Supersoul present in the hearts of all living entities. This is described in the following words spoken by Lord Krsna Himself (Bhagavad-gita 8.4):
"I am the Supreme Lord, represented as the Supersoul, dwelling in the heart of every embodied being."*
This should be understood to mean that Lord Krsna expands Himself to appear as the all-pervading Supersoul. This does not mean that the original form of Sri Krsna is present as the all-pervading Supersoul. This is something like the following explanation of Dronacarya found in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.7.45):
"He (Dronacarya) is certainly still existing, beiing represented by his son."*
As Dronacarya was present in his son, so Lord Krsna is present in His personal expansion as the Supersoul.
In this way we have conclusively demonstrated that the latter part of Bhagavad-gita explains a more advanced stage of spiritual life not because of the superioity of the form of worship described there, but because a superior object of worship (the original form of Sri Krsna) is described there.
Text 10
That Sri Krsna is the ultimate object of worship is also hinted in the following explanation of Chandogya Upanisad (7.16.1):
"The ultimate feature of the Supreme surpasses everything."
Text 11
This statement of Chandogya Upanisad explains that the Absolute Godhead is beyound everything existing in the world of material names and forms. The Supreme Godhead is described in His most confidential feature as Sri Krsna. This truth is revealed at the very end of Bhagavad-gita (18.65.66).
Text 14
An explanation of these verses follows:
Firstly, although Krsna (beginning with Chapter 2 verse 11: "While speaking learned words you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead"*) appears to be speaking the Bhagavad-gita in order to incite Arjuna to fight, this is not Krsna actual purpose. Krsna does not need to convince Arjuna to fight, for Arjuna will fight anyway (Chapter 18, verse 60: "Under illusion you are now declining to act according to My direction. But, compelled by Your own nature, you will act alll the same, O son of Kunti."*). Krsna actual intention in speaking the Gita was to teach the ultimate goal of life.
Text 15
The ultimate goal of life, which is the actual message of Bhagavad-gita, is described as a great secret. Lord Krsna says (a8.64):
"Because you are my vey dear friend, I am speaking to you the most confidential part of knowledge. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit."*
Text 16
The word "isvarah" in Chapter 18, verse 61, refers to the all-pervading Supersoul, who is situated in everyone's heart and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of material energy.
In verse 62, lord Krsna says "O scion of Bharata, surrender unto Him utterly."* In this verse "utterly" means: 1. understanding that "the Supreme Personality of Godhead is everything" (Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.15), and 2. wholehearedly engaging all the senses in the service of the Lord. Lord Krsna says (in verse 62):
"By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode."*
It is understood that one attains transcedental peace by engaging in devotional service to Lord Krsna. This is confirmed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.19.36), where the Lord Krsna says: "By placing one's faith in Me, one attains transcendental peace." The word "guhyat" (in verse 63) refers to knowledge of impersonal Brahman, and the word "guhyataram" refers to the more confidential knowledge of the all-prevading Supersoul.
Text 17
At this point in the Gita (18.64), Lord Krsna considered that the actual truth of spiritual life had not yet been completely revealed to His pure devotee Arjuna. Being very merciful to Arjuna, the Lord then unlocked the actual mystery of the Gita by explaining the varying gradations of the forms of the Personality of Godhead (such as Narayana, Pradyumna, Sankarsana, Vasudeva, etc.) and the corresponding varying levels of appoaching the Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna said (18.64):
"Because you are My very dear friend, I am speaking to you the most confidential part of all knowledge. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit.."*
Text 18
In these verses Krsna describes "guhya" (confidential), "guhyatara" (more confidential) and "guhyatama" (most confidential) Knowledge. The worship of Lord Narayana and other forms of the Personality of Godhead, as recommended in the Vedic literatures, are described as "more confidential". After describing this "more confidential" knowledge, Lord Krsna proceeds to describe the "most confidential" knowledge. Krsna also explains the reason He is instructing this most confidential knowledge to Arjuna, by saying:
"Because you are my very dear friend, Iam speaking to you the most confidential part of all knowledge. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit."*
Text 19
Very eager to explain this supreme secret of the Bhagavad-gita, His eyes full of tears of love for His devotee, Lord Krsna, with folded hands, instructed Arjuna (18.65):
"Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your Homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."*
By repeatedly using the word "mam" (unto Me), Lord Krsna has emphasized that we shouldnot just worship the Supreme Lord in a general way, but specifically the Original Form of Krsna should be worshiped. The result of worshiping Sri Krsna is also explained by the Lord: "Thus you will come to Me without fail". By following this instruction one becomes an eternal associate of the Lord, never to be separated from Him. That Arjuna attained this goal, and was an eternal associate of the Lord is hinted by King Pariksit in the folowing words spoken to the personified Kali (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.17.6):
Text 20
"You rogue, do you dare beat an innocent cow because Lord Krsna and Arjuna, the carrier of the Gandiva bow, are out of sight? Since you are Beating the innocent ina secluded place,you are considered a culprit and therefore deserve to be killed"*
Text 21
In this verse (18.65) Lord Krsna shows His special love for Arjuna, and vows (satyam te) that they who become His devtees will return to the spiritual world.
The Amara-kosa dictionary confirms this meaning for the word "satyam". The dictionary says: "the word 'satyam means 'vow', or 'truth'". The Lord repeatedly encourages Arjuna, saying: "Because you are my very dear friend, I am speaking to you the most confidential part of knowledge."* (18.64)
The Lord also says; "Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear freind."* (18.65).
Text 22
Someone may say : "O Lord, how can it be possible for me to give up all obstacles on the path of spiritual realization, and fix my mind upon You, and become Your unalloyed devotee? Surely this is not possible for me."
To answer this objection, Sri Krsna spoke the next verse (18.66):
"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear."*
The word "sarva-dharman" in this verse refers to the duties prescribed by the varnasrama system, and the word "parityajya" means "having renounced". Sins are considered stumbling blocks on the spiritual path. Lord Krsna reassures Arjuna by saying: "I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear."*
Text 23
In the very beginning of the Gita (2.11), Sri Krsna also instructed Arjuna not to fear or lament. The Lord said:
"While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead."*
Text 24
In this verse Sri Krsna simultaneously describes His own transcendental enlightenment, and Arjuna's condition of material ignorance. The Lord says to Arjuna: "Please accept My instructions, and give up this lamentation." Someone may argue that Bhagavad-gita presents many different paths of spiritual realization. To this I reply: The Lord describes higher and lower levels of knowledge, in order to distinguish the higher from the lower. The concluding words of a book are understood to contain the essence of the book's instruction, and are the most significant part of it's content. In the conclusion of Bhagavad-gita, Krsna instructs Arjuna to become a Krsna-devotee, and give up all fear and lamentation. This instruction should be taken as the essence of Bhagavad-gita. We may also note that the Lord's instruction to give up all fear is also repeated at the very beginning of His instructions (2.11). In this way the opening and concluding statements both present the same message.
Text 25
That the concluding portions of a book are the most important part of it's contents, and present the author's opinions in a definitive form, is confirmed in the following statement of Vedanta-sutra (2.1.17):
"In the exposition of philosophy false statements must first be stated, in order that they be refuted in the remainder of the explanation."
From this we may understand that the beginning and concluding statements of scripture present the actual truth, and false conclusions are often given in the midst of the book's contents, only to be refuted later. An example of this may be found in the Eleventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, where Sri Krsna reveals His Universal Form to Arjuna, only to disclose later that this Universal Form is not His actual form. This is described in the following words, which conclude the Gita's description of the Universal form (11.50):
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, while speaking thus to Arjuna, displayed His four-armed form, and at last He showed him His real two-armed form, thus encouraging the fearful Arjuna."*
We may note in this connection that by identifying His human-like form as "svakam rupam (His real form)", the Lord affirms that His original feature is His own humanlike form, and the manifestation of the Universal Form is not His original feature.
Text 26
Even though Arjuna was a great devotee of the Lord, he did not appreciate the revelation of the Universal Form. Arjuna preferred to see the Lord's original, humanlike form. This is described in the following words spoken by Arjuna after Sri Krsna had revealed the Universal Form (11.45):
"After seeing this Universal Form, which I have never seen before, I am gladdened, but at the same time, my mind is disturbed by fear. Therefore please bestow Your grace upon me, and reveal again Your form as the Personality of Godhead, O Lord of Lords, O abode of the universe."*
Text 27
At this point a host of foolish critics will certainly raise a great childish commotion as they insist that the Universal Form is the original feature of the Absolute Truth. These critics will support their claim with the explanation that Sri Krsna gave Arjuna divine eyes to enable him to see the Universal Form(11.8). For this reason, they will say, the Universal Form is the original feature of the Godhead. To answer these objections, I shall now list some verses from the Vedic literature that explain that Sri Krsna is the Original Feature of the Absolute Truth.
narakrti param brahma "The original feature of the Absolute Truth is His humanlike form." - Padma Purana
tad amitam brahmadvayam sisyate "O Krsna, You are the non-dual Absolute Truth who remains unchanged after the cosmic manifestation is annihilated." - Srimad - Bhagavatam 10.14.18
yan-mitram paramanandam "How greatly fortunate are Nanda Maharaja, the cowherd men and all the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi! There is no limit to their fortune, because the Absolute truth, the source of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend."* - Srimad - Bhagavatam 10.14.32
sa eva nityatma-sukhanubhuty-abhivyudasta-mayah "If even only once or even by force one brings the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead into one's mind, one can attain the supreme salvation by the mercy of Krsna, as did Aghasura. What then is to be said of those whose hearts the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna enters when He appears as an incarnation, or those who always think of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the source of transcendental bliss for all living entities and by whom all illusion is completely removed?"* - Srimad - Bhagavatam 10.12.39
"sa tvam vibho katham ihaksa-pathah pratitah "My dear Lord Krsna, You are the Supersoul seated in everyone's heart. There are many great mystic yogis who have eyes to see You through the Vedas and Upanisads. In order to achieve the elevated position of being equal in quality with You, they always meditate on You within their hearts. Although such exalted saintly persons may see You constantly within their hearts, they still can not see You eye to eye; therefore I am very much surprised that I am able to see You personally. Although I was in the midst of luxury and opulence, and was subjected to so much of the happiness and misery of material existence, I am so fortunate to be seeing You personally. As far as I know, when one becomes liberated from material existence, he can see You in this way."* - Srimad - Bhagavatam 10.64.26
"brahmano hi pratisthah "I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman."* - spoken by Lord Krsna ( Bhagavad-gita 14.27)
Actually one cannot see Lord Krsna with material eyes. The sight must be specifically empowered by the Lord's grace before one may be able to see Him in His original form as Krsna. This is confirmed by Lord Krsna Himself in the following words:
naham prakasah sarvasya "I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yoga-maya]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible)."*
Text 28
With his ordinary vision Arjuna was able to see Lord Krsna, the humanlike Supreme Person. Arjuna required "divine"eyes (Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 11) to see the Universal Form, although with his own natural vision he was perfectly able to see Lord Krsna, the humanlike Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually, it is more difficult to see the humanlike Lord Krsna than it is to see the universal form of the Lord. The form of Lord Krsna cannot be seen merely with the "divine" eyes given to see the Universal Form. This is confirmed in the following quote (Bhagavad-gita 11.52) where Lord Krsna again reveals His original humanlike form to Arjuna and says:
Text 29
"My dear Arjuna, the form which you are now seeing is very difficult to behold. Even the demigods are ever seeking the opportunity to see this form which is so dear."*
Text 30
The humanlike Supreme Personality of Godhead may be seen only by devotional service. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (11.54), where Lord Krsna says:
"My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am , standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding."*
Text 31
By explaining how the humanlike form of Lord Krsna is so rare and difficult to see, the Lord explains that His Original form as Lord Krsna is superior to the Universal Form. This is also confirmed in the following verse (Bhagavad-gita 11.51):
"When Arjuna thus saw Krsna in His original form, he said:seeing this humanlike form, so very beautiful, my mind is now pacified, and I am restored to my original nature."*
We may also note in this connection that these verses immediately follow the Lord's revelation of His original humanlike form, and are distinctly apart from the revelation of the Universal Form. For this reason no one may interpret these verses as descriptions of the Universal Form. The supremacy of the form of Lord Krsna among all the forms of the Personality of Godhead is also described in the following verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam:
"When Lord Brahma and all the demigods and sages arrived they became astonished to see the wonderfully beautiful form of Lord Krsna, and they constantly gazed upon Him with unsatiated eyes."*** -11.6.5
"Very eager to see Lord Krsna, Narada muni continually remained in the city of Dvaraka."*** -11.2.1
"My dear Maharaja Yudhisthira, all of you [the Pandavas] are extremely fortunate, for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, lives in your palace just like a human being. Great saintly persons know this very well, and therefore they constantly visit this house."* -7.10.48
The Lord appeared in the mortal world by His internal potency, yogamaya. He came in His eternal form which is just suitable for His pastimes. These pastimes were wonderful for everyone, even for those proud of their own opilence, including the Lord Himself in His form as the Lord of Vaikuntha. Thus His (Sri Krsna's ) transcendental body is the ornament of all ornaments."* -3.2.12
These statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam, along with Lord Krsna's concluding statements in Bhagavad-gita (18.55.66) clearly show that Lord Krsna is thew Original Personality of Godhead.
Text 32
Because Bhagavad-gita thus contains the most essential message of spiritual life (that Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead), it is glorified in the following way in the Gita-mahatmya:
"Let there be one scripture only, one common scripture for the whole world-Bhagavad-gita. Let there be one God for the whole world: Sri Krsna, and one hymn, one mantra, one prayer-the chanting of His name: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna ,Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and let there be one work only-the service of the Supreme Personality of GodHead."*
Text 33
That Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also confirmed in the First Chapter of the Gopala-tapani Upanisad. We find the following verses in the beginning and end of that scripture:
"The four Kumaras once appriached their father, Lord Brahma, and asked: Please tell us who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead ? Whom does death fear? By knowing whom does everything else become known? Who created the spiritual and material worlds? (1.2)
"Brahma replied to them:Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Death is afraid of Govinda. By understanding Gopijanavallabha everything becomes known. -1.2-3
"Therefore, because Lord Sri Krsna is the Original Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should always mediate upon Him. One should glorify Him, serve Him and worship Him always. Pronouncing the sacred syllables om tat sat, the first chapter of Sri Gopala Tapani Upanisad is concluded." -1.54
Text 34
What need is there to provide any futher evidence to prove that Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Sri Krsna has all the attributes of the Supreme Godhead, and even the markings on His hands and feet confirm this. This is descirbed in the following verses from the Padma Purnana:
Text 35
"Brahma said: O Narada, please listen, and I shall describe to you the transcendental symbols on the lotus feet of the supremely blissful Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna.
Text 36
"Now that I have described the uncountable incarnations of Godhead, I shall say to you that Sri Krsna is the Original Form of the Personality of Godhead.
Text 37
"Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead, who has descended to this material world in order to please His devotees and fulfill the desires of the sages and demigods.
Text 38
"Please know that I am speaking the truth when I say to you that there is no one who is equal to Lord Krsna. I know very well the transcendental markings on Lord Krsna's lotus feet which reveal Him to be the supremely opulent Original Personality of Godhead, who is very dear to His devotees.
Text 39
"I have personally seen sixteen auspicious markings on Lord Krsna's lotus feet. Eight marks are on His right foot and seven on His left.
Text 40
"On Lord Krsna's right foot there are the signs of a flag, lotus, thunderbolt, rod for controlling elephants, barleycorn, svastika, urdhva-rekha line, and an eight- pointed star.
Text 41
"O best of the Vaisnavas, on Lord Krsna's left lotus foot there are the marks of a rainbow, triangle, water-pot, half-moon, sky, fish, and cow's hoofprint.
Text 42
"O best of the Vaisnavas, Lord Krsna is the Original feature of the Personality of Godhead. Of this there is no doubt. On the lotus feet of the many incarnations of the Lord two, three, four, or five of these auspicious signs may be present, but all sixteen signs are present only on the feet of Lord Krsna.
Text 43
"O best of the sages, please hear me: On the lotus feet of a certain incarnation of the Lord, who bears a golden complexion, all sixteen signs are also present."
Text 44
That Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead is confirmed both in this passage and in the following passage spoken by Suta Gosvami in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana:
Text 45
"The innumerable incarnations of the Supreme Lord all manifest eternal spiritual forms, and among them twenty incarnations are most prominent. If one hears the glories of these twenty incarnations, he will become freed from the most abominable sins."
Ssarva-samvadini Comment 82 (Part 3)
Text 1
The following verses from the vedic literatures may be appended to this description of Lord Krsna's lotus feet.
Text 2
"In the middle of Lord Krsna's lotus foot there is the mark of a flag, and also a lotus flower, three fingers distant from the front of the foot. On the left side of His foot there is the mark of a thunderbolt and before that there is the mark of a rod for controlling elephants.
Text 3
"At the base of the Lord's big toe there is the mark of a barleycorn and also the mark of a svastika.
Text 4
"There is also an urdhva-rekha line beginning at the junction of the big-toe and fore-toe and extending to the middle of the Lord's lotus feet. This urdhva-rekha line is also described in the Padma Purana. Eight fingers away from the middle toe there is the mark of an eight-pointed star.
Text 5
"O best of the Vaisnavas, the great sages have described the markings on Lord Krsna's right foot in this way.
Text 6
"I have thus descibed the markings on the Lord's right foot, and now I shall describe the left foot of the Lord. On the Lord's left foot, near the toes, there is a rainbow four fingers in length. In the middle of the foot there are also a triangle and water-pot.
Text 7
"O pious Narada, on the Lord's left foot there is also the mark of a half-moon, which is eight fingers in length.
Text 8
"There are also a kunkuma spot, the mark of a fish, and the mark of a cow's hoofprint, one finger in diameter. In this way I have completely described the markings on the lotus feet of Lord Krsna."
Text9
This description of the Lord's lotus feetbegins with the following statement:
"O Narada, O best of the sages, please hear from me about the sixteen markings on the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. These markings are as beautiful as a graceful jambu fruit, and I shall now describe them as they have been previously been described by the pure-hearted devotees."
Text 10
In these verses the word "vaisnavottama" is used in the vocative case to address Narada Muni. The words "yada kada" mean "whenever", "madhyama" means "that part culminating in the heel, "madhyah" means "the middle part", and "dhvaja" means "flag".
Text 11
The word "try-angula-manatah" means "three fingers in distance from the front part of the foot". This is corroborated by the following description of the Lord's lotus feet in the Skanda Purana:
"Below the mark of the lotus is the mark of a flag. This flag represents victory over all that is unwanted."
Text 12
The words "yatra kutracit" mean "everywhere". The word "adim" means "the junction of the big toe and the fore-toe". The "urdhva-rekha" line begins at that point and extends to the middle of the Lord's foot. The words "kathita padma-samjnake" mean "described in the Padma Purana".
Text 13
The phrase "astangulaih manam tat" means "eight fingers away from the middle toe".
Text 14
In this way the elaborate description of the markings on Lord Krsna's right lotus foot is concluded. The description of the left lotus foot follows.
Text 15
On the Lord's left foot, first there is the mark of the rainbow. Below that is the mark of the triangle, and below that is the mark of the half-moon. The word "anyatra" means "any place other than the lotus feet of Sri Krsna."
Text 16
The word "bindu" means "kunkuma spot." This mark is found at the front part of the Lord's sole near the toes. At the Lord's heel there is the mark of a fish. In this way there are sixteen auspicious marks on the right and left feet of the Lord. The Skanda Purana further describes: "beneath the big toe of the Lord's right foot there is the mark of a cakra, and beneath the big toe of the Lord's left foot there are the marks of a tanmukha and dara."
Text 17
The two lotus feet of lord Krsna are described in many places in the Vedic literatures. For example in the Mathura-mandala-mahatmya section of the Purana we find the explanation:
"Lord Krsna, whose lotus foot is marked with the sign of the cakra, performed pastimes according to His own desire in the auspicious transcendental place known as Mathura-mandala."
Text 18
The markings of the Lord's lotus feet are also described in Gopala-tapani Upansad (2.62):
"Lord Krsna's lotus feet are marked with the signs of the conchshell, flag, and parasol."
The sign of the umbrella is situated fourteen angulis beneath the cakra and six angulis to the right on the Lord's right foot.
(At this point the Sarva-samvadini ends and the Krsna-sandarbha continues.)
Text 46
After saying these words, Suta Gosvami gave a brief description of the lord's various incarnations, much like the list found in the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and included Krsna among the incarnations. When the description of the incarnations was completed, Suta Gosvami explained the special position of Krsna in the following words:
"The incarnations of the Lord, including Lord Narasimha and many others, are full of all transcendental opulences and powers, and they appear in this material world to remove the sinful reactions of the conditioned souls. One thing, however, should be carefully understood about them: all the incarnations are simply parts of the plenary portions of Lord Krsna, the Original Personality of Godhead."
Text 47
That Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also described in the very beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.1), where Sri Vyasadava says:
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
janmady asya yato nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah tejo-vari-mrdam yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargo mrsa dhamna svena sada nirasta- kuhakam satyam param dhimahi
"O my Lord, Sri Krsna, son of Vasudeva, O all-prevading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Sri Krsna because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmaji, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Sri Krsna, who is eternally existant in the Transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth."*
These words of Vyasa are also corroborated by the defination of the word "bhagavan" found in the Visnu Purana ("The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan, is He who possesses unlimited wealth, strength, fame, knowledge, beauty, and renunciation"), and they are also corroborated by the following quotations from Vedic literatures:
narakrti param brahma "The Supreme Godhead has a humanlike form." -The Puranas tasmad krsna eva paro devah "Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." -Gopala-tapani Upanisad
We may note thatthe word "param" in the last lise of the invocation of Srimad-Bhagavatum certainly refers fo Sri Krsna. and that the word "satyam (Absolute Truth) gives us the description of Sri Krsna actual nature. This word "satyam" is described in the following verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.2.26):
satya-vratam satya-param tri-satyam satyasya yonim nihitam casatye satyasya satyam rta-satya-netram satyatmakam tvam saranam prapannah
"The demigods prayed: O Lord, You never deviate from Your vow, which is always perfect because whatever You decide is perfectly correct and cannot be stopped by anyone. Being present in the three phases of cosic manifestation-creation, maintenance and annihilation-You are the Supreme Truth. Indeed, unless one is completely truthful, one cannot achieve Your favor, which therefore cannot be acheived by hypocrites. You are the active principle, the real truth, in all the ingredients of creation, and therefore you are known as antaryami, the inner force. You are equal to everyone, and the beginning of all truth. Therefore, offering our obeisances, we surrender unto You. Kindly give us protection."*
Text 48
In the Dictionary of Sri Krsna's Names in the Udyama Parva of the Mahabharata, Sanjaya gives us the definition of the word "satya" as a name of Krsna:
"Sri krsna is the Supreme Reality, and all reality has emanated from Him and is situated within Him. For this reason, He is called 'satya', The Supreme Reality, or the Absolute Truth."
In these words Sanjaya clearly explained that the form of Sri Krsna is eternal and unchanging: the Absolute Truth.
Text 49
In the invocation of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.1), quoted in Text 47, Sri Krsna is described as being free from all material illusion. This is described as being free from all material illusion. This is described in the following words:
dhamna svena sada nirasta-kuhakam param dhimahi
"I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Sri Krsna, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth ."*
In this phase the word "svena" means "His own transcendental form, the word "dhamna" means "with His abode, known as Mathura", and the word "kuhakam" means "the illusory activities of the material world."
Text 50
iti - thus; sri-gopala-uttara-tapani-- in the description of the Second Chapter of the Gopala-tapani Upanisad; prasiddheh-- famous.
Mathura, the transcendental abode of Lord Krsna, is described in the following verse of Gopala-tapani Upanisad (2.79):
When the entire universe is churned (mathyate) by the churning rod of transcendental knowledge, the butter produced is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Mathura. That is why it is called Mathura."
Text 51
The first verse of the Bhagavatam, quoted in Text 47, gives us a summary description of lord Krsna's pastimeson this earth. This may be explained in the following way: The word "adyasya" means "the Supreme lord who eternally remains in Mathura, Dvaraka, and Gokula as the son of Vasudeva and Nanda Maharaja". The word "janma" means that the Supreme Lord appears in the material world to accomplish a specific purpose. The words "yatah anvayat itaratah ca" mean that the Lord was carried from the home of Vasudeva to the home of Nanda, the king of Vraja, who accepted the Lord as his own son.
Text 52
That is the meaning of the first line of the verse. We may also note in this connection that the word "yatah" ( from whom ) implies the use of an appropriate co-relative pronoun, which need not be expressed, but may be simply understood. In this sentence the pronoun "tasmat" (from Him) is understood although not expressed.
Text 53
The question may be raised: Why was the Lord carried from Vasudeva's home to the home of Nanda Maharaja in Vraja? The answer is given in the words "arthesv abhijnah" in this verse from the Bhagavatam. These words indicate that Lord Krsna knew very well the purpose of His being carried to Vraja. The Lord was carried to Vraja in order to deceive Kamsa, and also to perform various transcendental pastimes with the rewsidents of Gokula, who were all full of great love for Him. These pastimes seemed like a host of dark monsoon clouds that showered transcendental bliss upon everyone. The word "svarat" in this verse means that the Lord always remained with His own friends and relatives, the residents of Gokula.
Text 54
Although Krsna remained always conquered by the love of the residents of Vraja, he would occasionally manifest His divine power and opulence. One such occasion is described by Vyasa in the phrase "tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye". The word "adi-kavaye" means "to Brahma", "hrda" means "simply by willing", "brahma" means "the manifestation of His divine potency in the form of innumerable eternal, unchanging, transcendental forms of knowledge and unlimited bliss", and the word "tene" means "manifested". Understood in this way, the phrase may be taken to mean "in order to bewilder and amaze Brahma, Lord Krsna, simply by willing to do so, manifested innumerable eternal, unchanging transcendental forms of knowledge and unlimited bliss."
Text 55
The phrase "muhyanti surayah" means "the devotees become overwhelmed with love when they hear about the pastimes of Lord Krsna, which are sometimes wonderful and extraordinary, and which sometimes appear like the activities of an ordinary human being. The phrase "tejo-vari-mrdam yatha vinimayah" means, "liquids, solids, and effulgent substances all change their natures when the Lord enjoys pastimes. This means that in comparison to the splendor of the Lord's beautiful face, the shining of the moon and other bright things becomes dull. Also, when Lord Krsna plays His flute, the water of the Yamuna river becomes solid, and the earth and rocks begin to melt in ecstasy."
The phrase "yatra tri-sargo mrsa" means "from Lord Krsna are manifested the eternal, opulent, transcendental abodes of Gokula, Mathura, and Dvaraka."
This concludes the explanation of the first verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Srila Jiva Gosvami’s Sri Krsna-sandarbha An Essay on Lord Krsna Volume Three
Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §79 · English §83
Source[७९] तथा श्री-कृष्ण-प्रतिनिधि-रूपत्वाद् अस्य महा-पुराणस्य श्री-कृष्ण एव मुख्योऽभिधेय इत्य् अप्य् आह । कृष्णे स्व-धामोपगते धर्म-ज्ञानादिभिः सह । कलौ नष्ट-दृशाम् एष पुराणार्को ऽधुनोदितः ॥ [भ्प् १.३.४३] स्पष्टम् ॥ १.३ ॥ श्री-सूतः ॥ ७९ ॥
[79] tathā śrī-kṛṣṇa-pratinidhi-rūpatvād asya mahā-purāṇasya śrī-kṛṣṇa eva mukhyo'bhidheya ity apy āha | kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha | kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣa purāṇārko 'dhunoditaḥ || [BhP 1.3.43] spaṣṭam || 1.3 || śrī-sūtaḥ || 79 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 83
Anuccheda 83
1 The explanation given in the first verse of the Bhagavatam, is repeated again at the end in these words (Srimad Bhagavatam 12.13.19): “Formerly Krsna mercifully gave the lamp of transcendental knowledge to Narada, Vyasa Muni, and Sukadeva Gosvami, a great devotee and the best of yogis. I meditate on the Supreme Lord, Krsna, the eternal Absolute Truth, supremely pure, and free from all suffering and lamentation.” 2 We have already discussed in the second (Bhagavat) sandarbha how Lord Krsna spoke the four essential verses of Srimad Bhagavatam (2.9.33-36) to Brahma. That Lord Krsna is the original instructor of Vedic knowledge is also described in Gopala-tapani Upanisad (1.23): “It was Krsna who in the beginning instructed Brahma in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past.* They who desire liberation surrender to Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who grants transcendental knowledge to His devotees.
Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §80 · English §84
Source[८०] तद् एवं श्री-कृष्णस्य स्वयं भगवत्त्वं दर्शितम् । तत् तु गति-सामान्येनापि लभ्यते । यथा महाभारते - सर्वे वेदाः सर्व-विद्याः सर्व-शास्त्राः सर्वे यज्ञाः सर्व ईड्यश् च कृष्णः । विदुः कृष्णं ब्राह्मणास् तत्त्वतो ये तेषां राजन् सर्वाज्ञाः समाप्ताः ॥ इति । अत्र सर्व-समन्वय-सिद्धेः पूर्णत्वम् एव लभ्यते । एवं श्री-भगवद्- उपनिषत्सु च - वेदैश् च सर्वैर् अहम् एव वेद्यो वेदान्त-कृद् वेद-विद् एव चाहम् [ब्ग् १५.१५] इति, ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाहम् [ब्ग् १४.२७] इत्य् आदि च । ब्रह्म-संहितायाम् [५.२९] -- चिन्तामणि-प्रकर-सद्मसु कल्प-वृक्ष- लक्षावृतेषु सुरभीर् अभिपालयन्तम् इत्य् आदिकम् उपक्रम्य - यस्यैक-निश्वसित-कालम् अथावलम्ब्य जीवन्ति लोम-विलजा जगद्-अण्ड-नाथाः । विष्णुर् महान् स इह यस्य कला-विशेषो गोविन्दम् आदि-पुरुषं तम् अहं भजामि ॥ इति [ब्रह्मस् ५.३०] । ननु पाद्मोत्तर-खण्डादौ सर्वावतारी पर-व्योमाधिपतिर् नारायण एवेति श्रूयते । पञ्चरात्रादौ तु वासुदेवः, न च स कृष्ण एवेति वक्तव्यम् । तत् तु स्थान-परिकर-नाम-रूपाणां भेदात् । तर्हि कथं श्री-कृष्णस्यैव सर्वावतारित्वं स्वयं-भगवत्त्वं वा ? तत्रोच्यते श्री-भागवतस्य सर्व- शास्त्र-चक्रवर्तित्वं प्रथम-सन्दर्भे प्रघट्टकेनैव दर्शितम् । पूर्ण-ज्ञान-प्रादुर्भावानन्तरम् एव श्री-वेद-व्यासेन तत् प्रकाशितम् इति च तत्रैव प्रसिद्धम् । स्फुटम् एव दृश्यते चास्मिन्न् अपर- शास्त्रोपमर्दकत्वम् । इत्य् अङ्गोपदिशन्त्य् एके विस्मृत्य प्राग् उदाहृतम् । मुनि-वास-निवासे किं घटेतारिष्ट-दर्शनम् ॥ [भ्प् १०.५७.३१] इत्य् आदौ । एवं वदन्ति राजर्षे [भ्प् १०.७७.३०] इत्य् आदौ च । अतएव नवमेऽप्य् उक्तम् हित्वा स्व-शिष्यान् पैलादीन् भगवान् बादरायणः । मह्यं पुत्राय शान्ताय परं गुह्यम् इदं जगौ ॥ [भ्प् ९.२२.२२] इति । तद् एवं सर्व-शास्त्रोपचरितत्वं सिद्धम् । तत्र श्री-कृष्णस्यैव स्वयं भगवत्त्वं निरूपितम् । दृश्यते च प्रशंसितुर् वैशिष्ट्येन प्रशंस्यस्यापि वैशिष्ट्यम् । यथा ग्रामाध्यक्ष्य-राज-सभयोः सर्वोत्तमत्वेन प्रशस्यमानौ वस्तु-विशेषौ तारतम्यम् आपद्येते । (पगे ३०) तद् एवं सत्स्व् अप्य् अन्येषु तेष्व् अन्यत्र प्रशस्तेषु श्री-भागवत-प्रशंस्यमानस्य श्री- कृष्णस्यैव परमाधिक्यं सिध्यति । अतएव कृष्णस् तु भगवान् स्वयम् इति सावधाराणा श्रुतिर् अन्य-श्रुति-बाधिकेति युक्तम् एव व्याख्यातं पूर्वम् अपि । ततश् च ते तु पर-व्योमाधिप-नारायण-वासुदेवादयः श्री-कृष्णस्यैव मूर्ति-विशेषा भवेयुः । स्वयं श्री-कृष्णस् तु नारायणस् त्वम् इत्य् आद्य् उक्तो महा-नारायणो द्वारकादि-प्रसिद्धो महा-वासुदेवश् च भवेत् । ततश् च नारायण-वासुदेवोपनिषदोः स एव व्यक्तः । ब्रह्मण्यो देवकी-पुत्र इति [नाउ ४], देवकी-नन्दनो निखिलम् आनन्दयाद् इति च । तद् इत्थम् एव तं वासुदेवम् अपि विभूति-निर्विशेषतया स्वयम् एव स्पष्टम् आह - वासुदेवो भगवताम् [भ्प् ११.१९.२९] इति स्पष्टम् ।
[80] tad evaṃ śrī-kṛṣṇasya svayaṃ bhagavattvaṃ darśitam | tat tu gati-sāmānyenāpi labhyate | yathā mahābhārate - sarve vedāḥ sarva-vidyāḥ sarva-śāstrāḥ sarve yajñāḥ sarva īḍyaś ca kṛṣṇaḥ | viduḥ kṛṣṇaṃ brāhmaṇās tattvato ye teṣāṃ rājan sarvājñāḥ samāptāḥ || iti | atra sarva-samanvaya-siddheḥ pūrṇatvam eva labhyate | evaṃ śrī-bhagavad- upaniṣatsu ca - vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham [Bg 15.15] iti, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham [Bg 14.27] ity ādi ca | brahma-saṃhitāyām [5.29] -- cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam ity ādikam upakramya - yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ | viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo govindam ādi-puruṣaṃ tam ahaṃ bhajāmi || iti [BrahmaS 5.30] | nanu pādmottara-khaṇḍādau sarvāvatārī para-vyomādhipatir nārāyaṇa eveti śrūyate | pañcarātrādau tu vāsudevaḥ, na ca sa kṛṣṇa eveti vaktavyam | tat tu sthāna-parikara-nāma-rūpāṇāṃ bhedāt | tarhi kathaṃ śrī-kṛṣṇasyaiva sarvāvatāritvaṃ svayaṃ-bhagavattvaṃ vā ? tatrocyate śrī-bhāgavatasya sarva- śāstra-cakravartitvaṃ prathama-sandarbhe praghaṭṭakenaiva darśitam | pūrṇa-jñāna-prādurbhāvānantaram eva śrī-veda-vyāsena tat prakāśitam iti ca tatraiva prasiddham | sphuṭam eva dṛśyate cāsminn apara- śāstropamardakatvam | ity aṅgopadiśanty eke vismṛtya prāg udāhṛtam | muni-vāsa-nivāse kiṃ ghaṭetāriṣṭa-darśanam || [BhP 10.57.31] ity ādau | evaṃ vadanti rājarṣe [BhP 10.77.30] ity ādau ca | ataeva navame'py uktam hitvā sva-śiṣyān pailādīn bhagavān bādarāyaṇaḥ | mahyaṃ putrāya śāntāya paraṃ guhyam idaṃ jagau || [BhP 9.22.22] iti | tad evaṃ sarva-śāstropacaritatvaṃ siddham | tatra śrī-kṛṣṇasyaiva svayaṃ bhagavattvaṃ nirūpitam | dṛśyate ca praśaṃsitur vaiśiṣṭyena praśaṃsyasyāpi vaiśiṣṭyam | yathā grāmādhyakṣya-rāja-sabhayoḥ sarvottamatvena praśasyamānau vastu-viśeṣau tāratamyam āpadyete | (page 30) tad evaṃ satsv apy anyeṣu teṣv anyatra praśasteṣu śrī-bhāgavata-praśaṃsyamānasya śrī- kṛṣṇasyaiva paramādhikyaṃ sidhyati | ataeva kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam iti sāvadhārāṇā śrutir anya-śruti-bādhiketi yuktam eva vyākhyātaṃ pūrvam api | tataś ca te tu para-vyomādhipa-nārāyaṇa-vāsudevādayaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇasyaiva mūrti-viśeṣā bhaveyuḥ | svayaṃ śrī-kṛṣṇas tu nārāyaṇas tvam ity ādy ukto mahā-nārāyaṇo dvārakādi-prasiddho mahā-vāsudevaś ca bhavet | tataś ca nārāyaṇa-vāsudevopaniṣadoḥ sa eva vyaktaḥ | brahmaṇyo devakī-putra iti [NāU 4], devakī-nandano nikhilam ānandayād iti ca | tad ittham eva taṃ vāsudevam api vibhūti-nirviśeṣatayā svayam eva spaṣṭam āha - vāsudevo bhagavatām [BhP 11.19.29] iti spaṣṭam |
English translation
English witness · section(s) 84
Anuccheda 84
1 By repeatedly studying these scriptural quotations, the actual truth (that Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead) will become clear to the reader. The actual purport of Srimad Bhagavatam. (Which has Bhagavad-gita and Gopala-tapani Upanisad as it’s assistants, and hundreds of other Vedic literatures as it’s servants) will reveal to us the actual truth (that Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead). The Bhagavatam will very clearly place this conclusion within the palm of our hand. That Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead is the central theme of Srimad-Bhagavatam. This is also confirmed in other Puranas. For example, Brahmanda Purana explains in the Sri Krsna-namastottara-sata-namamrta Prayers: ‘Sri Krsna is a moon risen from the nectar ocean of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which was spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami.’ 2 Now that it is clearly proven that Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin of Lord Vasudeva, it should also be accepted that Lord Balarama is the origin of the Lord Sankarsana, and other associates of the Lord are the origins of Lord Pradyumna, Lord Aniruddha and other incarnations. Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead, and His associates are, in some way or other, His expansions. Although someone may think that Lord Balarama is an avesa-avatara (empowered living entity), this is not true. Lord Balarama is repeatedly described as equal to Lord Krsna. This is explained in the following quotes: “When Krsna and Balarama, with the strength of Their legs, crawled in the muddy places created in Vraja by cow dung and cow urine, Their crawling resembled the crawling of serpents and the sound of Their ankle bells were very charming. Very much pleased by the sound of other people’s ankle bells, They used to follow these people as if going to Their mothers, but when They saw that these were other people, They became afraid and returned to Their real mothers, Yasoda and Rohini.”* Srimad Bhagavatam 10.8.22 “The brahmanas engaged in the performance of sacrifices began to regret their sinful activities in refusing food to the Supreme Personalities of Godhead. They said: We are not certainly undone, for we have offended Lord Krsna and Balarama, who are the Supreme Controllers of all the universes, although They appear to be only ordinary human children.”* Srimad Bhagavatam 10.23.38 “When Akrura entered Vrndavana he saw Krsna and Balarama engaged in supervising the milking of the cows. Krsna was dressed in yellow garments and Balarama in bluish. Akrura also saw that Krsna’s eyes were exactly like the beautifully grown lotus flower of the autumn season.”* Srimad Bhagavatam 10.38.28 “Krsna entered the wrestling arena with Balarama. They both had long hands. They were beautifully dressed, and They were attractive to all the people assembled there. There were dressed as if They were going to act on the dramatic stage, and They drew the attention of all people.”* Srimad Bhagavatam 10.43.19 Krsna and Balarama are described as equals and compared to the sun and moon/ We may note that They never are compared to unequal things, as for instance the sun and the planet Venus (which is much smaller than the sun, and less prominent in the sky). This comparison of Lord Krsna and Balarama to the sun and moon is given in the following quote from the Hari-vamsa: “Krsna and Balarama were like the sun and the moon.” That Krsna and Balarama were equals is also confirmed in the following verse of Srimad Bhagavatam (10.38.30): “The two great personalities, Krsna and Balarama, had both made the land of Vraja extremely beautiful by decorating it with Their footprints, which had many auspicious markings, such as the flag, thunderbolt, rod for controlling elephants, and lotus flower. With great mercy, They cast Their smiling glance upon Akrura.”* We may note in this verse that both Krsna and Balarama are described as having the markings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead on the soles of Their feet. These auspicious markings are seen only on the feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. They are never seen on the feet of sakty-avesa incarnations (empowered living entities) such as Prthu Maharaja and others. 4 Recounting the story of Balarama’s killing of the demon Dhenuka, Sukadeva Gosvami specifically praised Lord Balarama, and clearly described Him as the Personality of Godhead in the following words (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.15.35): “As the thread in a cloth spreads both lengthwise and breadthwise, so everything we see within this cosmic manifestation is directly and indirectly existing in Lord Balarama, the Supreme Personality of godhead. This is not very wonderful for Him.”*
Kṛṣṇa · Sanskrit §81 · English §85
Source[८१] तथा - सात्वतां नव-मूर्तीनाम् आदि-मूर्तिर् अहं परा ॥ इति [भ्प् ११.१९.३२] टीका च - सात्वतां भागवतानां नव-व्यूहार्चने वासुदेव-सङ्कर्षण- प्रद्युम्नानिरुद्ध-नारायण-हयग्रीव-वराह-नृसिंह-ब्रह्माण इति या नव-मूर्तयस् तासां मध्ये वासुदेवाख्या । इत्य् एषा । अतएव दृश्यते चाद्वैत-वादिनाम् अपि सन्न्यासिनां व्यास-पूजा-पद्धतौ श्री- कृष्णस्य मध्य-सिंहासनस्थत्वं वासुदेवादीनां व्यासादीनां चावरण- देवतात्वम् इति । अतएव क्रम-दीपिकायाम् अष्टाक्षर-पटले वासुदेवादयस् तद्-आवरणत्वेन श्रूयन्ते । यत् तु वृष्णीनां वासुदेवोऽस्मि [गीता १०.३७] इति भगवद्-उपनिषदः । तत्र वासुदेव-शब्देन वसुदेवापत्यार्थेन श्री- बलदेव एवोच्यते । वक्ता हि तत्र श्री-कृष्ण एव । ततश् च स्व-विभूतिं कथयति तस्मिन्न् अपि विभूतित्वारोपो न युज्यते । वक्तुर् अन्यत्रैव श्रोतृभिस् तत्-प्रतीतेः । ततो मुख्यार्थ-बाधे तथैव व्याख्या समुचिता । तस्मात् साधु व्याख्यातम् - वासुदेवो भगवताम् इत्य् आदि [भ्प् ११.१९.२९] । ॥ ११.१९ ॥ श्री-भगवान् ॥ ८०-८१ ॥
[81] tathā - sātvatāṃ nava-mūrtīnām ādi-mūrtir ahaṃ parā || iti [BhP 11.19.32] ṭīkā ca - sātvatāṃ bhāgavatānāṃ nava-vyūhārcane vāsudeva-saṅkarṣaṇa- pradyumnāniruddha-nārāyaṇa-hayagrīva-varāha-nṛsiṃha-brahmāṇa iti yā nava-mūrtayas tāsāṃ madhye vāsudevākhyā | ity eṣā | ataeva dṛśyate cādvaita-vādinām api sannyāsināṃ vyāsa-pūjā-paddhatau śrī- kṛṣṇasya madhya-siṃhāsanasthatvaṃ vāsudevādīnāṃ vyāsādīnāṃ cāvaraṇa- devatātvam iti | ataeva krama-dīpikāyām aṣṭākṣara-paṭale vāsudevādayas tad-āvaraṇatvena śrūyante | yat tu vṛṣṇīnāṃ vāsudevo'smi [Gītā 10.37] iti bhagavad-upaniṣadaḥ | tatra vāsudeva-śabdena vasudevāpatyārthena śrī- baladeva evocyate | vaktā hi tatra śrī-kṛṣṇa eva | tataś ca sva-vibhūtiṃ kathayati tasminn api vibhūtitvāropo na yujyate | vaktur anyatraiva śrotṛbhis tat-pratīteḥ | tato mukhyārtha-bādhe tathaiva vyākhyā samucitā | tasmāt sādhu vyākhyātam - vāsudevo bhagavatām ity ādi [BhP 11.19.29] | || 11.19 || śrī-bhagavān || 80-81 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 85
Anuccheda 85
Lord Balarama, the seventh son of Devaki, is described as a visnu-tattva plenary portion of Lord Krsna in the following quote from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.2.5) describing His appearance in Devaki’s womb. “Some of their relatives, however, began to follow Kamsa’s principles and act in his service. After Kamsa, the son of Ugrasena, killed the six sons of Devaki, a plenary portion of Krsna entered her womb as her seventh child, arousing her pleasure and her lamentation. That plenary portion is celebrated by great sages as Ananta, who belongs to Krsna’s second quadruple expansion.”*