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SRILA RUPA GOSVAMI'S
SRI LAGHU-BHAGAVATAMRTA
Translation By Kushkratha Dasa
Volume One
A Little
Nectar of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His Devotees
Volume One
Part One
Shri
Krishnamrta
The Nectar of
Shri Krishna
Chapter One
Svayam-rupa-vilasa-svamsavesa-prakasa-laksana-bhagavat-tattva-nirupana
The
Svayam-rupa, Vilasa, Svamsa, and Avesa Forms of the Lord page 1
Chapter Two
Purusavatara
and Guna Avataras page 3
Chapter Three
Lilavatara-nirupana
The
Lila-avataras page 7
Chapter Four
Manvantara-yugavatara-prabhava-vaibhavavatara-tat-sthana-nirupana
Description
of the Manvantara-avataras, Yuga-avataras, Prabhava-avataras, vaibhava
avataras, and Their abodes 13
Chapter Five
Paravastha-nirupana
Description
of the Most Important Forms of the Lord
18
Lord Krishna
is not an incarnation of Nara-Narayana Rsi or Lord Vamana
Lord Nrsimha
Lord
Krishna's killing the demons proves he is the Original Supreme Personality of
Godhead
Part One
Shri Krishnamrta
The Nectar of
Shri Krishna
Chapter One
Svayam-rupa-vilasa-svamsavesa-prakasa-laksana-bhagavat-tattva-nirupana
The
Svayam-rupa, Vilasa, Svamsa, and Avesa Forms of the Lord
1 I offer my respectful obeisances to Shri
Krishna, who is glorified in the following verses of Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(10.87.46 and 11.5.22).
"I offer my respectful obeisances
to Shri Krishna, the omniscient Supreme Personality of Godhead who, in order to
liberate the conditioned souls from the cycle of repeated birth and death, appears
in the material world in the forms of His innumerable incarnations."
2 "In the age of Kali, intelligent
persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead
who constantly sings the name of Krishna.
Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates,
servants, weapons and confidential companions."*
3 May the honey-sweet flute music that
flows from Lord Mukunda's lotus mouth fill me with bliss.
4 Glory to the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,
the Lord's names spoken by Shri Chaitanya's mouth, which drown the world in
pure love!
5 Of Shri Brhad-bhagavatamrtam, manifested
by the louts words of my master, this book is a summary.
6 This book will describe two kinds of
nectar: the nectar of Shri Krishna, and
the nectar of His devotees. First will
be the nectar of Krishna, nectar relished by the Lord's friends.
7-8 Because the Vedic revelation is the best of
all evidence, I will base my arguments on it and not on material logic. The best of sages accepts the Vedic
revelation as the best evidence, for he said (Vedant-sutra 1.1.3): "The
Supreme is understood from the Vedic revelation".
9 With the words (Vedanta-sutra 2.1.11)
"The Supreme cannot be understood by material logic" he directly
criticised material logic.
10 To prove that the Supreme Lord, Shri
Krishna, is the best of they who are worthy of worship, His forms will be
described here, one after another.
11 In His abodes beyond the worlds of matter,
the Supreme Lord is manifest in three kinds of forms: 1. svayam-rupa 2. tad-ekatma-rupa and 3. avesa-rupa.
12 The svayam-rupa is said to be the original
form, not manifested from any other.
13 It is described in Brahma-samhita (5.1)
"Krishna, who is known as
Govinda, is the supreme controller. He
has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body.
He is the origin of all. He has
no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes."*
14 The svayam-rupa is not different from His
original form. In the tad-ekatma-rupa
the Lord's form and other features are different from His original form. The tadekatma-rupa forms are divided into two
types: 1. vilasa-rupa and 2. svamsa-rupa.
15-16 When the Lord displays numerous forms with
different features by His inconceivable potency, such forms are called
vilasa-vigrahas.* In this way from Lord Govinda is manifest Lord Narayana, the
master of the spiritual sky, and from Lord Narayana is manifest Lord Vasudeva.
17 These forms manifest other forms that have
lesser power, and are called svamsa-rupas.
The forms headed by Lord Sankarsana and the forms headed by Lord Matsya,
each manifest in His own abode, are examples of these forms.
18-9 Exalted individual souls (jivas) into whom
Lord Janardana enters with a portion of His knowledge-potency and other
potencies, are called avesas. Sesa,
Narada, and the four Kumaras are examples of them in Vaikuntha. They were seen by Akrura, as described in the
Tenth Canto.
20 Prakasa-rupas are the same form manifest
in many places.
21-2 If numerous forms, all equal in their
features, are displayed simultaneously, such forms are called prakasa-vigrahas
of the Lord.* Lord Krishna did this in the many places of Dvaraka. This will be proved when Shrimad-Bhagavatam
10.69.2 is quoted here.
23 Sometimes, without abandoning His
Krishna-form, Lord Krishna manifests a four-arm form. This is a prakasa-rupa of His two-arm form.
24 The many forms of the Supreme Lord each
have their own abode in the spiritual sky, beyond the touch of matter. This is confirmed in the Uttara-khanda of the
Padma Purana, and in many other Vedic literatures also.
Chapter Two
The Purusa
and Guna Avataras
1 Now the Lord's incarnations, among which
Shri Krishna is the best, will be described.
2-3 To act in the material world, the Supreme
Lord appears in the previously described forms and in other ways, as if He had
never appeared in that way before. These
appearances are known as "incarnations". In this way He appears in His tad-ekatma
forms, such as Sesasayi Vishnu, and in His empowered devotees, such as Maharaja
Vasudeva.
4-5 Again there are three kinds of incarnations
of the Lord: 1. purusa-avatara 2. guna-avataras, and 3. lila-avataras. These incarnations are mostly svamsa-rupa and
avesa-rupa forms. The Lord may also
appear in His svayam-rupa among them.
6 Now the purusa-avataras will be
described. In Vishnu Purana (6.8.59) it
is said:
"I offer my respectful obeisances
to the eternal, unchanging purusa-avatara, who has a great variety of
transcendental qualities, who seems to be impure although He is supremely pure,
who appears in many forms, who is full of transcendental knowledge, and who is
the origin of all transcendental powers and opulences."
Shridhara Svami notes that the phrase
"tasyaiva anu" means "after the Supreme Controller is
described."
7-8 Here is an explanation. He who is expanded from the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, who although He seems to be part of the manifested and
unmanifested material modes, in truth only observes them, and who is the source
of many incarnations of Godhead, the Sruti-sastras describe as the
purusa-avatara. For example,
Shrimad-Bhagavatam explains (2.6.40):
"Karanarnavasayi Vishnu is the
first incarnation of the Supreme Lord."
9 The different purusa-avataras are
described in Satvata Tantra:
"Vishnu has three forms called
purusas. The first, Maha-Vishnu, is the
creator of the total material energy (mahat), the second Garbhodasayi, who is
situated within each universe, and the third is Ksirodasayi, who lives in the
heart of every living being. He who
knows these becomes liberated from the clutches of maya."*
10 The first purusa-avatara is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (11.4.3):
"When the primeval Lord Narayana
created His universal body out of the five elements produced from Himself and
then entered within that universal body by His own plenary portion, He thus
became known as the Purusa."*
11 Brahma-samhita (5.10-13) also describes
Him:
"The Lord of the world
Maha-Vishnu is manifest in him (Lord Mahesvara) by His subjective portion in
the form of His glance."**
"The Lord of the mundane world,
Maha-Vishnu, possesses thousands of thousands of heads, eyes and hands. He is the source of thousands of thousands of
avataras in His thousands of thousands of subjective portions. He is the creator of thousands of thousands
of individual souls.**
"The same Maha-Vishnu is spoken
of by the name of Narayana in this mundane world. From that eternal person has sprung the vast
expanse of water of the spiritual causal ocean.
The subjective portion of Sankarsana who abides in Paravyoma, the above
supreme purusa with thousands of subjective portions, reposes in the state of
divine sleep (yoga-nidra) in the waters of the spiritual causal ocean."**
"The spiritual seeds of
Sankarsana existing in the pores of skin of Maha-Vishnu are born as so many
golden sperms. These sperms are covered
with five great elements."**
12 In this passage the word "linga"
means "different from the original form (svayam-rupa) of the Lord".
13 Brahma-samhita 5.14 then describes the
second purusa-avatara:
"The same Maha-Vishnu entered
into each universe as His own separate subjective portions."**
14 That the Lord expands as Lord Pradyumna
and thus becomes the origin of Garbhodakasayi Vishnu is confirmed in the
Narayana-upakhyana of the Moksa-dharma:
"As Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, lotus-naveled
Lord Pradyumna is the father of Lord Aniruddha."
15 The third purusa-avatara is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (2.2.8):
"Others conceive of the
Personality of Godhead residing within the body of the region of the heart and
measuring only eight inches, with four hands carrying a lotus, a wheel of a
chariot, a conchshell and a club respectively."*
16 From the purusa-avatara Vishnu, Brahma,
and Siva, who maintain, create, and destroy the material universe, are said to
have come.
17 They are described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(1.2.23):
"The transcendental Personality
of Godhead is indirectly associated with the three modes of material nature,
namely passion, goodness, and ignorance, and just for the material world's
creation, maintenance and destruction He accepts the three qualitative forms of
Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. Of these three,
all human beings can derive benefit from Vishnu, the form of the quality of
goodness."*
18 Explanation
As controllers of them they have a
relationship with the material modes of nature. Only the one (Lord Vishnu) that
is a svamsa-avatara has no relation with the modes.
19 Brahma
As the subtle Hiranyagarbha and the
gross Viraja, Brahma, who is born from the Lord's lotus navel, is manifest in
order to enjoy and create. Thus he has
two features.
20 Four-headed Vairaja Brahma appears in
order to create the material universe and perform other duties. Sometimes Lord Vishnu Himself becomes Brahma
and creates the universe.
21 Padma Purana explains:
"In some maha-kalpas a jiva soul
becomes Brahma by devotional service, and in other maha-kalpas Lord Maha-Vishnu
Himself becomes Brahma."
22 In a maha-kalpa where Lord Vishnu
personally becomes the creator Brahma, He enters the material universe as
Viraja Brahma and enjoys transcendental bliss.
Thus the kalpas are divided into those ruled by the Lord and those ruled
by a jiva.
23 When the scriptures say that the
Personality of Godhead becomes Brahma, some say that in general this means that
the Lord personally appears, and others say this means the Lord appears as an
avesa-avatara.
24 Brahma-samhita (5.49) explains:
"I adore the Primeval Lord
Govinda from whom the separated subjective portion Brahma receives his power
for the regulation of the mundane world, just as the Supreme manifests some
portion of his own light in all the effulgent gems that bear the names of
Suryakanta, etc."**
25 Brahma is generally born from
Garbhodakasayi Vishnu's lotus-navel, although the scriptures explain that
sometimes he is born from water, fire, wind, or another element.
26 Siva
Siva appears in eleven forms and eight
forms. Generally he has ten arms and
five heads, with three eyes on each head.
27 The scriptures explain that, as Brahma is,
so Siva is sometimes a jiva soul and sometimes an amsa-avatara like Lord Sesa.
28 Because He is an incarnation of the
Personality of Godhead, He is generally beyond the modes of material
nature. However, because he is touched
by the mode of ignorance, He is thought to be affected by it. This is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(10.88.3):
"Lord Siva is always associated
with the three modes of nature."
29 He is described in Brahma-samhita (5.45):
"Just as milk is transformed into
curd by the actions of acids, but yet the effect curd is neither the same as,
nor different from, its cause, viz., milk, so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda
of whom the state of Sambu is a transformation for the performance of the work
of destruction."**
30 Sometimes He is born from Brahma's
forehead and other times from Vishnu's forehead. At the kalpa's end He is born from Lord
Sankarsana as the fire of time.
31 Siva's form named Sadasiva, who is a
direct expansion of the Personality of Godhead, is the cause of all causes, is
free from the slightest scent of the mode of ignorance, and resides in
Sivaloka, is described in the Vayu Purana and other scriptures.
32 He, is the original form of Lord Siva, is
described in Brahma-samhita (5.8):
"Rama-devi, the spiritual (cit)
potency, beloved consort of the Supreme Lord, is the regulatrix of all
entities. The divine plenary portion of
Krishna creates the mundane world. At
creation there appears a divine halo of the nature of His own subjective
portion (svamsa). This halo is divine
Sambhu (Sadasiva), the masculine symbol or manifested emblem of the Supreme
Lord. This halo is the dim twilight
reflection of the supreme eternal effulgence.
This masculine symbol is the subjective portion of divinity who
functions as progenitor of the mundane world, subject to the supreme regulatrix
(niyati). The conceiving potency in
regard to mundane creation makes her appearance out of the supreme regulatrix. She is Maya, the limited, non-absolute
(apara) potency, the symbol of mundane feminine productivity. The intercourse of these two brings forth the
faculty of perverted cognition, the reflection of the seed of the procreative
desire of the Supreme Lord."**
33 Lord Vishnu is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(3.8.15):
"Into that universal lotus flower
Lord Vishnu personally entered as the Supersoul, and when it was thus
impregnated with all the modes of material nature, the personality of Vedic
wisdom, whom we call the self-born, was generated."*
34 The Vishnu described here is considered to
be Ksirodakasayi Vishnu. Because He is a
vilaasa-avatara of Garbhodakasayi Vishnu the great sages call Him
"Narayana", "the Universal Form", and "the
All-pervading Supersoul".
35 The residences of Lord Vishnu in this
material world, which are described in the Vishnu-dharmottara Purana and other
Vedic literatures, now will be described in brief. Vishnu-dharmottara Purana explains:
36-38 "Above Sivaloka is the place named
Vishnuloka, which is 50 000 yojanas in measurement and cannot be approached
from any other planet. Above it, to the
east of Mount Meru, and in the midst if an ocean, is the splendid golden realm
called Maha-visnuloka. There, resting on
the couch of Ananta Sesa, and accompanied by Shrimati Laksmi-devi, Lord Vishnu,
the master of all the demigods, takes a nap at the end of the summer season.
39-40 "East of Mount Meru, in the midst of a
milk-ocean is another splendid city of the Lord. There, resting on the couch of Ananta Sesa,
and accompanied by Shrimati Laksmi-devi, the Lord sleeps during the four months
of the monsoon season.
41 "In the southern part of that
milk-ocean is a very beautiful and splendid island 25,000 yojanas wide called
Svetadvipa.
42 "O Yadava, the people there are
splendid as the sun and handsome as the cooling moon. They are so splendid even the demigods cannot
gaze on them."
43-4 In the Brahmanda Purana it is said:
"Surrounded by the ocean of milk
is a beautiful golden island 100 000 yojanas wide named Svetadvipa, which is
washed on all sides by the playful jasmine and lotus waves of the splendid
milk-ocean."
45-6 Vishnu Purana, Moksa-dharma, and other
scriptures say, "Svetadvipa is on the northern shore of the
milk-ocean." Padma Purana says,
"Svetadvipa is north of the pure milk-ocean."
47-8 All Vedic literatures explain that Lord
Vishnu and His many incarnations are beyond the influence of the three modes of
material nature. When the word
"sattva-tanu" is used to describe Him, it should be interpreted to
mean either "He who expands the activities of the mode of goodness
(sattvam tanoti)" or "He who is the controller of the mode of
goodness."
49 This is confirmed in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(10.88.5):
"Shri Hari, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, is situated beyond the range of material nature;
therefore He is the supreme transcendental person. He can see everything inside and outside;
therefore He is the supreme overseer of all living entities. If someone takes shelter at His lotus feet
and worships Him, he also attains a transcendental position."*
50-1 In this way it is understood that the word
"sattva-tanu" means "He who is the best." Thus the scriptures establish the eternality
of devotional service to the Lord.
52 Furthermore, in Padma Purana:
"Krishna is the origin of Lord
Vishnu. He should always be remembered
and never forgotten at any time. All the
rules and prohibitions mentioned in the sastras should be the servants of these
two principles."*
53 There it is also said:
"In order to bewilder the moving
and non-moving inhabitants of the material universe, the Puranas and other
Vedic scriptures may sometimes say that this or that demigod is the Supreme
Lord. The actual final conclusion of all
Vedic literatures, however, is that only Lord Vishnu and no one else, is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead."
54 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.26):
"Those who are serious about
liberation are certainly non-envious, and they respect all. Yet they reject the horrible and ghastly
forms of the demigods and worship only the all-blissful forms of Lord Vishnu
and His plenary portions."*
55-6 The svamsa-avataras here are called
kalas. Brahma, Siva and all other
demigods are inferior to the svamsa-avataras of Lord Vishnu.
57 There it is also said (Shrimad-Bhagavatam
1.18.21):
"Who can be worthy of the name of
the Supreme Lord but the Personality of Godhead Shri Krishna? Brahmaji collected the water emanating from
the nails of His feet in order to award it to Lord Siva as a worshipful
welcome. This very water (the Ganges) is
purifying the whole universe, including Lord Siva."*
58-9 In Maha-varaha Purana also:
"Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, and other
incarnations are equal to Lord Vishnu, for they are not different from Lord
Vishnu Himself. Brahma and the other
material demigods are described as not equal to Lord Vishnu, although as His
potency they are also equal to Him."
Chapter Three
Lilavatara-nirupana
The
Lila-avataras
1. Now, primarily following
Shrimad-Bhagavatam, I will write whatever I know of the lila-avataras (pastime
incarnations).
2 The four Kumaras are described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.6):
"First of all, in the beginning
of creation, there were the four unmarried sons of Brahma (the Kumaras), who,
being situated in a vow of celibacy, underwent severe austerities for realisation
of the Absolute Truth."*
3-4 The devotees consider the four Kumaras a
single incarnation. In order to preach
devotional service and pure transcendental knowledge, they appear as the
perpetually five year old, fair complexioned sons of the demigod Brahma.
5 Narada Muni is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.8):
"In the millennium of the rsis,
the Personality of Godhead accepted the third empowered incarnation in the form
of Devarsi Narada, who is a great sage among the demigods. He collected expositions of the Vedas which
deal with devotional service and which inspire non fruitive action."*
6-7 To preach everything about His own
devotional service, Lord Hari, who is splendid as the moon, appeared from the
demigod Brahma as Devarsi Narada. In the
first kalpa-the Brahma Kalpa, the four Kumaras appear, and then Narada follows
them. This happens in every kalpa.
8 Lord Varaha is described in Shrimad
Bhagavatam (1.3.7):
"The supreme enjoyer of all
sacrifices accepted the incarnation of a boar (the second incarnation), and for
the welfare of the earth He lifted the earth from the nether regions of the
universe."*
9 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (2.7.1) also:
"Lord Brahma said: When the
unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed the form of a boar as a pastime, just to lift
the planet earth, which was drowned in the great ocean of the universe called
the Garbhodaka, the first demon (Hiranyaksa) appeared, and the Lord pierced him
with His tusk."*
10 In this, the first kalpa, He appeared
twice. To rescue the earth he appeared
during the Svayambhuva-manvantara from Brahma's nostril, and during the
Caksusa-manvantara He appeared from the water.
11-2 Lord Varaha, the best of tusked beasts,
appears to kill Hiranyaksa and rescue the earth. Sometimes Varaha is a wild animal of the
forest and sometimes He is a domestic animal.
Sometimes He is dark as a rain-cloud, and sometimes He is white as the
moon. In this way Smrti-sastra describes
two gigantic form of Lord Varaha, the form of Vedic sacrifices.
13 The scriptures explain that the Pracetas'
son, Daksa, beget children during the reign of Caksusa Manu. It was then that Hiranyaksa was born.
14 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (4.30.49):
"His previous body had been
destroyed, but he, the same Daksa, inspired by the supreme will, created all
the desired living entities in the Caksusa-manvantara."*
15 In King Uttanapada's dynasty, Diti was the
daughter of the Pracetas' son, Daksa.
Diti's son was Hiranyaksa.
16 In the beginning of the kalpa no one had
been born yet, even from Manu. Where,
then, was the Pracetas' son Daksa? Where
was Diti? Where was Diti's son?
17 In answer to Vidura's question, Maitreya
Muni described Lord Varaha's pastimes at two different times as if they had
happened at the same time.
18 Because of a sage's curse to Manu a cosmic
devastation occurred in the middle of Manu's reign. This is described in a Purana.
Note: The scripture here is Matsya
Purana.
19 In another scripture it is said that,
caused by the lotus-navelled Lord's pastimes, this cosmic devastation
unexpectedly occurred in Caksusa Manu's reign.
Note: The scripture here is
Vishnu-dharmottara Purana.
20 A cosmic devastation occurs at the end of
each Manu's reign. This is described by
Markandeya Muni in the following verses of Vishnu-dharmottara Purana:
21 "When Manu's reign is ended the
faultless demigods that controlled the world during the manvantara travel to
the planet Maharloka and remain there.
22 "O Yadava, at that time Manu, Indra,
and the demigods take shelter of Brahmaloka, which is very difficult to attain.
23 "O Vraja, then the Supreme Lord
becomes a powerful, wave-garlanded ocean and completely covers the Bhutala and
Satala planets.
24 "O Yadava, then everything in
Bhurloka is destroyed. O king of kings,
only the famous great mountains are not destroyed.
25 "O best of the Yadu dynasty, then the
earth-goddess becomes a boat and protects all seeds without discrimination.
26-7 "O tiger among kings, the future Manu
and future seven sages famous in the world will take shelter in a boat. Lord Vishnu, the master of the universe, will
assume the form of a horned fish and will playfully pull that boat from place
to place.
28 "After tying the boat to the peaks of
the Himalayas, that fish, the Lord of the universes, will become
invisible. Then Manu and the sages will
stay where they are.
29 "O king, then the time will become
like Satya-yuga. The waters will recede
to their normal level, and Manu and the sages will recreate everything.
30 Saying "A cosmic devastation does not
occur at the end of Manu's region. That
devastation is an illusion Lord Vishnu shows to Manu", Shridhara Svami
does not think there is such a devastation.
31 The fish incarnation, Lord Matsya, is
described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.15):
"When there was a complete
inundation after the period of the Caksusa Manu and the whole world was deep
within water, the Lord accepted the form of a fish and protected Vaivasvata
Manu, keeping him up on a boat."*
32 Also in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (2.7.12):
"At the end of the millennium,
the would be Vaisvata Manu, of the name Satyavrata, would see that the Lord in
the fish incarnation is the shelter of all kinds of living entities, up to
those in the earthly planet. Because of
my fear of the vast water at the end of the millennium, the Vedas come out of
my (Brahma's) mouth, and the Lord enjoys those vast waters and protects the
Vedas."*
33 Also in Padma Purana
"When Brahma said this, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of the senses, assumed the form of a
fish and entered the waters of the ocean."
34 Lord Matsya appeared in two kalpas, as
Lord Varaha had done. In the first
appearance, during Svayambhuva Manu's reign, He killed a demon and rescued the
Vedas. In the second appearance, during Caksusa Manu's reign, He was merciful
to Satyavrata.
35 The first appearance of Lord Matsya is
described in the quotations in Text 33 and the second half of Text 32. The second appearance is described in the
quotations in Text 31 and the first half of Text 32. Thus Lord Matsya appeared as Lord Varaha had.
36 In this way there is a hint of Lord
Matsya's appearance during the reigns of the other Manus. In this way from Vishnu-dharmottara Purana it
is understood that Lord Matsya appears fourteen times.
37 Lord Yajna is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.12):
"The seventh incarnation was
Yajna, the son of Prajapati Ruci and his wife Akuti. He controlled the period during the change of
the Svayambhuva Manu and was assisted by demigods such as His son Yama."*
38 Because Lord Yajna delivered (hari) the
three planetary systems from great sufferings, He was given the name
"hari" by His maternal grandfather Manu.
39 Nara Narayana Rsis are described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.9):
"In the fourth incarnation, the
Lord became Nara and Narayana, the twin sons of the wife of King Dharma. Thus He undertook severe and exemplary
penances to control the senses."*
40 In another scripture these two brothers,
are called Hari and Krishna. They are
considered a single incarnation, as are the four Kumaras.
41 Lord Kapila is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.10):
"The fifth incarnation, named
Lord Kapila, is foremost among perfected beings. He gave an exposition of the creative
elements and metaphysics to Asuri Brahmana, for in course of time this
knowledge had been lost."*
42 Kapila Muni appeared as the son of Kardama
and Devahuti. Because of His ruddy
complexion, Brahma gave Him the name Kapila.
43-4 In Padma Purana:
"Lord Kapila, who is an
amsa-avatara of Lord Vasudeva, spoke the Sankhya philosophy, which properly
explains the meaning of the Vedas, to Asuri Brahmana, the demigods headed by
Brahma, and the great sages headed by Bhrgu Muni. Then a different Kapila spoke a different Sankhya
philosophy, full of faulty logic and in opposition to all the Vedas, to a
different Asuri Brahmana."
45 Lord Dattatreya is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (2.7.4):
"The great sage Atri prayed for
offspring, and the Lord, being satisfied with him, promised to incarnate as
Atri's son, Dattatreya (Datta, the son of Atri). And by the grace of the lotus feet of the
Lord, many Yadus, Haihayas, etc., became so purified that they obtained both
material and spiritual blessings."*
46 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.11):
"The sixth incarnation of the purusa
was the son of the sage Atri. He was
born from the womb of Anasuya, who prayed for an incarnation. He spoke on the subject of transcendence to
Alarka, Prahlada and others (Yadu, Haihaya, etc.)."*
47 In Brahmanda Purana it is said that when
Atri Muni's wife, Anasuya, requested Him, the Lord became her son.
48 Lord Hamsa is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (2.7.19):
"O Narada, you were taught about
the science of God and His transcendental loving service by the Personality of
Godhead in His incarnation of Hamsavatara.
He was very much pleased with you, due to your intense proportion of
devotional service. He also explained
unto you, lucidly, the full science of devotional service, which is especially
understandable by person who are souls surrendered unto Lord Vasudeva, the
Personality of Godhead."*
52 A regal swan come from the water, the Lord
said: "As a swan can divide milk and water, So I can understand the nature
of everything."
53 Lord Dhruvapriya is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (2.7.8):
"Being insulted by sharp words
spoken by the co-wife of the king, even in his presence, Prince Dhruva, though
only a boy took to severe penances in the forest. And the Lord, being satisfied by his prayer,
awarded him the Dhruva planet, which is worshipped by great sages, both upward
and downward."*
54 Because this incarnation is described as
having appeared in the reign of Svayambhuva Manu, because His name is not
specifically given here, and because Lord Yajna and many other incarnations
have already been described, by the process of elimination it should be said
that this incarnation is Lord Prsnigarbha.
This is like Govardhana Hill in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.21.18).
Note: It is clear that the unnamed
hill in that verse is Govardhana Hill.
55 In the Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.3.32 and
41):
"My dear mother, best of the
chaste, in your previous birth, in the Svayambhuva millennium, you were known
as Prsni, and Vasudeva, who was the most pious Prajapati, was named
Sutapa. Since I found no one else as
highly elevated as you in simplicity and other qualities of good character, I
appeared in this world as Prsnigarbha, or one who is celebrated as having taken
birth from Prsni."*
56 Because His name and pastimes are
otherwise not mentioned here (in Shrimad Bhagavatam's list of incarnations), it
is likely that this incarnation is Lord Prsnigarbha.
57 If only to approach (Dhruva) the Lord had
descended in that form, then the Lord would also appear before others in a
different form each time.
58 Lord Rsabhadeva is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.13):
"The eight incarnation was King
Rsabha, son of King Nabhi and his wife Merudevi. In this incarnation the Lord showed the path
of perfection, which is followed by those who have fully controlled their
senses and who are honoured by all orders of life."*
59 The fair-complexioned Lord appeared to
teach the duties of the renounced order.
Because He was supremely virtuous, He was famous as Rsabha (the best).
60 Maharaja Prthu is described in Shrimad
Bhagavatam (1.3.14):
"O brahmanas, in the ninth
incarnation, the Lord, prayed for by sages, accepted the body of a king (Prthu)
who cultivated the land to yield various produces, and for that reason the
earth was beautiful and attractive.
61 When the sages massaged Vena's right arm,
from it the Supreme Lord appeared as the great king Prthu, who was splendid as
pure gold.
62 These thirteen lila-avataras, from the
Four Kumaras to Maharaja Prthu, all appeared during the reign of the first
(Svayambhuva) Manu. Lord Varaha and Lord
Matsya, however, appeared again during the reign of Caksusa Manu.
63 Lord Nrsimha is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(1.3.18):
"In the fourteenth incarnation,
the Lord appeared as Nrsimha and bifurcated the strong body of the atheist
Hiranyakasipu with His nails, just as a carpenter pierces cane."*
64 Shri Laksmi-Nrsimha and many other
vilasa-avataras are described in the Smrti-sastra. In the Padma Purana and other scriptures
Their different forms and pastimes are described.
65 Lord Nrsimha appeared before the churning
of the milk-ocean in the reign of the sixth (Caksusa) Manu. He appeared before the appearance of Lord
Kurma in the reign of the sixth Manu.
66 Lord Kurma is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.16):
"The eleventh incarnation of the
Lord took the form of a tortoise whose shell served as a pivot for the
Mandaracala Hill, which was being used as a churning rod by the theists and
atheists of the universe."*
67 In the Padma Purana it is said
that on the demigods' request He lifted the earth. In another scripture also it is said that He
appeared in the beginning of the Kalpa and lifted the earth.
68 Lord Dhanvantari and Mohini-devi are
described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.17):
"In the twelfth incarnation, the
Lord appeared as Dhavantari, and in the thirteenth He allured the atheists by
the charming beauty of a woman and gave nectar to the demigods to drink."*
69 Dhanvantari
Lord Dhanvantari appeared twice:
during the reigns of the sixth (Caksusa) and the seventh (Vaisvasvata) Manus.
70 During the reign of the sixth Manu,
dark-complexioned, two-armed Lord Dhanvantari, the original teacher of the Ayur
Veda, carrying pot of nectar in His two arms appeared from the churning of the
milk ocean. During the reign of the
seventh Manu, He appeared again, in the same form, as the prince of Varanasi.
71 Shri Mohini
To bewilder the demons and to please
Lord Siva, the unconquerable Personality of Godhead twice appeared as
Mohini-devi.
72 In this way, in the reign of the sixth
(Caksusa) Manu, four avataras, beginning with Lord Nrsimha, are described.
73 Lord Vamana is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.19):
"In the fifteenth incarnation,
the Lord assumed the form of a dwarf-brahmana (Vamana) and visited the arena of
sacrifice arranged by Maharaja Bali.
Although at heart He was willing to regain the kingdom of the three
planetary systems, He simply asked for a donation of three steps of
land."*
74 Lord Vamana appeared three times in this
kalpa. During the reign of the first
(Svayambhuva) Manu, He visited the sacrifice performed by Vaskala, the king of
the danavas. Then, in the reign of
Vaisvasvata Manu, and visited the sacrifice performed by Dhundhu. Then, in the seventh catur-yuga of that
manvantara, He appeared as the son of Kasyapa and Aditi. In this way, to accept a donation, He
appeared three times as Lord Trivikrama.
75 Lord Parasurama is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.20):
"In the sixteen incarnation of
the Godhead, the Lord (as Bhrgupati) annihilated the administrative class
(ksatriyas) twenty one times, being angry with them because of their rebellion
against the brahmanas (the intelligent class)."*
76 Fair-complexioned Lord Parasurama appeared
as the son of Renuka-devi and Jamadagni.
Some say He appeared during the 17th catur-yuga, and others say He
appeared during the 22nd catur-yuga.
77 Lord Ramacandra is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.22):
"In the eighteenth incarnation,
the Lord appeared as King Rama. In order
to perform some pleasing work for the demigods, He exhibited superhuman powers
by controlling the Indian ocean and then killing the atheist King Ravana, who
was on the other side of the sea."*
78 Splendid as a new blade of durva grass,
and accompanied by Sumitra's two sons and by Bharata, He appeared in the
Treta-yuga of the 24th catur-yuga as the son of Kausalya and Dasaratha.
79 In His scripture the three avataras beginning
with Laksmana are described. Bharata is
dark as a raincloud and Sumitra's two sons are splendid as gold.
80 In Padma Purana it is said that Bharata
and Satrughna are incarnations of the Lord's conchshell and cakra. There it is also said that Laksmana is an
incarnation of Lord Sesa.
81 Lord Vyasa is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.21):
"Thereafter, in the seventeenth
incarnation of Godhead, Shri Vyasadeva appeared in the womb of Satyavati
through Parasara Muni, and he divided the one Veda into several branches and
sub-branches, seeing that the people in general were less intelligent."*
82 Lord Krishna Himself said: "Of
dividers of the Veda I am Dvaipayana."
In Vishnu Purana and other scriptures He is also described in this way.
83 For example (Vishnu Purana 3.4.5
explains):
"Know that Krishna Dvaipayana
Vyasa is Lord Narayana. Who, other than
the lotus-eyed Supreme Lord, could have written the Mahabharata?"
84 In the scriptures it is said that
Apantaratama Muni became Dvaipayana Vyasa.
Is Vyasa a jiva who attained sayujya-mukti, or is He an amsa-avatara of
Lord Vishnu? Some say He is an
avesa-avatara.
85 Lords Krishna and Balarama are described
in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.23):
"In the nineteenth and twentieth
incarnations, the Lord advented Himself as Lord Balarama and Lord Krishna in
the family of Vrsni (the Yadu dynasty), and by so doing He removed the burden
of the world."*
86 Lord Balarama
Begotten by His father Vasudeva, Lord
Balarama appeared in the wombs of two mothers.
His complexion was white as camphor.
He always dressed in garments as dark as a raincloud.
87 Meeting with Lord Sesa, who holds the
earth, Lord Balarama, whose second expansion is Lord Sankarsana appeared.
88 Sesa appears in two features: 1. as the maintainer of the universe, and
2. as the couch of Lord Vishnu. As the maintainer of the universe He is an
avesa-avatara of Lord Sankarsana, and as Lord Vishnu's couch He thinks Himself
the Lord's servant and friend.
89 Begotten by His father, Maharaja Vasudeva,
Lord Krishna, who is dark as raincloud, and who has two and sometimes four
arms, appeared in the womb of His mother, Devaki.
90 Lord Buddha is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.24):
"Then, in the beginning of
Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the
province of Gaya-just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the
faithful theist."*
91 After two thousand years of Kali-yuga had
passed, He appeared. His complexion was
the colour of a patala flower, His head was shaven, and He had two arms.
92 When Suta Gosvami spoke Lord Buddha's
appearance was in the future. Now his
appearance in Dharmaranya is in the past.
93 Lord Kalki is described in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.25):
"Thereafter, at the conjunction
of two yugas, the Lord of the creation will take His birth as the Kalki
incarnation and become the son of Vishnu-yasa.
At this time the rulers of the earth will have degenerated into
plunderers."*
94 In Padma Purana it is said that the same
person who was Manu, Dasaratha and Vasudeva will become Vishnu-yasa.
95 Lord Kalki's glory is eloquently described
in Brahmanda Purana. Some say it is Lord
Buddha who appears as Kalki in Kali-yuga after Kali-yuga.
96 Beginning with Lord Vamana, eight of the
avataras here described appeared in the reign of Vaivasvata Manu. These 25 avataras are called kalpa-avataras
because for the most past they appear once in each kalpa.
Chapter Four
Manvantaravatara-yugavatara-prabhava-vaibhavavatara-tat-sthana-nirupana
Description
of the Manvantara-avataras, Vibhava-avataras, and Their abodes
1 The Manvantara-avataras
Lord Mukunda's incarnations that
appear among the demigods to aid Indra and destroy Indra's enemies, are known
as manvantara-avataras.
2 Lord Yajna and the other manvantara-avataras
may appropriately be called kalpa-avataras.
Because they appear during the Manus' reigns they are called
Manvantara-avataras.
3 The manvantara-avataras, beginning with
Lord Yajna and ending with Lord Brhadbhanu, appear, one after another, in the reigns
of the Manus beginning with Svayambhuva Manu.
4 Lord Yajna in the reign of Svayambhuva,
the first Manu.
Lord Yajna was already described in
the previous chapter, so He will not be written of here.
5 Lord Vibhu in the reign of Svarocisca,
the second Manu.
He is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
8.1.21-22:
"Vedasira was a very celebrated
rsi. From the womb of his wife, whose
name was Tusita, came the avatara named Vibhu.*
6 "Vibhu remained a brahmacari and
never married throughout his life. From
him, eighty-eight thousand other saintly persons took lessons on self-control,
austerity and similar behaviour."*
7 Lord Satyasena appeared during the reign
of Uttama, the third Manu. Satyasena is
described in Shrimad Bhagavatam (8.1.25-26):
"In this manvantara, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead appeared from the womb of Sunrta, who was the wife of
Dharma, the demigod in charge of religion.
The Lord was celebrated as Satyasena, and He appeared with other demigods,
known as the Satyavratas.*
8 "Satyasena, along with His friend
Satyajit, who was the king of heaven, Indra, killed all the untruthful, impious
and misbehaved Yaksas, Raksasas and ghostly living entities, who gave pains to
other living beings."*
9 Lord Hari, who appeared during the reign
of Tamasa, the fourth Manu, is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (8.1.30):
"Also in this manvantara, the
Supreme Lord, Vishnu took birth from the womb of Harini, the wife of Harimedha,
and He was known as Hari. Hari saved His
devotee Gajendra, the King of the elephants, from the mouth of a
crocodile."*
10 To become free from all that is
undesirable, every morning the saintly devotees meditate on Lord Hari, who
rescued Gajendra.
11 Lord Vaikuntha, who appeared in the reign
of Raivata, the fifth Manu, is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (8.5.4-5):
"From the combination of Subhra
and his wife, Vikuntha, there appeared the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Vaikuntha, along with demigods who were His personal plenary expansions.*
12 "Just to please the goddess of
fortune, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vaikuntha, at her request, created
another Vaikuntha planet, which is worshipped by everyone."*
13 It is said He created the eternal,
all-pervading Maha-Vaikuntha world above Satyaloka.
14 Lord Ajita, who appeared during the reign
of Caksusa, the sixth Manu, is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (8.5.9-10):
"In this sixth manvantara
millennium, Lord Vishnu, the master of the universe, appeared in His partial
expansion. He was begotten by Vairaja in
the womb of his wife Devasambhuti, and His name was Ajita.*
15 "By churning the ocean of milk, Ajita
produced nectar for the demigods. In the form of a tortoise, He moved here and
there, carrying on His back the great mountain known as Mandara."*
16 Lord Vamana, who appeared during the reign
of Vaivasvata, the seventh Manu, has already been described. The seven manvantara-avataras that will
appear in the future, in the reigns of Savarni and the other Manus, will now be
described.
17 Lord Sarvabhauma, who will appear during
the reign of Savarni, the eight Manu, is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(8.13.17):
"In the eighth manvantara, the
greatly powerful Personality of Godhead Sarvabhauma will take birth. His father will be Devaguhya, and His mother
will be Sarasvati. He will take the
kingdom away from Purandara (Lord Indra) and give it to Bali Maharaja."*
18 Lord Rsabha, who will appear in the reign
of Daksa-savarni, the ninth Manu, is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (8.13.20):
"Rsabhadeva, a partial
incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, will take birth from his
father, Ayusman and his mother, Ambudhara.
He will enable the Indra named Adbhuta to enjoy the opulence of the
three worlds."*
19 Lord Visvaksena, who will appear in the
reign of Brahma-savarni, the tenth Manu, is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(8.13.23):
"In the home of Visvasrasta, a
plenary portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear from the womb
of Visuci as the incarnation known as Visvaksena. He will make friends with Sambhu."*
20 Lord Dharmasetu, who will appear in the
reign of Dharma-savarni, the eleventh Manu, is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(8.13.26):
"The son of Aryaka known as
Dharmasetu, a partial incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, will
appear from the womb of Vaidhrta, the wife of Aryaka, and will rule the three
worlds."*
21 Lord Svadhama, who will appear in the
reign of Ruda-savarni, the twelfth Manu is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(8.13.29):
"From the mother named Sunrta and
the father named Satyasaha will come Svadhama, a partial incarnation of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. He will
rule that manvantara."*
22 Lord Yogesvara, who will appear in the
reign of Deva-sarvarni, the thirteenth Manu, is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(8.13.32):
"The son of Devahotra known as
Yogesvara will appear as a partial incarnation of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. His mothers' name will be
Brhati. He will perform activities for
the welfare of Divaspati."*
23 Lord Brhadbhanu, who will appear in the
reign of Indra-savarni, the fourteenth Manu, is described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(8.13.35):
"O King Pariksit, in the
fourteenth manvantara the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear from the
womb of Vitana and His father's name will be Satrayana. This incarnation will be celebrated as
Brhadbhanu, and He will administer spiritual activities."*
24 Because Lord Yajna and Lord Vamana were
described before, twelve manvantara-avataras are listed here. In this way the description of
manvantara-avataras is concluded.
25-6 The Yugas-avataras
In Satya-yuga the incarnation is said
by colour and name to be white Lord Hari.
In the Treta, Dvapara and Kali yugas the incarnations are red, blue and
black respectively. As for different
kinds of worship the manvantara-avataras descend in Satya-yuga and other yugas,
so, one after another, do the yuga-avataras.
27 In this way 24 lila, manvantara, and yuga
avataras have been described.
28 The cycle of kalpas, beginning with
Brahma-kalpa and ending with Padma-kalpa is repeated a thousand times. The present kalpa is called
Sveta-varaha-kalpa.
29 During the reign of Svayambhuva Manu, at
the beginning of Brahma-kalpa, the four Kumaras, Narada Muni, and many other
incarnations appeared. Other
Incarnations also appeared later, during the reigns of Caksusa and other Manus.
30 The Manus, beginning with Svayambhuva,
appear one after the other in each kalpa, and the manvantara-avataras,
beginning with Lord Yajna, also appear in the same way.
31 Vajra's question in
Vishnu-dharmottara-Purana:
"O Brahmana, you have said that
in every day of Brahma, 14 Manus always appear, one after the other. O knower of religion, are there any other
Manus? Please break my doubt."
32-3 Shri Markandeya's reply:
"O great king, in each kalpa
there are 14 Manus. You should not
doubt. Know that, as you have said, they
all have the same form. Sometimes some,
by the Supreme Lord's potency, are different.
34-5 There are four other kinds of avataras: 1. avesa-avatara,
2. prabhava-avatara, 3. vaibhavavastha-avatara, and 4. paravastha-avatara. The avesa-avataras may be understood from the
previous descriptions of the Kumaras, Narada Muni, Maharaja Prthu, and others.
36 In Padma Purana:
"All-powerful Lord Hari entered
the Kumaras and Narada."
37 In the same book:
"The Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who has four arms and holds a conchshell and cakra, entered Maharaja
Prthu."
38 In that book it is also said: "The
Supreme Personality of Godhead also entered Parasurama."
39 It is also said:
"O goddess, I have thus described
to you the pastimes of Lord Parasurama, who is a sakty-avesa-avatara of Lord
Vishnu.
40 In Vishnu-dharma Purana it is seen that
Lord Kalki is also an avesa-avatara.
41-3 There it is said:
"In Kali-yuga Lord Hari is not
seen in a directly visible incarnation as He is seen in the Satya and other
yugas. For this reason it is written
that He appears in three yugas (tri-yuga).
At the end of Kali-yuga, Lord Vasudeva enters the learned Vedic scholar
Kalki and corrects the situation in the material world. Then, entering many saintly persons who had
taken birth before, the Lord fulfils His plan in Kali-yuga."
44 For them the status of being an avatara of
the Lord is only a metaphor.
Note: This is because the
avesa-avataras are jivas.
45 Prabhava-avataras and Vaibhava-avataras
The personal forms of Lord Hari that
are less than His paravastha forms are called by different names according to
the differing degrees of their powers.
46-7 With the eye of the scriptures the
prabhava-avataras are seen to be two kinds.
The first kind is briefly manifest and not very famous. Among them are Mohini, Hamsa, and the
yuga-avataras beginning with Sukla. The
second kind are authors of scriptures.
Generally they are great sages.
Among them are Dhanvantari, Rsabha, Vyasa, Dattatreya, and Kapila.
48-9 The vaibhava-avataras are Kurma, Matsya,
Nara's friend Narayana Rsi, Varaha, Hayagriva, Prsnigarbha, Balarama, and the
fourteen manvantara-avataras beginning with Yajna. In this way 21 vaibhava-avataras are listed.
50-1 Among the nine vyuha incarnations Varaha and
Hayagriva are the best, and among the manvantara-avataras four, Hari,
Vaikuntha, Ajita and Vamana, are the best.
These six vaibhava-avataras are like the paravavastha forms of the Lord.
52 With the eye of the scriptures it is
written that some of these avataras have abodes within the material
universe. The words of
Vishnu-dharmottara Purana are evidence for this.
53 In Vishnu-dharmottara Purana:
"Above that is the fifth place, a
red world named Mahatala. In that place
is a great lake 100 000 yojanas (800 000 miles) in breadth. There Lord Hari, in the form of Kurma,
personally resides.
54 "Above that place is another of the
same size, where there is a lake 300 000 yojanas (2 400 000 miles) in
breadth. In that lake Lord Hari in His
form of Matsya resides.
55-7 "Nara's friend Narayana Rsi resides at
Badarikasrama. Nr-Varaha is said to
reside on Maharloka, where His abode is 3 000 000 yojanas (24 000 000 miles) in
breadth. Ananta Sesa's beautiful abode
is 500 000 yojanas (4 000 000 miles) in breadth.
58 "The beautiful and self-effulgent
realm Varahaloka touches the material universe as it stands beneath
everything. There in the form of
Svetavaraha, the Supreme Lord resides.
59 "Above that is another realm of the
same size. This fourth realm, its ground
coloured yellow, is named Gabhasthitala.
There the Supreme Lord Vishnu, splendid as hundreds of moons and
decorated with golden ornaments, appears in a form with a horse's head.
60-2 "Above Brahmaloka is the home of
Prsnigarbha. Where Krishna stays there
Balarama, whose amsa-avatara resides in Patalaloka, who always carries a
palm-tree flag, who is eloquent, who is decorated with a forest garland, who carries
a plough, club, and sword, who is decorated with blue garments, and who always
wears on His head a jewel-picture of Ananta Sesa, stays also.
63-4 "Above Brahmaloka is the realm of Lord
Hari. In Svarloka is the home of Lord
Vishnu, who is the son of Vikuntha-devi.
The Lord is also personally manifested in Vaikunthaloka.
65-7 Lord Ajita's residence is considered to be
on Dhruvaloka, and Lord Vamana's residence is considered to be on
Bhuvarloka. Lord Trivikrama's residence
is said to be on Tapoloka, and Lord Narayana's spiritual asrama is on
Brahmaloka. He has also created a
residence above Brahmaloka. This was
explained in Hari-vamsa (127.37), where Maharaja Indra said to Narada Muni:
68 "O sage, above all the worlds Lord
Vishnu made His own abode, which eclipses even my realm."
69 In the spiritual sky is the supremely
wonderful home of all the avataras. In
the scriptures that is described.
70 In Padma Purana:
"All the splendid avataras,
beginning with Matsya and Kurma, eternally reside in the eternal realm of
Vaikuntha."
Chapter Five
Paravastha-nirupana
Description
of the Most Important Forms of the Lord
1 In some places Lord Krishna is said to
be an avatara of Nara's friend Narayana Rsi, and in other places it is said He
is an avatara of Lord Vamana. The wise
do not accept these statements.
2 In Skanda Purana:
"Dharma's two sons, who are named
Nara and Narayana Rsi, and who are amsa-avataras of Lord Hari, have now taken
birth as Krishna and Arjuna in the dynasty of the moon-god."
3 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam 4.1.59
"That Nara-Narayana Rsi, who is a
partial expansion of Krishna, has now appeared in the dynasties of Yadu and
Kuru, in the forms of Krishna and Arjuna respectively, to mitigate the burden
of the world."*
4 A very strong argument is found in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.69.16):
"The Personality of Godhead,
Krishna, who is the incarnation of Narayana Rsi, the friend of Nara Rsi, thus
worshipped the sage Narada according to Vedic regulative principles. Welcoming him with sweet nectarean words, He
addressed Narada as bhagavan, or one who is self-sufficient, possessing all
kinds of knowledge, renunciation, strength, fame, beauty, and similar other
opulences. He particularly asked Narada,
What can I do in your service?"*
5 The following statement of Maharaja
Indra in the Hari-vamsa supports the idea that Krishna is an incarnation of
Vamana:
"O sage Narada, the same Vishnu
who was Vamana and to whom I gave a portion of the yajnas, has now become this
boy Krishna, on whom I now gaze with love."
6-7 Lord Krishna is not an incarnation of
Narayana Rsi and Vamana because such a view is contradicted by scripture. Rather, it is said that They are
amsa-avataras of Him and He is the paravastha (the supreme form of the
Lord), That Narayana Rsi is an amsa-avatara
of Lord Krishna is confirmed in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.28). That Lord Vamana has the same status is seen
in Hari-vamsa:
8-9 "O best of the demigods, in ancient
times, by performing austerities, Aditi worshipped Lord Vishnu. He was pleased with her and offered a
benediction. She said, O Lord, I desire
a son like You. He replied, No one in
the world is equal to Me. Therefore, as an
amsa-avatara, I will personally become your son."
10-1 That Shri Krishna is the paravastha form of
the Lord is clearly proved by what was previously said. In the scriptures He is
called paravastha and sampurnavastha (the complete form of the Lord). This refutes the idea that He is an
amsa-avatara. Statements supporting that
idea should be seen in a different way.
12 The Skanda Purana verse quoted in Text 2
should be interpreted in this way:
"Krishna and Arjuna for whom Nara
and Narayana Rsis are dear as Their own selves, have appeared in this world,
taking shelter of the ksatriya dynasty descending from the moon-god."
13 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam 4.1.59 (quoted in
Text 3) Nara and Narayana Rsis, who are amsa-avataras of Lord Hari, should be
taken as the subject of the sentence, and Krishna and Arjuna, who appeared at
the end of Dvapara-yuga, should be taken as the object.
Note: In this way the verse is
interpreted to mean:
"Nara and Narayana Rsis, who are
amsa-avataras of Lord Hari, entered the transcendental bodies of Krishna and
Arjuna, and came with Them as They appeared in the dynasties of Yadu and Kuru
in order to mitigate the burden of the world."
14 The quote from the Tenth Canto of
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.69.16, quoted in Text 4) should be understood in this
way:
Lord Krishna, who because He taught
(the Vedic knowledge to Brahma) at the beginning of the universe is called
"purana-rsi (the eldest sage)", is the shelter of the three
purusa-avataras. When He associated with
the human beings in Martyaloka, He imitated their nature, and in that context
He worshipped (Narada) Muni. Even though
His amsa-avatara, Narayana Rsi, is Narada's guru, in His ksatriya-pastimes Lord
Krishna worshipped Narada Muni.
15 The quote from Hari-vamsa (Text 5,
describing Lord Krishna as an incarnation of Vamana), is explained in this way:
Indra spoke these words out of envy
and ignorance. In no circumstances is
Lord Krishna the avatara of any other form of the Lord.
16 Now the most important forms of the Lord
(paravastha-avatara) will be described.
Padma Purana explains:
"In Lord Nrsimha, Ramacandra, and
Krishna the six transcendental opulences are perfect and complete. They are the paravasthas (most important
forms of the Lord). From Him (Krishna)
they are manifested as lamps are lighted from an (original) lamp.
17 Lord Nrsimha is described in Shridhara
Svami's commentary on Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.1., and 10.87.1):
"Let me offer my obeisances unto
Lord Nrsimdeva, who is always enlightening Prahlada Maharaja within his heart
and who always kills the nescience that attacks the devotees. His mercy is distributed like moonshine, and
His face is like that of a lion. Let me
offer my obeisances unto Him again and again."*
18 "Lord Nrsimhadeva is always assisted
by Sarasvati, the goddess of learning, and He is always embracing to His chest
the goddess of fortune. The Lord is
always complete in knowledge within Himself.
Let us offer obeisances unto Nrsimhadeva."*
19 "(Narada) Muni described to King
(Yudhisthira) the anger of the pillar's son (Lord Nrsimha), which with its deep
roar stunned lotus-born Brahma."
20 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (7.8.32-33)
"The hair on Nrsimhadeva's head
shook the clouds and scattered them here and there, His glaring eyes stole the
effulgence of the luminaries in the sky, and His breathing agitated the seas
and oceans. Because of His roaring all
the elephants in the world began to cry in fear.*
21 "Airplanes were thrown into outer
space and the upper planetary system by the hair on Nrsimhadeva's head. Because of the pressure of the Lord's lotus
feet, the earth appeared to slip from its position, and all the hills and
mountains sprang up due to His intolerable force. Because of the Lord's bodily effulgence, both
the sky and all directions diminished in their natural illumination."*
22 (Shridhara Svami also explains in His
commentary on Shrimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.1):
"Although very ferocious, the
lioness is very kind to her cubs.
Similarly, although very ferocious to non devotees like Hiranyakasipu,
Lord Nrsimhadeva is very, very soft and kind to devotees like Prahlada
Maharaja."*
23-4 The blissful glories of Lord Nrsimha are
described in the Nrsimha-tapani Upanisad.
It is said that Lord Nrsimha resides both in Janaloka and in the world
of Vishnuloka, which is above all.
25 Shri Ramacandra
Greater even than the one (Lord
Nrsimha) before, exalted with the six transcendental qualities and a nectar
moon of all sweetness, Lord Ramacandra, the best of the Raghus, shines with
great splendour.
26 In Padma Purana:
"Let us offer our respectful
obeisances to Lord Ramacandra, the Personality of Godhead, who is the delight
of King Raghu, who broke Siva's bow, and who is the sandal paste that delights
Sita-devi's heart.
27 The Shri Ramacana-dipika describes Lord
Ramacandra's birth-festival:
28 "During the ninth tithi, when five
planets were exalted, when Jupiter was conjoined with the moon in the
constellation Punarvasu in Cancer on the ascendant and when the sun was in
Aries, from the arani-wood of Ayodhya was kindled a sacrificial fire of
unprecedented power manifested to burn to ashes the palasa-wood fuel (of a
great host of demons)."
29 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.34):
"O Maha-purusa, I worship Your
lotus feet. You gave up great regal
opulence, which is most difficult to renounce and is hankered after by even the
great demigods. Being the most faithful
follower of the path of religion, You thus left for the forest in obedience to
Your father's words. You chased after
the mystic deer Marica, which Your dear Sita desired to get."
30 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (9.11.20-21)
"Lord Ramacandra's reputation for
having killed Ravana with showers of arrows at the request of the demigods and
for having built a bridge over the ocean does not constitute the factual glory
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Ramacandra, whose spiritual body is
always engaged in various pastimes. Lord
Ramacandra has no equal or superior, and therefore He had no need to take help
from the monkeys to gain victory over Ravana.*
31 "Lord Ramacandra's spotless name and
fame, which vanquishes all sinful reactions, are celebrated in all directions,
like the ornamental cloth of the victorious elephant that conquers all
directions. Great saintly persons like
Markandeya Rsi still glorify His characteristics in the assemblies of great
emperors like Maharaja Yudhisthira.
Similarly, all the saintly kings and all the demigods, including Lord
Siva and Lord Brahma, worship the Lord by bowing down with their helmets. Let me offer my obeisances unto His lotus
feet."*
32-3 In the verse from Shrimad-Bhagavatam quoted
in Text 30, the word "atta" means "manifested", and the
word "lila-tanu" means "whose spiritual body is always engaged
in various pastimes". The compound
word "adhika-samya-vimukta-dhama" means "He who has no equal or
superior". The word
"samya" means "equality" and it is grammatically analysed
as a svarthesyah-pratyaya.
"Vimukta" means "without", and "adhika"
and "sama" mean "superior" and "equal". In the verse quoted in Text 31, the word
"naka-palah" means "the heavenly demigods, headed by Maharaja
Indra, and the word "vasu-palah" means "the earthly kings."
34-6 In the Vishnu-dharmottara Purana it is said
that Lord Ramacandra, Laksmana, and the others are incarnations of the forms of
the Lord that begin with Lord Vasudeva.
In the Padma Purana, however, it is said that Lord Ramacandra is Lord
Narayana and Laksmana and the others are Ananta Sesa, and the Lord's cakra and
conch respectively. In the smrti-sastra
it is said that Lord Ramacandra resides in Madhya-desa in the city of
Ayodhya-pura. It is also said that He
resides in Maha-Vaikunthaloka.
37 Lord Krishna is described by Bilvamangala
Thakura:
"There may be many all-auspicious
incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, but who other than Lord Shri
Krishna can bestow love of God upon the surrendered souls?"*
38-9 Devaki's son Krishna, who is an
unprecedented ocean of the nectar of sweetness and opulence, has been served
and worshipped from time immemorial. In
the Puranas and other scriptures it is said that He resides in four abodes:
Vraja, Mathura, Dvaraka, and Gokula.
40 Here someone may object: "But it is
clearly said that Lord Nrsimha and Lord Ramacandra are equal to Lord
Krishna." The answer to this
objection is seen in the Vishnu Purana:
41-2 Maitreya's question in the Fourth Canto of
Vishnu Purana:
"As Hiranyakasipu and Ravana
(this demon) enjoyed sensual pleasures unavailable for even the great demigods,
and then was personally killed by Lord Vishnu Himself. Why did (this demon) not attain sayujya-mukti
then? Only as Sisupala did he attain
sayujya-mukti, the liberation of merging into eternal Lord Hari?"
43 Shri Parasara's answer:
"The Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who maintains, creates, and destroys the entire cosmic manifestation,
manifested the unprecedented form of Lord Nrsimha in order to kill Hiranyakasipu,
the king of the demons. The thought that
Lord Nrsimha was actually the Supreme Lord Vishnu was not manifest in
Hiranyakasipu's mind. Because
Hiranyakasipu was overwhelmed by the mode of passion, at the time of his death
he was not able to meditate on the transcendental Personality who was killing
him. For these reasons Hiranyakasipu did
not attain liberation, but instead took birth as the demon Ravana, whose sense
gratification was greater than all the pleasures in the three worlds.
44-5 "For these reasons Hiranyakasipu was
not able to fix his mind in meditation on the supremely opulent and independent
Personality of Godhead, who has neither beginning nor end."
"When Hiranyakasipu was born
again as the demon Ravana, he became a slave to lust. His mind was completely attached to
Sita-devi, and he was therefore not able to fix his mind in meditation on the
Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form as Ramacandra, the son of
Dasaratha. As Ravana was being killed by
Ramacandra, the demon thought Rama to be an ordinary human being, and for this
reason Ravana did not attain liberation because of being killed by the Lord,
but in his next birth as Sisupala, merely attained seemingly imperishable
opulence and power, which was celebrated throughout the entire earth.
46 "In this birth as Sisupala he was
able to completely hate the Supreme Lord Krishna. He constantly criticised Lord Krishna with
words, and in this way constantly called out the Lord's holy names. With great animosity he constantly meditated
on Krishna's form, decorated with splendid yellow garments, golden bracelets,
and a glittering crown adorned with a peacock feather. He meditated on Krishna's eyes handsome as
blossoming lotus petals, and Krishna's four broad arms, holding the conch,
cakra, club and lotus. While walking,
eating, bathing, sitting, sleeping, and performing all other activities,
Sisupala remembered Krishna with hatred.
His mind never deviated from Krishna for even a moment.
47 "Determined to die at Krishna's hand,
Sisupala repeatedly insulted the Lord, and when Lord Krishna finally dispatched
the Sudarsana cakra to kill him, Sisupala could understand that the glittering
effulgence of the cakra was actually the imperishable Supreme Brahman.
48-9 "In this way, when Sisupala was killed
by the Lord's Sudarsana cakra, all his sins were burned away, and he attained
sayujya-mukti, entering the Lord's own transcendental form.
"O Maitreya, I have thus
explained the entire situation to you.
He is certainly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (If) when He is spoken of and remembered in a
spirit of hatred, He gives a result difficult for the demigods, demons and all
others to attain, then what kind of result does He give to they who love Him
and serve Him with devotion?"
50-1 In this passage Parasara did not mention the
Lord's two associates that took birth three times in the world. These two associates are not thought to take
birth in every kalpa for then they would fall down in every kalpa. That is not an acceptable idea.
52-55 Parasara Muni's prose answer to Maitreya is
now summarised in verse:
Hiranyakasipu could not understand
that the wonderful form of Lord Nrsimha displayed by Lord Hari was actually
Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakasipu was
pious. He was sure that Lord Nrsimha was
very extraordinary, but because he was overcome with passion he could not fix
his mind on Him. Because he was
personally killed by the Lord, Hiranyakasipu attained extraordinary and rarely
achieved sense-gratification and opulence in his next birth as Ravana.
56-7 Because he could not recognise Lord Nrsimha
as Lord Vishnu, and because he was not filled with hatred for Him,
Hiranyakasipu was not fixed in meditation on the Lord. If without meditation on the Lord he had
hated Him, he would have gone to hell as King Vena had gone. Because he was killed by the Lord's own hand,
he attained great good fortune. Thinking
them, (Parasara) refers to the Lord's transcendental virtues here by speaking
the word "eva" (certainly).
58-9 Because he was not absorbed in meditation on
the Lord and because his sins were not yet destroyed, he could not see the
Lord's pure nature. Even though the Lord
was manifest before him, he could not merge into the form of His Supreme
Brahma. In his birth as Ravana, he
became a slave to lust. At the time of
his death He thought Lord Rama a mere human being.
60-2 Then he took birth as Sisupala, and again he
attained great opulence. Because in that
birth he chanted all the names of the goddess of fortune's husband, Lord
Narayana, he could understand that Lord Vishnu had killed him twice. For this reason, out of great hatred he
always chanted the Lord's names and criticised Him in many ways.
63-4 Gazing at the Lord's form, he became
convinced that this was Lord Vishnu.
Always and everywhere he remembered the Lord as he always chanted His
names. In this way the great flood of
sins born from his hatred of the Lord became burned up. When the Lord threw His cakra at the end, its
splendour destroyed his demonic nature and purified his vision. Then he saw that the splendid Supreme Brahman
had a humanlike form. Then the cakra
destroyed his demon's body and he merged into the Supreme Brahman.
65 Considering his explanation that (this
demon) attained liberation from the pastimes of child (Krishna), but when he
was in the form of Kalanemi or other forms did not attain liberation from the
Lord's activities in other circumstances, (Parasara) said (Text 49), "ayam
hi bhagavan" (Krishna is certainly the Supreme Personality of Godhead).
66-7 In this way it is established that Lord
Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He at once attracts the hearts
of both they who love Him and they who hate Him. Therefore the glorification of Him in Text 49
is not surprising. Considering this
prose explanation, (it is said) how much greater (than the destination of they
who hate the Lord is than the destination attained by they who) serve Him with
love?
SRILA RUPA
GOSVAMI'S
SRI
LAGHU-BHAGAVATAMRTA
A little
nectar of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees
Volume Two
Some names of
the Lord
The
liberation of the demons
Lord Krishna
is the original Lord, who expands into many forms
Lord
Krishna's inconceivable, mutually contradictory qualities
Lord Krishna
is the origin of Lord Narayana and the Purusa-avataras
Lord Krishna
is not an incarnation of Lord Vishnu's hair
Lord Krishna
is superior to Lord Vasudeva
Lord Krishna
is superior to the impersonal brahmana
Lord Krishna
is not an incarnation of Lord Narayana
Lord
Krishna's supreme position
Volume Two
68-70 Now please hear the reason for all the Lord's
names. Some are names of Lord Narayana,
the husband of the goddess of fortune, and others are names of Lord Krishna,
the best of the Yadus. The names
Daityari (the enemy of the demons), pundarikaksa (the lotus-eyed one), sarngi
(the holder of the saranga bow), garuda-vahana (He who rides on Garuda),
pitambara (He who is dressed in yellow garments), cakra-pani (the holder of the
Sudarsana cakra), shrivatsanka (He who is decorated with the mark of
Shrivatsa), and catur-bhuja (He who has four arms) are names of both Lord
Narayana and Lord Krishna.
71 Because He is Vasudeva's son, the Lord is
called Vasudeva. Because He was born in
the Madhu dynasty, He is called Madhava.
72 In Shri Hari-vamsa (63.36) also:
"The gopis in Vrndavana called
Krishna Damodara, because He was bound with a rope (dama)."
73-4 There again (Shri Hari-vamsa 158.30-32):
Resting in a cart-wheel cradle,
(child) Krishna killed a cruel and powerful demoness named Putana who,
pretending to be full of maternal affection, offered Him her breast smeared
with poison. When the residents of Vraja
saw the demoness was killed, they exclaimed: "This child is born again
(adhah-aksa-ja)". For this reason,
Krishna is known as adhoksaja."
75 The commentary explains: "Adhah means
"beneath", "aksa" means "the cart-wheel" and
"ja" means "born again".
In this way they said the word "adhoksaja (He who is born again
under the cart-wheel)."
76 There again (Indra to Lord Krishna in
Hari-vamsa 75.85):
"I am king of the demigods and
You are king of these surabhi cows. For
this reason, the worlds will eternally address You as 'Govinda' (king of the
cows."
77 There again (Indra to Krishna in
Hari-vamsa 75.86)
"The surabhi cows have made You
their king. O Krishna, because You are a
king greater than I, the demigods in heaven will call You Upendra (above
Indra)."
78 In Vishnu Purana:
"O Krishna, because You killed
the Kesi demon, You will be known in this world by the name Kesava (the killer
of Kesi)."
79 Interpreted in another way, these may be
names of Lord Narayana, the husband of goddess of fortune.
80 How can demons who hate the Personality of
Godhead and have never come in contact with Lord Krishna attain
liberation? (That they cannot attain
liberation is confirmed) by the use of the word "eva" (certainly)
twice (in the following verses).
81 In Bhagavad-gita (16.19-20):
"Those who are envious and
mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of
material existence, into various demoniac species of life.*
82 "Attaining such repeated birth
amongst the species of demoniac life, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most
abominable type of existence."*
83 In these verses Krishna says: "If
those who hate Me do not come into contact with Me in My form as Krishna, they
will certainly take birth in a very low species."
84 Therefore Lord Krishna is the best of the
three (paravastha forms of the Lord).
Why should this be surprising?
His exalted nature (of granting liberation to His enemies) cannot be
seen in any other (form of the Lord).
85 In the description of the fourteen-syllable
mantra in the Svayambhuva-agama, Lord Ramacandra, Lord Nrsimha, and the other
incarnations are worshipped as disguised forms of Him (Lord Krishna).
86(a) (Here someone may object: Is it not) said in
the scriptures that (all the Lord's forms are equal?) In Maha-Varaha Purana (it is said):
"All the Lord's forms are eternal
and imperishable. They are free from
birth and death. They are never
material.
"They are full of all bliss, all
knowledge, and all virtue. They are free
of any fault."
86(b) Furthermore, in Shri-Narada-pancaratra:
"When the jewel known as vaidurya
touches other materials, it appears to be separated into different
colours. Consequently the forms also
appear different. Similarly, according
to the meditational ecstasy of the devotee, the Lord, who is known as Acyuta
(infallible), appears in different forms, although He is essentially
one."*
Therefore, why do you say there is a
hierarchy of the Lord's forms?
87 (In answer) it may be said: Because He is
the Supreme Lord, all His forms are perfect and complete. Still, He does not show all His potencies in
His forms.
88 When a small measure of His potencies is
manifest, (His form) is called amsa-avatara.
When by His wish many different potencies are manifest, (His form is
called) purna-avatara.
89 Opulence, sweetness, mercy, and strength
are prominent among His many potencies.
90 (The different forms of the Supreme Lord
are considered) more or less complete according to the extent to which His
various potencies are manifest or not manifest.
91-2 A small lamp and a great fire are equally
effective in burning a house or something else, but only the great fire brings
relief from the sufferings of cold weather.
In the same way, the more the Supreme Lord manifests His transcendental qualities,
the more the devotees and living entities in general find relief from the cycle
of birth and death.
93 He may be one and He may be many. He may be an amsa-avatara and He may be the
origin of the amsa-avataras. Because of
His limitless and inconceivable potency nothing is impossible.
94 One form may be manifest as many. (This is described) in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(10.69.2):
"It is astounding that Lord Shri
Krishna, who is one without a second, expanded Himself in sixteen thousand
similar forms to marry sixteen thousand queens in their respective
homes."*
95 Many forms may combine to become one
form. (This is described) in Padma
Purana:
"The Supreme Person, Lord Hari,
who is the original creator of everything, and who is faultless and beyond the
influence of the three modes of material nature, expanded Himself into many
forms, and then again all these forms combined together, and only one Lord Hari
was manifest."
96 Although He is one, He manifests as many
amsa-avataras and He has many different, even mutually contradictory
potencies. (This is described) in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam 10.40.7 (where Akrura prays to the Lord):
"Their thoughts placed in You,
they worship You, who have one form and many forms."
97 Also in Kurma Purana:
"He is neither great nor
small. He is great and small. He is
colourless. He is said to have red
eyes. It is said that by the touch of
His potencies the Supreme Lord has many mutually contradictory qualities."
98 "In the Personality of Godhead there
are no faults, but only a great variety of mutually contradictory
virtues."
99 The following prose statement of
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (6.9.34-36) describes the inconceivable, mutually
contradictory, variegated potencies of the Supreme Lord:
"O Lord, You need no support, and
although You have no material body, You do not need co-operation from us. Since You are the cause of the cosmic
manifestation and You supply its material ingredients without being
transformed, You create, maintain and annihilate this cosmic manifestation by
Yourself. Nevertheless, although You
appear engaged in material activity, You are transcendental to all material
qualities. Consequently these
transcendental qualities of Yours are extremely difficult to understand."*
100 "These are our inquiries. The ordinary conditioned soul is subject to
the material laws, and he thus receives the fruits of his actions. Does Your Lordship, like an ordinary human
being, exist within this material world in a body produced by the material
modes? Do You enjoy or suffer the good
or bad results of actions under the influence of time, past work and so
forth? Or, on the contrary, are You
present here only as a neutral witness who is self-sufficient, free from all
material desires, and always full of spiritual potency? We certainly cannot understand Your actual
position."*
101 "O Supreme Personality of Godhead, all
contradictions can be reconciled in You.
O Lord, since You are the Supreme Person, the reservoir of unlimited
spiritual qualities, the supreme controller, Your unlimited glories are
inconceivable to the conditioned souls.
Many modern theologians argue about right and wrong without knowing what
is actually right. Their arguments are
always false and their judgements inconclusive because they have no authorised
evidence with which to gain knowledge of You.
Because their minds are agitated by scriptures containing false
conclusions, they are unable to understand the truth concerning You. Furthermore, because of polluted eagerness to
arrive at the right conclusion, their theories are incapable of revealing You,
who are transcendental to their material conceptions. You are one without a second, and therefore
in You contradictions like doing and not doing, happiness and distress, are not
contradictory. Your potency is so great
that it can do and undo anything as You like.
With the help of that potency, what is impossible for You? Since there is no duality in Your
constitutional position, You can do everything by the influence of Your
energy."*
102 O unchanging Personality of Godhead, Your
activities, which You do without a material body, without resting on the earth
or any other material planet, and without any outside help, are difficult to
understand.
Note: This is a paraphrase of the
verse quoted in text 99.
103 In the verse quoted in text 100 the words
"guna-visarga-patitah paratantryena" are explained in these words:
The Lord's nature is revealed in the
description of the battle between the demigods and demons. In that battle (Lord Vishnu) fell and became
dependant on the demigods, who are really dependent on Him. His dependence was done out of kindness to
them.
104-5 In the verse quoted in text 100 the word
"sva-krta" means "accepted", "kusalakusalam"
means "auspiciousness" and "inauspiciousness" and
"happiness and distress", "atmaramah" means
"neutral", and "na vidamah" means "we do not
understand how these contradictions can exist in You."
106-7 In text 101 the word "bhagavati"
begins a clause of two words and the word "isvare" begins a clause of
five words. The word
"bhagavati" clearly means that the Lord is all-knowing and has
transcendental qualities. The word
"kevale" clearly means that He is the Brahman.
108 Although as the Brahman He is impartial to
everyone, as His first two features He is inclined to His devotees.
Note: The first two features here,
meaning the clause beginning with the word "bhagavati" refers to
Bhagavan.
109 Someone may object: How can the one Supreme
Personality of Godhead manifest two forms simultaneously?
Here it is said (in the verse quoted
in text 101): "O Supreme Lord, Your
unlimited glories are inconceivable to the conditioned souls. Many modern theologians argue about right and
wrong without knowing what is actually right.
Their arguments are always false and their judgements inconclusive
because they have no authorised evidence with which to gain knowledge of
You. Because their minds are agitated by
scriptures containing false conclusions, they are unable to understand the
truth concerning You. Furthermore,
because of polluted eagerness to arrive at the right conclusion, their theories
are incapable of revealing You, who are transcendental to their material
conception."*
110 The Lord's inconceivable potency is
described in text 101: "With the help of that potency what is impossible
for You?" Because many different
mutually contradictory powers are present in it, the Lord's potency is
considered inconceivable.
111 In Vedanta-sutra it is said:
"Because He is the root from
which the Vedic scriptures have come, the Supreme Truth may be understood by
the revelation of scripture."
In Skanda Purana it is said:
"Inconceivable things cannot be
understood by material logic."
Inconceivable powers are sometimes
present even in jewels and other ordinary material things.
112 Without potency like this the Lord's
supremacy is not complete. Without His
being unfathomable His glory cannot be described.
113 To they who see illusions or mirages, the
Lord's supremacy is not manifest.
114 In text 101, first comes the phrase
beginning with "na hi", then the phrase beginning with
"uparata", and then the six words beginning with
"bhagavati". Here the original
sequence of words is not useful.
Note: Text 101 is to be interpreted
with the words in this sequence and not their original sequence.
115 That the Lord has mutually contradictory
qualities (ubhayam), as described in text 101, is not refuted by either
scripture or logic. However, by they who
do not know the truth and who think in terms of the higher and lower things of
the material world, You (are not understood).
You are like a rope (that is mistaken for a snake).
116 Someone may object: He is the Brahman of non-dual knowledge, and
again He is Bhagavan, the Supreme Person who has many different qualities. He is seen to have two forms.
The reply: Text 101 says
"svarupa-dvayabhavat", which means that sometimes contradictory
qualities are not separated in two different forms. Two contradictory qualities may both be
present in a single (form of the Lord).
Note: Here someone claims that
contradictory qualities are not present together in one of the Lord's
forms. He claims that one quality is
present in one form and its opposite is present in another form of the Lord. This idea is refuted in text 101.
117 Contradictions seen in the pastimes of the
Lord's potencies are His inconceivable opulence. They decorate Him. They are not defects.
118 A description of these mutually
contradictory qualities is seen in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (3.4.16):
"My Lord, even the learned sages
become disturbed in their intelligence when they see that Your Greatness
engages in fruitive work although You are free from all desires, that You take
birth although You are unborn that You flee out of fear of the enemy and take
shelter in a fort although You are the controller of invincible time, and that
You enjoy householder life surrounded by many women although You enjoy in Your
Self."*
119 If these things were not true, then (the
sages) intelligence would be bewildered.
That is not so. The (Lord's)
inconceivable potency is the cause of these pastimes. Whatever He wishes it manifests.
120 Now that this has been said, (Lord
Krishna's) real nature will be described.
Here someone may object: Is it not so
that Lord Krishna is not superior to either the purusa-avatara or to the
Supersoul, who is the master of the universe?
Note: Here an imaginary objector
argues that Lord Krishna is not the original form of the Lord, but only an
expansion of Lord Ksirodakasayi Vishnu.
His argument begins in Text 120 and continues until text 140. Shrila Rupa Gosvami refutation of this idea
begins in Text 141.
121 Furthermore, (it is said) in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.1-5):
"In the beginning of the
creation, the Lord first expanded Himself in the universal form of the purusa
incarnation and manifested all the ingredients for the material creation. And thus at first there was the creation of
the sixteen principles of material action.
This was for the purpose of creating the material universe.*
122 "A part of the purusa lies down within
the water of the universe, from the navel lake of His body sprouts a lotus
stem, and from the lotus flower atop this stem, Brahma, the master of all
engineers in the universe, becomes manifest.*
123 "It is believed that all the universal
planetary systems are situated on the extensive body of the purusa, but He has
nothing to do with the created material ingredients. His body is eternally in spiritual existence
par excellence.*
124 "The devotees, with their perfect
eyes, see the transcendental form of the purusa who has thousands of legs,
thighs,arms and faces-all extraordinary.
In that body there are thousands of heads, ears, eyes, and noses. They are decorated with thousands of helmets
and glowing earrings and are adorned with garlands.*
125 "This form (the second manifestation
of the purusa) is the source and indestructible seed of multifarious
incarnations within the universe. From
the particles and portions of this form, different living entities, like
demigods, men and others, are created."*
126 Explanation
(In Shrimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.1 quoted in
text 121) the word "adau" means "before all the other
avataras", "bhagavan" means "the Supreme Personality of
Godhead", "mahad-adibhih" means "beginning with the
mahat-tattva", "loka-sisrksaya" means "with a desire to
create the material planets", "paurusam" means either "the
form of the purusa-avatara" or "brearing the name purusa",
"rupam" means "a form of bliss and knowledge", and
"jagrhe" means "manifested".
127 "Sambhutam" means "properly
or truthfully manifested with the desire to create the material
planets." "Sodasa-kalam"
means "in whom are the sixteen principles of material action."
128 Following the revelation of scripture, the
Vaishnavas define these sixteen principles of action as the Lord's potencies,
which are described in Bhakti-viveka and other scriptures.
129 "Shri, Bhu, Kirti,, Ila, Lila, Kanti,
Vidya, Vimala, Utkarsini, Jnana, Kriya, Yoga, Prahvi, Satya, Isana, and
Anugraha are (the Lord's) sixteen principal potencies."
130 First the three forms of the purusa-avatara
were described, and then the form of the Lord that enters the material universe
and becomes the creator was described.
131 (In Shrimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.2, quoted in
text 122 it is said that from the navel-lake lotus (of the Lord) who enters the
universe and lies down on its waters, (Brahma is manifest). This is very clear.
132 (In Shrimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.3 quoted in text
123) it is said that all the planets are situated in the whorl and other parts
of the lotus flower sprouted from the Lord's navel-lake.
133 His form in spiritual existence par
excellence (sattvam urjitam), the Lord lies down.
134 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.4-5, quoted in
texts 124 and 125, it is said that this form of the Lord is origin of His
multifarious incarnations.
135 As in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (11.4.3):
"When the primeval Lord Narayana
created His universal body out of the five elements produced from Himself and then
entered within that universal body by His own plenary portion, He thus became
known as the Purusa."***
136 The word "narayana" here means
"the master of the spiritual sky".
As the purusa-avatara (atma), He created His universal form from the
material elements, and then by His amsa-avatara entered the universe. This form is called the purusa-avatara.
137 Fearing the question "What is the
point of all this?" (he) says:
Four-armed Lord Garbhodakasayi Vishnu,who is His vilasa expansion, enters the
lotus flower of the material planets and, in a form that bears the name Vishnu,
reclines on the ocean of milk.
138 Becoming the Supersoul staying in the
hearts of living entities in material bodies from the demigods down to
immovable creatures, He seems to have many different forms.
139 Considered a vilasa expansion, He is
described as a form of Lord Vishnu in the Satvata-tantra: "The third
(purusa-avatara) stays in all living beings."
140 Then, worshipped by the demigods on the
shore of the milk ocean, He descended and bore the name Krishna.
141 Our answer to this argument is the words a
disembodied voice spoke to the demigods in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.1.23):
142 "The Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Shri Krishna, who has full potency, will personally appear as the son of
Vasudeva. Therefore all the wives of the
demigods should also appear in order to satisfy Him."*
143 Explanation
The words "bhagavan purusah
parah" in this verse prove that the purusa-avatara that creates the
mahat-tattva is an amsa-avatara of Lord Krishna.
144 It is seen that Shrila Shridhara Svami
agrees with this view, for in commenting on Shrimad-Bhagavatam 10.85.31 he says
that the phrase "amsa-bhagena" means "by a part of a
part". In this way it is clear that
Shri Krishna is the Original Personality of Godhead, perfect and complete.
145-6 This is confirmed in Devaki's prayer
(Shrimad-Bhagavatam 10.85.31):
"My dear Krishna, I know that
Maha-Vishnu, who is lying in the causal ocean of the cosmic manifestation, and
who is the source of this whole creation, is simply an expansion of Your
plenary portion. Creation, maintenance,
and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation are being effected only by Your
plenary portion. I am, therefore, taking
shelter of You without any reservation."*
147 Explanation
The purusa-avatara is a part (amsa) of
Lord Krishna. Material nature is a part
of the purusa-avatara. The modes are
part of material nature. Creation and
other material actions are parts of the modes.
148 Also in the same scripture
(Shrimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.14):
"O Lord of lords, You are the
seer of all creation. You are indeed
everyone's dearest life. Are You not,
therefore, my father, Narayana? Narayana refers to one whose abode is in the
water born from Nara (Garbhodakasayi Vishnu), and that Narayana is Your plenary
portion. All Your plenary portions are
transcendental. They are absolute and
are not creations of maya."*
149 Explanation
In Shrimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.13 Brahma
addressed Krishna as Narayana. However,
after Brahma saw Lord Krishna's astonishing opulence, and also after seeing
that Krishna is the source of millions of material universes, Brahma became
afraid, considering he had committed an offense, and he proclaimed "Are
You not Narayana".
150-1 By addressing Lord Krishna as "adhisa
(Lord of Lords)" Brahma affirmed that Lord Krishna is superior to the
innumerable expansions of Ksirodakasayi Vishnu who are also Lords of the
creation, and who are all-pervading within the material universe. By addressing Lord Krishna as
"sarva-dehinam atma (everyone's dearest life)", Brahma affirmed that
Lord Krishna is the Supreme father of all conditioned souls confined to
material bodies within the material world, and that He is also the father of
all the liberated residents of the Vaikuntha spiritual world. By addressing Lord Krishna as
"akhila-loka-saksi (the witness who observes the actions of all living
entities)", Brahma affirmed that Lord Krishna sees everything. By speaking the words
"nara-bhu-jalayanat (because of having His abode in the water born from
Garbhodakasayi Vishnu)" Brahma explained the derivation of the word
"narayana". By speaking the
words "narayano 'nigam (Lord Narayana is Your plenary portion)",
Brahma affirmed that Lord Narayana is an expansion of Lord Krishna. At the end
of this verse Brahma refers to "maya", the Lord's illusory
energy. We may note here that the
spiritual world constitutes three fourths of the Lord's opulence. Only one fourth of the Lord's potency is
taken up by the material energy.
152 O Lord, in Bhagavad-gita (10.42) You said:
"With a single fragment of Myself
I pervade and support this entire universe."
The forms of the purusa-avataras are
spiritual. They are not manifestations
of the material energy, as Universal Form is.
153 In Brahma-samhita (5.48):
"The Brahmas and other lords of
the mundane worlds appear from the pores of the Maha-Vishnu and remain alive
for the duration of His one exhalation.
I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, for Maha-Vishnu is a portion of His
plenary portion."*
154 If the purusa-avatara is an expansion of
Lord Krishna, then Ksirodakasayi Vishnu must be a pastime-incarnation of Lord
Krishna.
155 Here some may object: Is it not so that
(Krishna and Balarama), who appeared in the Yadu dynasty, are incarnation of a
black and white hair of Lord Vishnu.
This is clearly described in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (2.7.26):
156 "When the world is overburdened by the
fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, just to diminish the
distress of the world, a black and white hair of the Lord incarnate on the
earth. To expand His transcendental
glories the Lord acts extraordinarily.
No one can properly estimate how great He is."
157 (To this objection I reply:) O, don't
interpret this verse in that way. Please
listen and I will now give the proper interpretation of the verse. The word "kalaya" means "with
great artistry", "sita" means "bound", and "krishna"
means "very dark". The
compound word "sita-Krishna-kesa" means "He whose beautiful
black hair is neatly tied". The
word "kalaya" indicates that Lord Krishna was the most expert of all
artists.
Note: The entire verse may then be
interpreted in the following way:
"When the world is overburdened
by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, the Lord, just to
diminish the distress of the world, descends in His original form, with
beautiful black hair neatly tied on His head.
The Lord is the most expert of all artists, and just to expand His
transcendental glories, He performs many graceful and extraordinary
pastimes. No one can properly estimate
how great He is."
158 The word "kalaya" may also be
interpreted to mean "with His plenary portion". If this meaning is accepted the verse may be
interpreted in the following way:
"Lord Krishna, the Supreme
performer of pastimes, has beautiful black hair. He descended to the material world,
accompanied by His plenary portion (kalaya)."
159 In the Vishnu-dharmottara Purana Markandeya
Muni describes to Maharaja Vajra (the king's) father, Aniruddha, who appears on
the ocean of devastation:
160 Vajra's question:
"Who is the person in the form of
a child that again and again you see at each millenium's end? I do not know, and I am very eager to
know."
161-2 Shri Markandeya Muni's reply:
"Again and again I saw the
Supreme Lord, the master of the universes.
Still, as the kalpa was being destroyed I was bewildered by maya, and I
could not understand who He was. When
the kalpa's destruction had passed, I could understand that He was your father,
Aniruddha, the master of the universes, and that He was an avatara manifested
from your grandfather, Lord Krishna."
163-4 Explanation
Had it been otherwise (in other words,
had it been that Lord Krishna is an avatara of Ksirodakasayi Vishnu), then the
best of sages would have said "tam shri-krishnam vijanami
prappitamaham" (I know that Your grandfather is Lord Krishna). In this way the mistaken idea (that Lord
Krishna is) an avatara of (Lord Vishnu's) hair is refuted.
Note: What He did say was "prapitamahat"
(Aniruddha is an avatara manifested from your grandfather, Lord Krishna).
165 Here someone may object: Is it not so that although Lord Krishna may
be superior to the purusa-avataras, Lord Vasudeva, who is served by all
opulences, who appears in many forms in the spiritual world of three quarters
of the Lord's opulence, whose charming splendour is more glorious than billions
of rising suns, who sometimes dark as a new raincloud and sometimes splendid as
gold, who is famous as a vilasa-avatara of Lord Maha-Vaikuntha-natha, who is
the Supersoul, and who is endowed with strength, knowledge, heroism, and glory,
is superior to Him?
Note: The imaginary objector's
argument continues until Text 178. In
text 179 Shrila Rupa Gosvami begins his reply.
166 The catur-vyuha expansions (Vasudeva,
Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha) are collectively known by the name
"maha-avastha" (the most important form of the Lord). The first of Them (Lord Vasudeva) is supremely
worshipable. He is said to be the
controlling Deity of consciousness and the origin of pure goodness.
167 Shri Sankarsana is considered His
amsa-avatara. Sankarsana is the second
member of the catur-vyuha. He is known
by the name "jiva" because He is the birthplace of all the jivas
(living entities).
168 His bodily lustre is sweeter than many
billions of full autumn moons. He is the
worshipable Deity of false-ego. Ananta
Sesa is His amsa-avatara. As the
Supersoul in the hearts of Lord Siva, impiety, snakes, death, and the community
of demons, He is the cause of the universe's dissolution.
169 Lord Pradyumna is the third member of the
catur-vyuha. He is a vilasa-avatara of
Lord Sankarsana. He is the Deity of
intelligence, and He is worshipped by the intelligent. He is served by goddess Laksmi, who recites
prayers in Ilavrta-varsa. He is said
sometimes to be the colour of pure gold and sometimes He is splendid as a dark
cloud. He is the cause of the universe's
creation. Kamadeva is His
amsa-avatara. As the Supersoul of
Brahma, the prajapatis, Kamadeva, and those attached to sense-gratification, He
creates everything.
170 Lord Aniruddha is the fourth member of the
catur-vyuha. He is said to be an
amsa-avatara of Lord Pradyumna. Lord
Aniruddha is the Deity of the mind, and He is worshipped by the
philosophers. He is the colour of a dark
cloud. He carefully protects the
universe. As the Supersoul of piety, the
Manus, demigods, and the earthly kings, He maintains the universe.
171 In the Moksa-dharma it is said that Lord
Pradyumna is the Deity of mind, and Lord Aniruddha is the Deity of false-ego.
172 This explanation is corroborated by all the
Pancaratra-sastras.
173 In Padma Purana it is said that the
catur-vyuha expansions, which begin with Lord Vasudeva, preside over the four
directions of the spiritual world.
174 They also reside in the material world.
(Lord Vasudeva) resides in the city of Devavati in Jalavrti Vaikuntha, (Lord
Sankarsana) resides in the city of Dvaraka in Vishnuloka above Satyaloka, (Lord
Pradyumna) resides in the city of Airavati in Svetadvipa north of the pure
ocean, and (Lord Aniruddha) resides on the couch of Ananta's lap in the ocean
of milk.
175 The Satvata-tantra describes nine vyuha
expansions of the Personality of Godhead as: 1. Vasudeva, 2. Sankarsana, 3.
Pradyumna, 4. Aniruddha,, 5. Narayana, 6. Nrsimha 7. Hayagriva,, 8. Varaha, and
9. Brahma. The Brahma mentioned here
should be understood to be the previously described avatara of Lord Hari.
176 However, the catur-vyuhas (Vasudeva,
Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha), who have four splendid arms and are
decorated with eternal and limitless
transcendental opulences, are the best.
177 Lord Vasudeva is flooded with perfect
transcendental bliss. His opulences have
no limit. Because He is the ruler of the
spiritual sky He is the first of all transcendental Deities.
178 Therefore I think the person named Krishna
who descended (to the material world) was an avatara of Lord Vasudeva for this
is explained in all scriptures.
Note: The opponent ends His argument
here. Shrila Rupa Gosvami begins his
reply in the next text.
179 That is not logical. Please listen. The answer (to your objection) is now
given. Lord Krishna, the son of Devaki,
is said to be superior to Lord Vasudeva.
180 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.28):
"All of the above-mentioned
incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of
the Lord, but Lord Shri Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead."*
181 Explanation
Here the word "pumsah" means "of the purusa-avatara",
"amsah" means "the avataras headed by Varaha and
Rsabhadeva", "Kalah" means "the avataras headed by the
Kumaras, "tu (but)" distinguishes Lord Krishna from these other forms
of the Godhead, "bhagavan" means the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
and "svayam (personally)" refutes the idea that Krishna is an avatara
of Vasudeva.
182 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.2) it is said:
"My dear Lord, Your form is
transcendental to all material elements.
I can understand that You have mercy upon me because You are revealing that
form, standing before me like a small child.
But although I am Lord Brahma, the so-called creator of this universe, I
am unable to ascertain the transcendental potencies of Your body. And if I am unable to understand the
spiritual potency of Your child-like body, then what can I understand about
Your transcendental pastimes?"*
183 Explanation
Here "deva" is a name for
Lord Vasudeva, the first of the catur-vyuha expansions,
"deva-vapusah" means "of He who has the form of Lord
Vasudeva". "mahi" means
"glory", "saksat" means "of You", "kah"
means "the demigod Brahma" "avasitum" means to understand,
"na ise" means "I am not able", and
"atma-sukanubhuteh" means "of You whose form is spiritual".
184-5 We many note the use of the phrase "kim
uta" (what to speak of) in this verse.
This phrase is used when comparing something great to another thing of
lesser stature. An example may be seen
in the following sentence: "The
kaustubha jewel is more effulgent than hundreds and millions of suns, what to
speak of small lamp."
186 In another way: A great darkness is not
able to extinguish even a small lamp, what to speak of the kaustubha jewel, which
is more brilliant than millions of suns.
187 The phrase "what to speak of" is
used when a great thing is compared to something small. That small thing is then again compared to
something even smaller.
188 The word "mad-anugrahasya" may be
understood to mean "of You who is very merciful to me by revealing this
unprecedented and wonderful form".
189 "Svecchamayasya" means "He
who acts to fulfil all the desires of His devotees." The words "na bhutamayasya" (He who
is not the resting place of all living entities) refute the idea that Lord
Krishna is the purusa-avatara, who is the resting place of all living entities.
190 The phrase "nese mahi tv avasitum
manasantarena" means "O Lord, although it may be possible for someone
to understand something of Your transcendental glories by meditating on them
without any deviation, still, I cannot understand anything about Your
glories. For me Your transcendental
opulences are inconceivable."
191 In these words the demigod Brahma, who
properly understands the entire situation, affirms that Lord Krishna's glory is
greater than the glory of both Vasudeva (the purusa-avatara) and the impersonal
Brahman.
192 In the Svayambhuva-agama's meditation on
the fourteen-syllable mantra it is said that the catur-vyuha forms, beginning
with Lord Vasudeva, are avataras of Lord Krishna.
193 In the Kramadi-dipika's description of the
eight-syllable mantra it is said that the catur-vyuha forms, beginning with
Lord Vasudeva, are avataras of Lord Krishna, the master of Gokula.
194 Here someone may object: How is it proper
to say that Lord Krishna is superior to the impersonal Brahman? It has been clearly proved that the
Personality of Godhead and the impersonal Brahman are one and the same.
195 The one Supreme Lord is described in many
ways in the Vedic literatures. Sometimes
He is called the purusa-avatara, sometimes the Supersoul, sometimes the
impersonal Brahman, and sometimes the personification of transcendental
knowledge.
196 In the Skanda Purana:
"The astanga-yogis say the Lord
is the Supersoul, they who have faith in the Upanisads say He is the impersonal
Brahma, and the jnana-yogis say He is transcendental knowledge
personified."
197 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11):
"Learned transcendentalists who
know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or
Bhagavan."*
198 (To this objection I reply): Please hear
Lord Kapila's explanation in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (3.32.33):
199 "A single object is appreciated
differently by different senses due to its having different qualities. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
is one, but according to different scriptural injunctions He appears to be
different."*
200 Explanation
The Personality of Godhead has many
different forms. He appears in different
forms according to the worship performed by His devotees.
201-2 As, although it is always one, milk is
perceived by the senses in many different ways according to its form, taste,
and other qualities, the eyes perceiving its whiteness and the tongue its
sweetness, so the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although He is one, is
perceived by different methods of worship in different ways.
203-4 As the tongue only, and no other sense,
perceives sweetness, and as each sense has its own object, so all different
methods of worship are like the different senses and devotional service is like
the mind, which perceives everything.
205 In the best scriptures it is said that Shri
Krishna's sweetness and other qualities are superior to the qualities of the
impersonal Brahman.
206 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.6-7):
"Nondevotees, however, cannot
realise You in Your full personal feature.
Nevertheless, it may be possible for them to realise Your expansion as
the impersonal Supreme by cultivating direct perception of the Self within the
heart. But they can do this only by
purifying their mind and senses of all conceptions of material distinctions and
all attachment to material sense objects.
Only in this way will Your impersonal feature manifest itself to
them."***
207 "There may be some philosophers and
scientists who can study the cosmic nature from atom to atom; they may be so
advanced that they can count the atomic composition of the atmosphere or all
the planets and stars in the sky, or even the shining molecular parts of the
sun or other stars and luminaries in the sky.
But it is not possible to count Your qualities."*
208 Here someone many object: The Supreme
Lord's qualities cannot be counted because His form is material and therefore
His qualities are like a mirage. What is
surprising in about that?
209 (I reply:) It is not so. His qualities are not material. Because they are manifest from His own nature
they are full of bliss.
210 In Brahma-tarka:
"The Personality of Godhead, Lord
Hari, has transcendental qualities manifested by His own nature. Neither Lord Vishnu nor the liberated souls
are considered different from their transcendental qualities."
211 In Shri Vishnu Purana (1.9.43):
"May the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who is the purest of all who are pure, and in whom are neither the
modes of nature beginning with goodness, nor any material qualities, be
merciful to me."
212 In the same scripture (Vishnu Purana
6.5.79):
"The word "bhagava" means
that the Lord has all knowledge,, power, strength, opulence, heroism, and
glory. He has no faults or defects.
213 Also in Padma Purana (Uttara-khanda
255.39-40)
"When the Vedic literatures
describes the Personality of Godhead as being without any qualities (nirguna),
this means that the Lord does not possess any material qualities. It does not mean that He has no spiritual
qualities."
214 Also, in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.16.29):
"Many transcendental qualities
are eternally present in the Personality of Godhead, Shri Krishna, and are
never to be separated from Him."*
215 In this way Lord Krishna is the supremely
powerful and blissful Personality of Godhead, who possesses uncountable
millions of transcendental attributes.
216 The qualityless, formless, impersonal
Brahman is said to be like light shining from the sun of Shri Krishna.
217 (Lord Krishna says in) Bhagavad-gita
(14.26-27):
"One who engages in full
devotional service, who does not fall down in nay circumstance, at once
transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of
Brahman.*
218 "And I am the basis of the impersonal
Brahma, which is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness, and which
is immortal, imperishable and eternal."*
219 Explanation
Here "brahma-bhuyaya" means
"attaining a form for transcendental pastimes", and "mam
bhakti-yogena sevate" means "with love he worships Me, who am full of
bliss."
220 The result of performing avyabhivari bhakti
(full devotional service without falling down) is service performed with
love. Impersonal liberation, however, is
attained by even the Lord's enemies.
221 Arjuna might have objected: "O
Krishna, You were born in the Yadu dynasty.
How can You be the Brahman?"
To answer this Krishna spoke Bhagavad-gita 14.27 (quoted in text
218). The word "hi"
(certainly) hints "Yes, I, who stand before you, My spiritual form filled
with many different kinds of bliss."
Brahmanah" means "the spiritual form of Brahman", and
"pratistha" means "the shelter". (Krishna) is like the effulgent sun, which is
the shelter of a flood of light.
222-3 "Avyaya" (imperishable) and
"amrta" (eternal) modify eternal liberation. "Sasvata dharma" is
"bhagavad-dharma".
"Aikantika sukha" is "the sweet festival of loving
devotional service, by which the happiness of impersonal liberation is
completely eclipsed."
224 In Brahma-samhita (5.40):
"I worship Govinda, the primeval
Lord, who is endowed with great power.
The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the Impersonal
Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the
varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and
millions of universes."*
225 Explanation
The Brahman, which is described with
adjectives beginning with "niskala" (complete), and which has a
variety (bhinnam) of opulences (vibhuti) beginning with the earth and other
planets (vasudha-adi), is always the effulgence (prabha) of powerful (prabhava)
Govinda. I worship Govinda (govindam
aham bhajami). In this way the meaning
of the verse is made clear.
226 (Here someone may object) I understand your
argument. You have said that Shri
Krishna is an avatara of Lord Narayana, the master of Vaikunthaloka.
227 His birth and other pastimes and His
exalted nature declare that He is a vilasa-avatara of Lord Narayana.
228 Lord Narayana's supreme position is
described in the sruti, smrti and tantras.
No one is equal to or greater than Him.
Before the creation (of the material planets), during the Brahma-kalpa,
Lord Narayana revealed His own form in the Vaikuntha world to the demigod
Brahma.
229 (This is described) in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(2.9.9-16:)
"The Personality of Godhead,
being thus very much satisfied with the penance of Lord Brahma, was pleased to
manifest His personal abode. Vaikuntha, the supreme planet above all
others. This transcendental abode of the
Lord is adored by all self-realised persons freed from all kinds of miseries
and fear of illusory existence."*
230 "In that personal abode of the Lord,
the material modes of ignorance and passion do not prevail, nor is there any of
their influence in goodness. There is no
predominance of the influence of time, so what to speak of the illusory,
external energy, it cannot enter that region.
Without discrimination, both the demigods and the demons worship the
Lord as devotees.*
231 "The inhabitants of the Vaikuntha
planets are described as having a glowing sky-bluish complexion. Their eyes resemble lotus flowers, their
dress is of yellowish colour, and their bodily features very attractive. They are just the age of growing youths, they
all have four hands, they are all nicely decorated with pearl necklaces with
ornamental medallions, and they all appear to be effulgent. Some of them are effulgent like coral and
diamonds in complexion and have garlands on their heads, blooming like lotus
flowers, and some wear earrings.*
232 "The Vaikuntha planets are also
surrounded by various airplanes, all glowing and brilliantly situated. These airplanes belong to the great mahatmas
or devotees of the Lord. The ladies are
as beautiful as lightning because of their celestial complexions, and all these
combined together appear just like the sky decorated with both clouds and
lightning.*
233 "The goddess of fortune in her
transcendental form is engaged in the loving service of the Lord's lotus feet,
and being moved by the black bees, followers of spring, she is not only engaged
in variegated pleasure-service to the Lord, along with her constant
companions-but is also engaged in singing the glories of the Lord's
activities.*
234(a) "Lord Brahma saw in the Vaikuntha planets
the Personality of Godhead, who is the Lord of the entire devotee community,
the Lord of the goddess of fortune, the Lord of all sacrifices, and the Lord of
the universe, and who is served by the foremost servitors like Nanda, Sunanda,
Prabhala and Arhana, His immediate associates.*
234(b) "The Personality of Godhead, seen leaning
favourably towards His loving servitors, His very sight intoxicating and
attractive, appeared to be very much satisfied.
He had a smiling face decorated with an enchanting reddish hue. He was dressed in yellow robes and wore
earrings and a helmet on his head. He
had four hands and His chest was marked with the lines of the goddess of
fortune.*
234(c) "The Lord was seated on His throne and was
surrounded by different energies like the four, the sixteen, the five, and the
six natural opulences, along with other insignificant energies of the temporary
character. But He was the factual
Supreme Lord enjoying His own abode."*
235 (In the verse quoted in Text 229),
"yat" means "of which", "param" means
"further supreme" (there is no place superior to this abode),
"sanklesa" means "five kinds of material afflictions, beginning
with ignorance, "vimoha" means "illusion" and
"sadhvasam" means "fear of material existence". These material disadvantages do not exist in
that supreme abode, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead is personally
manifest, and where He is adored by they who are like Him.
236 (An explanation of the verse quoted in Text
230 follows:) There are the material modes of ignorance and passion do not
prevail, nor is there any of their influence in goodness. There are no material modes of nature, and
there is no predominance of the influence of time, which destroys all
things. There is no illusory, external
energy, the root of so many unwanted things, so how can there be the
mahat-tattva and other material transformation?
In this way the eternal perfection of Vaikunthaloka is described.
237 (An explanation of the verse quoted in Text
231 follows:) There are the great devotees of Lord Hari have complexions that are
either blue, red, green, or white. They
worship the Lord, who manifests forms with these different colours like those
of the Lord they worship. Or, from
beginningless time their bodily lustre is like the Lord's.
238 (An explanation of the verse quoted in Text
233 follows:) There goddess Shri, who is an amsa-avatara of Padma-devi, the
goddess of fortune, and who is the form of transcendental opulence,
respectfully engages in devotional service along with many different
transcendental opulences. The word
"kusumakara" means "springtime, the king of seasons", and
"anugaih" means "followers". The followers of spring are summer,
monsoon-season, and other seasons.
The goddess of fortune is also engaged
in singing the glories (gayati) of the Lord's activities (priya-karma). "Gayati" (singing) here is a
present-active-participle (satr), and "karma" (activities) is formed
by adding the affix "tin" to the verbal root "kr".
239-40 (An explanation of the verses quoted in texts
234a and b follows) He saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Vaikuntha
planets. How was the Lord
described? The very sight of the Lord
was intoxicating and attractive. Because
the appearance of the Lord created such intense bliss among the devotees, it is
said that the sight of the Lord was like an intoxication. The Lord is also described as being bluish in
complexion and dressed in yellow garments.
241 Text 234 c's description of the Lord's
Maha-yoga's potencies will now be explained in the words of Padma Purana,
Uttara-khanda:
242 "The Smrti-sastra describes four
potencies: 1. hladini (bliss), 2. kirti (fame), 3. karuna (mercy), and 4. tusti
(satisfaction). Sixteen potencies have
already been described.
243 "There are also five kinds of
knowledge, beginning with sankhya-yoga."
244 They are described in the Pancaratra:
"Sankhya, yoga, renunciation,
austerity, and devotional service to Lord Kesava are the five branches of
knowledge by which a wise man attains Lord Hari."
245 The Lord is surrounded by these 25
extraordinary potencies, beginning with opulence and piety, eternally. In the demigod Brahma and other jivas these
potencies are only briefly and slightly present. The Lord enjoys pastimes in His abode of
Vaikuntha eternally, what to speak of the pastimes He enjoys as the abode of
Goddess Shri.
246 In Bhargava-Tantra:
"The possessor of potencies (the
Supreme Personality of Godhead) and the potencies themselves (the individual
living entities) are not different. That
they are not different is explained in the passage beginning with the word
"sveccha".
247 Furthermore in Padma Purana (Uttara-khanda
255.57-64):
"On the border of the material
and spiritual worlds flows the auspicious Viraja river, whose waters were
manifest from the perspiration of the Personified Vedas.
248 "On the far shore of that river, in
the spiritual sky, is the eternal, imperishable, unlimited spiritual world,
which is three fourths of all existence, which is made of pure goodness, which
never decays, which is the abode of Brahman, which is splendid as countless
millions of suns and fires, which never withers, which contains all knowledge,
which is splendid, which is not touched by any of the periods of cosmic
devastation, which is immeasurable, which is free from old-age, which is the
eternal spiritual reality, which is free from material states beginning with
wakefulness and sleep, which has a golden splendour, which is the abode of
liberation, which brings spiritual bliss, which has no equal or superior, which
has no beginning or end, which is
auspicious, which is wonderfully glorious, which is charming, which is eternal,
and which is an ocean of bliss. These
are the qualities of Lord Vishnu's supreme abode.
249 "That abode of Lord Hari is not
illuminated by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. One who reaches it never returns to this
material world.
250 "Even in hundreds and millions of
Brahma's days one cannot completely describe this eternal and faultless abode
of Lord Vishnu."
251 As before (Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda
256,9-21):
"Very fortunate great souls who
serve the Lord's feet, who are filled with the nectar of loving service to feet
of Shri's husband, attain Lord Vishnu's supreme abode, which gives the bliss of
spiritual love. That is Lord Hari's
abode of Vaikuntha, which is filled with many cities, airplanes and jewel
palaces."
252 "In its midst is a splendid city named
Ayodhya surrounded by many walls colourful with gold and jewels, many jewel
arches, and four great doors.
253 "By gatekeepers headed by Canda, and
by Kumuda and others, it is protected.
Canda and Pracanda guard the eastern gate. Bhadra and Subhadra the southern gate, Jaya
and Vijaya the western gate, and Dhata and Vidhata the northern gate.
254 "Kumuda, Kumudaksa, Pundarkia, Vamana,
Sankukarna, Sarvanetra, Sumukha, and Supratisthita guard the directions of this
city, O beautiful-faced Parvati.
255 "it is filled with palaces brilliant
as millions of blazing fires. It is
filled with splendid men and women eternally in the perfection of youth.
256 "In the centre is the Lord's beautiful
place enclosed by jewel walls, beautiful with great gates, surrounded by many
vimanas and palaces, and decorated with splendid apsara women everywhere.
257 "In the centre is the king's splendid,
beautiful and very festive place, filled with jewels, containing thousands of
ruby pillars, filled with eternally liberated souls, and beautiful with songs
of the Sama Veda.
258 "In the centre of that place is a
beautiful and auspicious throne made of all the Vedas and surrounded by the eternal
personified Vedas and the deities of religion, knowledge, opulence, and
renunciation."
259 There also (in another passage of Padma
Purana, Uttara-khanda 256,23-54):
"In the centre reside the deities
of fire, sun and moon, Kurma-avatara, Ananta Sesa, and Garuda, the master of
the three Vedas. The Vedic hymns and all
sacred mantras also stay in that holy place, which is made of all the Vedas,
and which is known in the Smrti-sastra as the yoga-pitha.
260 "In the centre is an eight-petalled
lotus flower as brilliant as the rising sun, and in the centre of that flower
is the Gayatri mantra. O beautiful
Parvati, in that place the Supreme Personality of Godhead sits with the goddess
of fortune.
261 "He is young, dark as a blue lotus
petal, and splendid as millions of suns.
His limbs are splendid and handsome, and His features graceful and
delicate.
262 "His delicate hands and feet are like
blossoming red lotuses, His eyes are blossoming lotuses, and His graceful
eyebrows are two vines.
263 "His nose is handsome. His cheeks are handsome. His lotus mouth is handsome. He is glorious with teeth like a row of
pearls. His gracefully smiling coral
lips are handsome.
264 "His smiling lotus face is splendid as
a full moon. He shines with earrings the
colour of rising suns.
265 "He is glorious with glistening curly
black hair decorated with mandara and
parijata flowers.
266 "He is decorated with a Kaustubha
jewel splendid as the rising sun. He is
splendid with gold and pearl necklaces around His conchshell neck.
267 "He is glorious with four broad
powerful arms, with four broad lionlike shoulders. He is glorious with many bracelets, armlets,
and rings.
268 "His splendid broad chest is decorated
with forest garlands and with the kaustubha jewel and other ornaments splendid
as millions of rising suns.
269 "He is glorious with a lotus navel
that is Brahma's birthplace. He wears
fine yellow garments splendid as the rising sun.
270 "He is glorious with anklets wonderful
with many jewels. His nails are splendid
as glistening moons.
271 "He is more handsome than millions of
Kamadevas. He is an ocean of
handsomeness. His limbs are anointed
with glistening sandal paste. He is
decorated with a forest garland. He is
glorious with two raised hands holding a conch and cakra and His two other
hands granting blessings and fearlessness.
272 "Decorated with golden and silver
necklaces, beautiful golden Goddess Maha-Laksmi sits at His left.
273 "She has all virtues. Her form is always at the beginning of
youth. She wears jewel earrings. Her curly hair is black.
274 "Her limbs are anointed with
glistening sandal paste. She is
decorated with splendid flowers. Her
curly hair is decorated with mandara, ketaki and jati flowers.
275 "Her eyebrows are beautiful. Her nose is beautiful. Her hips are beautiful. She has large raised breasts. Her beautiful smiling lotus face is splendid
as the full moon.
276 "She is splendid with earrings the
colour of the rising sun. She is the
colour of molten gold. Her ornaments are
made of gold.
277 "She has four hands. She is decorated with a golden louts. She is decorated with a necklace of golden
lotuses wonderfully studded with many jewels.
She is decorated with rings, bracelets, armlets, and necklaces.
278 "Her two upraised hands hold two lotus
flowers, and her two other hands hold golden matulunga fruits.
279 "In this way the Supreme Personality
of Godhead eternally enjoys transcendental bliss in the company of His eternal
companion, Maha-Laksmi, in the eternal spiritual sky.
280-1 "O girl with the beautiful face, Bhu and
Lila stay at His sides, and the potencies headed by Vimala stay on the petals
in the eight directions. Vimala,
Utkarsini, Jnana, Kriya, Yoga, Prahvi, Satya, and Isana are the Lord's queens. Holding camaras splendid as nectar moons,
they please their husband, the infallible Lord.
282 "Decorated with all ornaments,
splendid as millions of blazing fires, filled with all virtues, their hands
lotus flowers and their faces like cooling moons, five hundred transcendental
apsaras reside in the inner rooms of the palace. Surrounded by them, the king, the Personality
of Godhead, shines with great splendour.
283 "Surrounded by the devotees headed by
Ananta Sesa, Garuda the king of birds, General Visvakena and other eternally
liberated associates, and accompanied by Goddess Rama, the Supreme Person
enjoys with great opulence."
284 Explanations
Because these things are materially
impossible, what has been directly and indirectly and again and again said here
should be accepted by philosophers on faith.
285 There (in Vaikuntha) the Vedas, which are
Lord Narayana's breath, have form. The
perspiration born from His limbs is supremely purifying.
286 Because it consists of three fourths of the
Lord's energy, the spiritual world is called tripad-bhuta. Being a manifestation of one fourth of the
Lord's energy, the material world is called eka-pad.*
287 In the verse quoted in Text 248,
"amrtam" means "nectar", "sasvatam" means
"ever new and fresh", "suddha-sattvam" means "not
material", and the series of words beginning with "nitya" and
"aksara" mean (that the spiritual world) is free from the six
material transformations.
Note: The six material transformations
are birth, growth, existence, change, decay, death.
288 Accompanied by Goddess Laksmi and other
associates, the catur-vyuha expansions headed by Lord Vasudeva are manifest in
the eight directions, beginning with the east.
289 In the directions beginning with the
southeast, the palaces of Laksmi, Sarasvati, Rati, and kanti respectively are
situated.
Note: The directions are southeast,
southwest, northwest, and northeast.
290 In the second part of the spiritual sky, 24
Vishnu-expansions, beginning with Lord Kesava, are manifest in the eight
directions and are counted in groups of three.
Note: These forms of the Lord are:
Kesava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudana, Trivikrama, Vamana,
Shridhara, Hrsikesa, Padmanabha, Damodara, Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Padyumna,
Aniruddha, Purusottama, Adhoksaja, Nrsimha, Acyuta, Janardana, Upendra, Hari
and Krishna.
291 In the third part of the spiritual sky, ten
incarnations of the Lord, beginning with Matsya and Kurma, are manifest in the
ten directions.
292 In the fourth part of the spiritual sky,
Satya, Acyuta, Ananta, Durga, Visvaksena, Gajanana, Sankhanidhi and Padmanidhi
are manifest in the eight directions.
293 In the fifth part of the spiritual sky, the
four Vedas, beginning with the Rg Veda, Savitri, Garuda, piety, and sacrifice
are manifest as before.
294 In the sixth part of the spiritual sky the
Lord's conch, cakra, club, lotus, sword, Sarnga bow, and club are
manifest. In the seventh part of the
spiritual sky the devotees headed by Indra are manifest.
295 (The Indra here is not the same as the
Indra in the material world. The
scriptures explain:)
"In the spiritual world the
Sadhyas, Maruts, and Visvadevas are all eternal. Other (Sadhyas, Maruts, and Visvadevas), who
are rulers of the three heavenly realms of the material world, are not
eternal."
296 74 forms of the Lord, beginning with the
form of Lord Vasudeva, are manifest on the same number (74) of planets in the
spiritual sky.
297 Bhrgu Muni and others have proved
(Shrimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter 89) that Lord Vishnu better than Siva
and Brahma. There again, the
purusa-avatara Lord Vasudeva is better than Lord Vishnu, and Lord Narayana, the
master of Maha-Vaikunthaloka is better than Lord Vasudeva.
298 Lord Siva, who is known as Sadasiva and
Sambhu, is manifest in the northeast part of Vaikunthaloka.
299 Therefore I say that They,
the original Personality of Godhead (Lord Narayana) and the vilasa-avatara
(Lord Krishna) are not different, because They are like one lamp that lights
another lamp.
Note: Here the imaginary opponent
concludes his attempt, begun in Text 226, to prove that Lord Narayana is the
original Personality of Godhead and Lord Krishna is expanded from Him. In the next verse Shrila Rupa Gosvami begins
his rebuttal.
300 O eloquent one, don't speak. You don't understand Krishna's great opulence
and sweetness.
301 Here Shrimad-Bhagavatam, which is the
mature fruit of the Vedic tree of knowledge and the essence of all Vedanta
philosophy, is the best of all evidence.
302 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (3.2.21):
"The Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Krishna, is the master of the three worlds and the three principal
demigods (Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva). No
one is equal to or greater than Him. By
His spiritual potency, known as svarajya-laksmi, all His desires are
fulfilled. While offering their dues and
presents in worship, the predominating deities of the planets touch the lotus
feet of the Lord with their helmets. They
offer prayers to the Lord."*
303 Explanation
This verse states that no one
is equal to (asamya) or greater than (atisaya) Lord Krishna. Because Lord Krishna is described as better
than all others forms of the Lord, it is shown that He is also better than Lord
Narayana, the master of Vaikuntha.
304 The use of the word "svayam"
shows that Lord Krishna is not dependant on anyone else.
305 (In Shrimad-Bhagavatam 9.11.20), Lord
Ramacandra is described as "without equal or superior". However, because He is not described as
"svayam" (independent) He is not independent of Lord Krishna. Because He enjoys humanlike pastimes as Lord
Krishna does, the form of Lord Ramacandra is most dear to Lord Krishna.
306 The words of Lord Krishna in Brahmanda
Purana:
"Matsya, Kurma, and many
others are My personally forms. Still,
Ramacandra, the son of Dasaratha, is most dear to My heart."
307 "Svayam tv asamyatisayah" (Lord
Krishna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, without equal or
superior, Shrimad-Bhagavatam 3.2.21) and "krishnas tu bhagavan
svayam" (Shri Krishna is the Original Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Shrimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.28) are two quotes that describe Lord Krishna's supreme
power and opulence. Because He is not
dependent on any form of the Lord, Krishna is the best.
308 The word "tryadhisa" (the lord of
all kinds of threes) used in the verse quoted in Text 302 may be interpreted to
mean "He who is the master of Dvaraka, Mathura, and Goloka, or it may mean
"He who is the master of the three purusa-avataras, Karanokadasayi Vishnu,
the master of the material energy, Garbhodakasayi
Vishnu, who appears as the Universal Form, and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, the
all-pervading Supersoul."
309 The word
"svarajya-laksmy-apta-samasta-kamah" means that all the Lord's
desires are fulfilled. "Sva"
may mean "by Himself" or "by His own supreme potency",
"svarajya", which comes from the verb "raj", means
"supreme independence", "laksmi" means "supreme
opulence", and "apta-samasta-kamah" means "He whose every
desire is perfectly fulfilled".
310 "Cira" means "They who live
for a very long time", "loka-palaih" means "by the demigods
headed by Brahma", ""kirita-kotya" means "with
millions of helmets", "idita" means "honoured by
prayers", and "pada-pithah" means "the feet on His
transcendental form."
311 When the demigods' helmets, studded with diamonds
and other jewels, collided together at the Lord's feet, they made a flood of
sound considered here to be prayers.
This is an utpreksa metaphor, where different things are assumed to be
identical.
312 The demigods headed by Brahma perform their
prescribed duties, and thus follow the Lord's orders. That is the offering described here.
SRILA RUPA
GOSVAMI'S
SRI
LAGHU-BHAGAVATAMRTA
Volume Three
Lord Krishna
is the creator of the numberless universes
A story of
Lord Brahma
The structure
of the universes
The gopis
Shri
Vrndavana
Lord Balarama
Laksmi-devi
cannot attain Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama
Lord
Krishna's holy name
Lord Krishna
is original Personality of Godhead
All the
avataras are present in Lord Krishna's form
The Pastimes
of the avataras are manifest in Vrndavana
Although
Krishna is unborn He takes birth
The
revelation of Lord Krishna's form
Lord Krishna
is not formless
Lord Krishna
reveals Himself by His own wish
Lord
Krishna's pastimes are eternal
Lord
Krishna's prakata and aprakata pastimes
Nanda and
Yasoda
Lord
Krishna's return to Vraja
Laksmana
enters the spiritual world
Lord
Krishna's aprakata pastimes in Dvaraka
The different
parts of Lord Krishna spiritual abode
Lord
Krishna's sweetness
Part Two
Shri
Bhaktamrta
The Nectar of
Shri Krishna's Devotees page 17
The devotees
should be worshipped
Prahlada
Maharaja
The Pandavas
The Yadus
Uddhava
The gopis
Shrimati
Radharani
313 Now some passages from the Puranas will be
quoted.
314 Unlimited variegated material universes are
manifested by the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
315 Many universes, some as large as one
billion yojanas in measurement, are manifested from the variegated potencies of
Lord Hari.
Note: One yojana equals eight miles.
316 Some universes are one billion yojanas in
diameter, others are 1000 billion x 10,000 yojanas in diameter, and still
others are 100 million billion x 100 yojanas in diameter.
317 Some universes contain 20 plenary systems,
others contain fifty planetary systems, and others contain 70 planetary
systems. Other universes contain a
hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or a hundred-thousand planetary systems.
318 In each universe there is a great community
of demigods headed by Brahma. These
demigods are the possessors of thousands and thousand of great powers and
opulences. In some universes Indra and
his associates live for 100 maha-kalpas, and Brahma and his associates have a
life-span of 100 million billion maha-kalpas.
Note: One maha-kalpa equals 432
million earth years.
319 The demigods beginning with Brahma and
Indra are described in the verse quoted in Text 302, where it is said that the
demigods, who live for a very long time, touch the lotus feet of the Lord with
their millions of helmets and thus offer prayers to the Lord.
320 One day, when Lord Krishna was in the
Sudharma assembly house in Dvaraka city, the palace doorman approached the Lord
and said that the demigod Brahma was waiting at the door, eager to see the
Lord's lotus feet.
321 The Lord asked: "Which Brahma has come
to the door? Please ask him. Hearing the Lord's words, the doorman went
again, asked him, returned, and said to Lord Krishna: "He is the
four-headed Brahma, the father of the Four Kumaras."
322 When Lord Hari said, "Bring
him." Brahma was brought in. Brahma fell down like a stick to offer
obeisances. Krishna asked him, "Why
did you come here?" Brahma replied,
"Lord, later I will tell why I have come, but first I wish to know why You
asked, 'Which Brahma?' Lord, there is no Brahma other than me.
323 Lord Krishna smiled and meditated. The demigods from ten million universes then
hurried to Dvaraka city. Among the many
Brahmas some had eight heads, some sixty-four heads, some a hundred heads, some
a thousand heads, some a hundred thousand heads, and some ten million
heads. Among the many Sivas some had
twenty heads, some fifty heads, some a hundred thousand heads and arms. Among the many Indras some had a hundred
thousand eyes, and some had a million eyes.
Many other demigods, with many kinds of forms and ornaments, also
came. Then they all approached Lord
Krishna and bowed down before His lotus feet.
When the four-headed Brahma saw all this he became mad with wonder.
324 In Vishnu-dharma Purana, Uttara-khanda, it
is said that all the material universes have the same structure and the same
kind of residents:
325 "O king, all material universes have
the same form. They have the same
regions and the same kinds of living entities."
326 A resolution of the apparent contradiction
is given here.
Note: The story of the many Brahmas
shows that the demigods have different forms from one universe to the
next. The statement of Text 325 affirms
that their forms are the same.
327 In Kurma Purana:
"When contradictions are found in
the Vedic scripture, it is not that one statement is wrong. Rather, both statements should be seen in
such a way that there is no contradiction."
328 At a certain time Lord Hari destroys all
the material universes in a single moment.
329 In Vishnu-dharma Purana, Uttara-khanda:
"As I have already explained to
you, Lord Hari destroys all the numberless material universes at the same time,
and then the universes remain in their unmanifest state within the material
energy, prakrti. This is known as the
Lord's night."
330 After destroying them, the Lord creates the
universes again. Sometimes He makes them
all different, and sometimes He makes them all the same.
331 Thus we have spoken the introduction to the
topic we will address in writing.
332 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (3.2.12):
"The Lord appeared in the mortal
world by His internal potency, yoga-maya.
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 opulence, including the Lord
Himself in His form as the Lord of Vaikuntha.
This His (Shri Krishna's) transcendental body is the ornament of all
ornaments."*
333 Explanation
In this verse "martya-lilaupayikam"
(just suitable for His pastimes in the mortal world) modifies
"bimbam" (form) in the previous verse.
334 Because of their wonderful and variegated
sweetness, heroism, opulence, and other transcendental qualities, the
human-like pastimes of the Supreme Lord charm the heart more than His pastimes
as a demigod or other being.
335 The word "bimbam"
(Shrimad-Bhagavatam 3.2.11) refers to He who is the origin of all the Lord's
forms full of six opulences.
336 Because He is the abode of all virtue and
handsomeness, it is said He is the right person to enjoy wonderful humanlike
pastimes.
337 In the verse quoted in Text 332,
"sva-yoga-maya" means "the Lord's spiritual potency",
"balam" means "power" and "darsayata" means
"revealing". It is as if the
Lord said, "See the wonderful power of My spiritual potency, even the
slightest fragrance of which is not manifest even in the highest planets of the
material world!" By this potency
the Lord reveals His form, which charms the entire world. That is the meaning of the word
"sva-yoga-maya" hear.
338 This form fills even Lord Narayana and the
other avataras with great and new wonder.
339 "Saubhagarddheh" means "the
highest, most wonderful handsomeness" and "param padam" means
"He who is the abode of the most exalted eternal opulence."
340 "Bhusana" refers to the Kaustubha
gem, shark-shaped earrings and other ornaments decorating the Lord's body. Here it is said that the Lord's form has no
equal or superior.
341 Because He is eternal and full of knowledge
and bliss, there is no difference between the Lord and His form. The idea that they are different is only an
imagination.
342 In Kurma Purana:
"For the Supreme Lord there is no
difference between His body and His self."
343 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.44.14) in the
words of the women of Mathura city:
"What austerities must the gopis
have performed? With their eyes they
always drink the nectar of the face of Lord Krishna, which is the essence of
loveliness and is not to be equalled or surpassed. That loveliness is the only abode of beauty,
fame and opulence. It is self-perfect,
ever fresh and extremely rare."*
344 In the words of Lord Krishna to Lord
Balarama (Shrimad-Bhagavatam 10.15.8):
"This land Vrndavana (Vrajabhumi)
is glorified today. Your lotus feet have
touched the earth and grass, Your fingers have touched the trees and creepers,
and Your merciful eyes have glanced upon rivers, hills, birds, and beasts. The gopis have been embraced by Your arms and
even the goddess of fortune desires this. Now all of these are glorified."*
345 Explanation
His heart overcome with bliss by
seeing the sweetness of Shri Vrndavana and its residents, Lord Hari praised
them in the beginning of this prayer.
Then, seeing that Lord Balarama was the origin of their excellences,
Lord Hari praised Him.
346 This verse should not be taken as a serious
description of Lord Balarama's superiority over Lord Krishna. Rather, Lord Krishna is speaking playful
joking words out of friendship for Lord Balarama.
347 In this verse Lord Krishna explains that
the gopis are embraced by Lord Balarama to His chest. Even the goddess of fortune aspires to be
embraced in this way by Lord Balarama.
348 Although the goddess of fortune,
Laksmi-devi, aspired for the embrace of Lord Balarama, she never became worthy
to attain it.
349 Although Shrimati Laksmi-devi eternally
remains on the chest of Lord Narayana, the master of the Vaikuntha planets, she
aspires to rest on the chest of Lord Krishna.
This means that she considers the form of Lord Krishna superior to the
form of Lord Narayana.
350 The story (of Shrimati Laksmi-devi's
attempt to attain Lord Krishna) is described in the Puranas. A summary of that account is written here.
351 Seeing Krishna's handsomeness, and becoming
very greedy to attain Him, Laksmi-devi performed great austerities for that
purpose. When Krishna noticed her
austerities, He said to her, "Why do you perform austerities?" She replied, "I wish to become a gopi
and enjoy pastimes with You in Vraja."
He said, "That is very difficult to attain." She said, "Lord, I then wish to become a
golden line on Your chest." He
said, "So be it." Then she
assumed that form and stayed on His chest.
352 The wives of the Kaliya serpent allude to
this story in these words of Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.16.36):
"O Lord, we do not know how the
serpent Kaliya attained such a opportunity to be touched by the dust of Your
lotus feet. For this end, the goddess of
fortune performed austerities for centuries, giving up all other desires, and
taking austere vows."*
353 The glory of Krishna's holy name is said to
be greater than that of any other name of the Lord.
354 In Brahmanda Purana:
"The pious results derived from
chanting the thousand names of Lord Vishnu three times can be attained by only
one repetition of the holy name of Krishna."*
355 In Skanda Purana:
"Lord Krishna's holy name, which
is the sweetest of sweet things, the most auspicious of auspicious things, and
the transcendental fruit of the vine of all Vedic literature, delivers, O best
of the Bhrgus, anyone who, either with faith or contempt, chants it even
once."
356 Because the scriptures use the word
"svayam" (personally) again and again to describe Him, Lord Krishna
is the original Personality of Godhead.
In Shrimad-Bhagavatam and other scriptures Lord Krishna is declared to
be the original form (svayam-rupa) of the Personality of Godhead.
357 In Brahma-samhita (5.1):
"Krishna, who is known as Govinda,
is the supreme controller. He has an
eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is
the origin of all. He has no other
origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes."*
358 Again in Brahma-samhita (5.39):
"I worship Govinda, the primeval
Lord, who by His various plenary portions appeared in the world in different
forms and incarnations such as Lord Rama, but who personally appears in His
supreme original form as Lord
Krishna."
359 Therefore Lord Narayana, the master of
Vaikuntha, is a vilasa-avatara of Lord Krishna.
360 The prayers of the Personified Vedas
contain the essence of knowledge.
Understanding that essence of knowledge, Narada Muni offered obeisances
to Lord Krishna, and said (Shrimad Bhagavatam 10.87.46):
361 "I offer my respectful obeisances to
Lord Krishna, the Original Supreme Personality of Godhead."
362 Here someone may object: Lord Krishna was
born in the Yadu dynasty at the end of the Dvapara-yuga. How can Lord Narayana, the master of
Vaikunthaloka, who has no beginning, be a vilasa-avatara of Him?
363 I reply: Don't speak in this way. Although He has no beginning, He plays the
pastime of taking birth. Again and again
Lord Krishna appears by His own wish.
364 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (3.2.15):
"The Personality of Godhead, the
all-compassionate controller of both the spiritual and material creations, is
unborn, but when there is friction between His peaceful devotees and persons
who are in the material modes of nature, He takes birth just like fire,
accompanied by the mahat-tattva."*
365 Explanation
Here "sva" means "the
devotees" and "sva-santa-rupesu" describes their nature. "Santi" means "faith in the
Lord", and "santa" means "they who have faith in the
Lord."
366 The devotees here are 1. those headed by Maharaja Vasudeva, 2. those
headed by Maharaja Nanda, and 3. the sadhus.
The "itaraih" (others) are they who oppose the devotees. They are 1.
those headed by King Kamsa, and 2. those headed by other demons. "Svarupaih" means "very (su)
ugly (arupa)". That is the meaning
here.
367 "Abhyardyamanesu" means
"harassed from all directions", "anukampitatma" means
"He whose heart is full of compassion, para means those places, headed by
Goloka Vrndavana, that are free from the touch of the illusory energy", "avara" means "the material
universes, which are under the spell of the illusory energy," and
"isa" means "the controller of both the spiritual and material
creations."
368 "Mahat" means "They who are
great". Here it refers to Lord
Narayana, the master of Vaikuntha, and to the catur-vyuha expansions beginning
with Lord Vasudeva.
369 Lord Krishna's expansions (krishna vyuha)
are superior to Lord Narayana's expansions, which are headed by Lord
Vasudeva. Lord Krishna's expansions join
with Their vilasa-avataras, Lord Narayana's expansions, and as one They appear
in this world.
370 The "amsas" here are the famous
purusa-avataras, as well as Ramacandra, Nrsimha, Varaha, Vamana, Nara's friend
(Narayana Rsi), Hayagriva, Ajita, and others.
371 All these incarnations are eternally
present in Lord Krishna.
372 For this reason the pastimes of these
avataras are seen in Vrndavana.
373 Lord Narayana's pastimes are seen in the
wonderful display to Lord Brahma in Vrndavana of millions of universes and
their demigods. This pastime is
understood to be manifested by the Lord's amsa-avatara.
374 The pastimes of Lord Vasudeva and other
avataras are seen in Mathura, Dvaraka, and other places as well as in the
Lord's childhood pastimes in Vraja. When
Shridama assumed the form of Garuda, Krishna assumed a four-armed form, and
when the Adityas approached Him, the Lord manifested twelve arms.
375 The pastimes of killing the demons are
performed by Lord Sankarsana. Also, the
forms of Lord Pradyumna and Lord Aniruddha are eternally present in the
district of Mathura, as confirmed by the Gopala-tapani Upanisad, Varaha Purana,
and other Vedic Literatures.
376 In this way the Deities headed by the Lord
who rests on Ananta manifest the purusa-avataras' pastimes in the district of
Mathura.
377 Whenever Lord Krishna displayed a pastime
it was recorded in the narrations of the Puranas.
378 Whatever forms, beginning with the form of
Lord Ramacandra, Lord Krishna manifested in His pastimes are present even today
in Mathura district.
379 Once a hundred million billion cows in Vrndavana produced a great ocean of
milk. Krishna then assumed the form of
the avatara Ajita and with the gopas, who had become devas and asuras, churned
it.
380 In Brahmanda Purana:
"The Supreme Personality in
Vaikuntha, who has four arms, is the master of Svetadvipa, and Nara-Narayana
Rsi are Nanda's son, who enjoys pastimes in the land of Vrndavana.
381 "Lord Krishna has limitless avataras
that all enchant the heart. As hundreds
and thousand of sparks (come from) a great fire and then enter it again, so
(numberless avataras come from) Lord Hari, and then enter Him again."
382 In this way the word
"mahad-amsa-yuktah", which refers to the amsa-avataras of the
all-powerful Lord, is explained.
383 According to the intimate relationships
between Shri Krishna, the primeval Lord, and His devotees, the Puranas describe
Him by various names. Sometimes He is
called Narayana; sometimes Upendra (Vamana), the younger brother of Indra, king
of heaven; and sometimes Ksirodakasayi Vishnu.
Sometimes He is called the thousand-hooded Sesa Naga and sometimes the
Lord of Vaikuntha.*
384 Now that this has been explained, I will
again write about the original subject of our discussion.
385 Although Lord Krishna is unborn, He takes
birth.
386 Here someone may object: How is it possible
for a person to be unborn and again to take birth? This statement is self-contradictory.
Thinking someone may say this, I
reply: The Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses inconceivable power and
opulence.
387 As the element fire, which is present in
many different substances, sometimes, for certain reasons, becomes manifest in
firewood, a jewel, or something else, so Lord Krishna sometimes, for certain
reasons, manifests His birth and other pastimes.
388 By manifesting the glory of His pastimes He
shows mercy to the devotees. That is the
great reason He reveals the pastimes that begin with His birth.
389 To show mercy to His devotees when they are
troubled by fearful demons is another reason for (His appearance in this
world).
390 Brahma and other demigods' appeal that the
Lord remove the burden of the earth planet is only a secondary reason. (It is not as important as the other
reasons).
391 Even today, if a sincere devotee earnestly
longs to see Lord Krishna's pastimes, the Lord who is an ocean of mercy, will
show them.
392 Even today, some rare exalted devotees,
overcome with pure love for Krishna, are able to see Shri Krishna enjoying
pastimes in Vrndavana.
393 If Lord's personal associates have eternal
forms, why should it be surprising that the Lord Himself has an eternal form?
394 To silence they who have faith in dry
logic, I now write some quotes from the Puranas.
395 In Brahma's prayers in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(10.14.22):
"O Krishna, this universe appears
real because it is manifested by the potency of illusion emanating from You,
whose unlimited transcendental forms are full of eternal happiness and
knowledge."***
386 In Shri Brahmanda Purana:
"Lord Hari's form has neither
beginning nor end. What are called its
birth and death are only His coming and going (from the material world).
397 In Brhad-Vishnu Purana:
"The Supreme Personality of
Godhead is the master of the universes.
His avataras are eternal. His
form is eternal. His handsomeness is
eternal. His fragrance is eternal. His opulence and bliss are eternal.
398 In Padma Purana (Patala-khanda 73.12-13),
Shrila Vyasadeva's words to Shri Krishna, revealed in a conversation with
Maharaja Ambarisa:
"O Krishna, the Upanisads
describe You as the Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Truth and the creator and
master of the universes. O Lord I desire
to see You with my own eyes. O Lord,
please let me see You."
399 Shri Krishna's reply (Padma Purana,
Patala-khanda 73.17-19):
"Lord Krishna then said to me,
"Look! I will show you My form, which is hidden from the Vedas." O king, then I saw the infallible Lord as a
cowherd boy, splendid as a dark cloud, dressed in yellow garments, sitting at
the base of a kadamba tree, laughing with the cowherd boys, and surrounded by
gopis.
400 There (Padma Purana, Patala-khanda
73.23-25)
"Smiling
as He walked through Vrndavana, Lord Krishna said: 'This form of Mine you have
seen is eternal, transcendental, faultless, free from karma, peaceful, eternal,
full of knowledge, blissful, perfect, complete, and handsome with lotus-petal
eyes.
401 "The Vedas say this form is the
original cause of all causes and is real, all-pervading, blissful, spiritual,
eternal, and auspicious."
402 In Shri Vasudeva Upanisad (3.5):
"By devotional service one may
understand My eternal spiritual form, which is full of knowledge and bliss,
self-effulgent, free from material duality and without beginning, middle or
end."
403 Here someone may object: Is it not true
that the Supreme Lord is actually formless, but He creates an illusory form of
Himself as Krishna so He may be visible (to the conditioned souls)?
404 The Lord's statement in Moksa-dharma
(Mahabharata, Santi-parva 341.33.45):
"You don't understand Me. You see that I have a form. If I wish I can destroy everything in a
moment. I am the Supreme Lord, the master
of the universes.
405 "O Narada, this form of Mine that you
are seeing is created by Me. It is made
of all material elements and modes of nature. You are not able to understand My
actual nature."
406 In Padma Purana:
"The sruti and smrti-sastras
proclaim that the Supreme Controller, Lord Hari, is ultimately formless,
nameless and inactive."
407 To this objection I reply: This is explained in Shri Vasudevadhyatma:
"Because no one can understand
all His qualities, the Supreme Lord is called 'nameless'. Because His form is not material, He is
called 'formless'. Because He does not
perform material acts, the wise call the ancient Supreme Person 'inactive'.
408 The quote from Moksa-dharma (Text 404)
should be interpreted in this way:
409 That quote should be interpreted to mean:
"Don't think My form is like the material form of a conditioned
soul."
410 By stating that the Lord's form is
invisible, (this quote) shows that His form is not material.
411 In the second half of this verse (Text 404)
Lord Krishna explains that He reveals His form according to His own wish, which
cannot be thwarted. Again, He says that
if He wishes, in a moment He can become invisible. The word "nasyeyam" here means
"I may become invisible".
412 The next verse from the Moksa-dharma
(quoted in Text 405), should be interpreted in this way: "O Narada if you
think that My form is a product of the illusory material energy (yan mam
pasyasi narada sarva-bhuta-gunair yuktam), then please understand that such a
conception is simply an illusion I have Myself created (maya hy esa maya srsta). You should not think that My form is at all
material (naivam tvam jnatum arhasi.)"
413 Sometimes the word "maya" is used
to mean the Lord's transcendental potency.
414 In Catur-veda-sikha:
"The Lord possesses an internal
potency named 'maya'. For this reason
the sages call eternal Lord Vishnu, 'maya-maya' (the master of the internal
potency known as maya)."
This verse from Sruti-sastra is quoted
by Shripada Madhvacarya in his commentary (on Vedanta-sutra).
415 That Lord Krishna reveals Himself by His
own wish is described in Moksa-dharma (Mahabharata, Santi parva 338.13-20):
"When He is pleased, the eternal
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the master of the demigods, shows
Himself. Otherwise He is invisible.
416 "(Once, while performing an
agnihotra-yajna, the priest) Brhaspati became angry. He raised the sacrificial ladle and
repeatedly struck the sky. He shed tears
of anger.
417 "(After the sacrifice was concluded),
the various demigods all arrived, each claiming his share of the sacrificial
results. Then it was asked, "Why
did Lord Hari not show Himself?"
418 "Then Uparicara Vasu and all the
members of the assembly pacified the sage by saying:
419 "The Supreme Lord Hari only accepts
those sacrificial offerings given in an unangry frame of mind. (Because he became angry during the course of
this sacrifice) neither you nor we were able to see the Lord. O Brhaspati, only one who attains the mercy
of Lord Hari is able to see Him."
420 In the same scripture the words of the
three sages Ekata, Dvita, and Trita (Mahabharata, Santi-parva 338,25-27):
"When their vow was completed the
disembodied voice of a goddess who is very pleasing to the Lord said with sweet
and deep words, 'You devotees are still attached to philosophical
speculation. How can you see the
all-powerful Lord?"
421 By the agency of His prakasa potency, which
reveals Him according to His own wish, the Lord appears before the eyes. Otherwise He is not within the eye's range of
perception.
422 In Shri Narayanadhyatma:
"The eternally invisible Supreme
Lord may be seen with (the help of) His own transcendental potency. Without it who can see the limitless
Lord?"
423 In Padma Purana:
"Because His form is eternal and
full of knowledge and bliss, Lord Krishna is beyond the perception of the
senses. By the power of His own
transcendental potency the Lord shows Himself to His devotees."
424 Shri Krishna's form is situated in one
place, and it is also all-pervading. It
is manifest in these two way simultaneously.
425 In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.9.13-14):
"The Supreme Personality of
Godhead has no beginning and no end, no exterior and no interior, no front and
no rear. In other words, He is
all-pervading. because He is not under
the influence of the element of time, for Him there is no difference between
past, present and future; He exists in His own transcendental form at all
times. Being absolute, beyond
relativity, He is free from distinctions between cause and effect, although He
is the cause and effect of everything.
That unmanifested person, who is beyond the perception of the senses, has now appeared as
a human child, and mother Yasoda, considering Him her own ordinary child, bound
Him to the wooden mortar with a rope."*
426 In the pastime of being bound with a rope,
as described in these two verses, Lord Krishna, the prince of Vraja, appeared
in these two ways (situated in one place and all-pervading).
427 In the Shrimad-Bhagavatam and other
Puranas, the eternality of Lord Krishna's pastimes is clearly described.
428 The words of Dvaraka's residents in
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (1.10.26):
"Oh, how supremely glorified is
the dynasty of King Yadu, and how virtuous is the land of Mathura, where the
Supreme leader of living beings, the husband of the goddess of fortune, has
taken His birth and wanders in His childhood."*
429 The use of the present tense in the word
"ancati" in the words of the Dvaraka residents declares that the
Lord's pastimes are eternal.
430 In Sukadeva Gosvami's words in Shrimad-Bhagavatam
(10.90.48):
"Lord Shri Krishna is He who is
known as Jana-nivasa, the ultimate resort of all living entities and who is
also known as Devaki-nandana or Yasoda-nandana, the son of Devaki and
Yasoda. He is the guide of the Yadu
dynasty, and with His mighty arms He kills everything inauspicious as well as
every man who is impious. By His
presence He destroys all things, inauspicious for all living entities, moving
and inert. His blissful smiling face
always increases the lusty desires of the gopis of Vrndavana. May He be all
glorious and happy!"*
431 Shri Narada's words to Shri Yudhisthira in
Skanda Purana, Mathura-khanda:
"Krishna is enjoying pastimes in
Vrndavana with Balarama, the cowherd boys, calves and young cows."
432 When the two (Narada and Yudhisthira) spoke
Lord Krishna was in Dvaraka. The
present-tense in this verse, therefore, proclaims that these pastimes are
eternal.
433 Lord Siva's words to Parvati-devi in Padma
Purana, Patala-khanda:
"This sage and all the demigods
always yearn to reside in auspicious Mathura-puri, where Krishna, killer of
Kamsa stays."
434 The people of Vraja, the Yadavas, the
demigods headed by Brahma, Indra, and Kuvera's sons (Nalakuvara and Manigriva),
the sages headed by Narada, and others headed by demons, snakes and yaksas are
the Lord's associates in His pastimes.
435 The Lord's pastimes are said to be of two
kinds: 1. prakata (manifest) and 2. aprakata (not manifest).
436 Expanded in limitless forms, Lord Krishna
eternally enjoys many pastimes.
Sometimes Lord Krishna in one of His forms manifests in the material
universe His birth and His pastimes with His associates.
437 According to Shri Krishna's wish, His
pastime potency arranges the different natures of His different close
associates.
438 The Lord's pastimes that are visible in the
material world are called 'prakata' (manifest). Other pastimes, which are not visible in the
material world, are called 'aprakata' (not manifest).
439 In His prakata pastimes, Lord Krishna
travels from Gokula to Mathura to Dvaraka.
440 In each of these places His aprakata
pastimes are present. This is stated
again and again in Shrimad-Bhagavatam 10.90.48 (quoted in Text 430).
441 By Brahma's order Maharaja Vasudeva and the
other associates of the Lord incarnate, by their partial expansions, in the
upper material planets as Kasyapa Muni and others. Then, at the appropriate time, these
expansions merge into their origins, the forms of Maharaja Vasudeva and the
other devotees that eternally enjoy pastimes with the Lord.
442 Lord Krishna, who