Author Name: Keshav Kashmiri

Author Profile: https://www.quora.com/profile/Keshav-Kashmiri

Date: 30th June 2022

Subject: Position of ISKCON/ Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya on relation between Lord Vishnu
and Lord Krishna

Important request to readers: The subject is volatile, and the answer is VERY lengthy. Looking
at the doubts and questions that often float on Quora and other such public forums on this subject
matter, I decided to write on this topic, once and for all. I have tried my best to do complete justice,
considering the gravity of the question. Nevertheless, during my explanation, if any of the point
offends any of the Vaishnavas, especially non-Gaudiyas, please forgive me. I sincerely don’t
intend to do the same. I am writing this answer only to properly represent the position of Gaudiya
Vaishnavas on this subject matter and thereby render service to my Guru Parampara.

Some Hindus have been criticizing ISKCON’s position on this single topic, including some
Vaishnavas. However, what is unfortunate is that most of them have been misrepresenting the
position of ISKCON on this matter by presenting only one side, that too partially. Thus, I felt
inspired to write on this topic and clarify the position of Gaudiya Vaishnavas, knowing well the
controversial nature of this topic.

I would request readers to provide their valuable feedback in the comment section below ONLY
after reading the complete answer. If one reads it partially or casually, one is bound to get confused
or bewildered. Thus, request readers to read slowly and carefully, in your free time. If anyone reads
this answer thoroughly, he/she will have lots of take-away points for their own reconsideration, if
not a change of mind. With this request, let me begin my dissertation on the topic of the relation
between Lord Vishnu and Lord Krishna and the position of ISKCON/Gaudiya Sampradaya on
this.

At the outset, let me acknowledge and thrust upon the fact that Vishnu tattva is extraordinarily
complex. It is not easy to understand this tattva without carrying out thorough analysis of the Vedic
corpus, the authorized insights of the Vaishnava acharyas, and the mercy of the Lord. Even then,
my analysis will be like a drop in the ocean, for such is the glory of Lord Vishnu. I don’t claim
that I understand Vishnu tattva. But only thing I can claim is that I would write following in the
footsteps of my Guru Parampara.
Before beginning, let’s see what Lord Brahma says about Vishnu tattva

jānanta eva jānantu

kiṁ bahūktyā na me prabho

manaso vapuṣo vāco

vaibhavaṁ tava go-caraḥ

‘’Lord Brahma says: There are people who say, “I know everything about Kṛṣṇa.” Let them think
that way. As far as I am concerned, I do not wish to speak very much about this matter. O my
Lord, let me say this much: As far as Your opulences are concerned, they are all beyond the reach
of my mind, body, and words.’’- Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.28

Thus, I don’t think I can describe the glories of Lord Krishna exhaustively, but nevertheless, I will
try to indicate it. As Mahaprabhu states

apāra aiśvarya kṛṣṇera — nāhika gaṇana

śākhā-candra-nyāye kari dig-daraśana

“No one can estimate the opulence of Kṛṣṇa. That is unlimited. However, just as one sees the moon
through the branches of a tree, I wish to give a little indication.” (CC. Madhya 21.30)

Let me now begin my answer.

VEDIC HERMENEUTICS

Before going into the core discussion, let me first establish few things related to hermeneutics in
play behind the Vedic exegesis. Unless one understands it, any kind of cursory reading of the
scriptures or hearsay is bound to fail. Unfortunately, it is due to lack of hermeneutical knowledge,
general readers or Hindus are misinformed on the position of ISKCON on this topic.

Let me give one simple example of the hermeneutics.

Avatāra: We often use the word ‘avatara’. However, what does the word ‘avatara’ mean?

We often loosely translate it as ‘incarnation’. Unfortunately, this is just a loose English equivalent,
not an exact translation. To accommodate the broad English audience, we have been using this
word or so to say for the lack of better word, but the word ‘incarnation’ doesn’t do full justice to
the original sanskrit word ‘avatara’. Let’s see why.
The word ‘incarnation’ originates from the root word ‘’carnal’’ meaning flesh. Thus, the whole
word ‘incarnation’ means ‘taking on flesh’ or ‘embodied in flesh’. When a divine assumes or
enters in a human form (earthly or material form made up of five material elements, known as
pancha-mahabhuta), it is known as incarnation.

However, those who are well-versed with the Vedic knowledge would understand the implication
and limitation of the above word. The scriptures state that God’s form is transcendental. Even
when God appears in material world for performing various pastimes (lila), His form remains non-
material. He simply manifests or displays His eternal spiritual form in the material world and,
when He decides to withdraw His form from our vision, He simply un-manifests His form and
continues His eternal lila with the self-same form in the spiritual world. In this way, Lord ‘s
pastimes continue eternally. Thus, scriptures declare that the form of Lord is eternal truth. Since
the word ‘incarnation’’ has a connotation of material imposition on the divine form of the Lord, it
is not considered a proper word to describe the descent of the Lord. Nevertheless, we use the term
‘incarnation’ for the lack of better English equivalent. The other close English equivalent of the
word ‘avatara’ is ‘divine descent’. In my answer, however, I would restrict myself to the word
‘incarnation’ only, for the sake of brevity and the ease of acceptance of the readers.

DEFINITION OF ‘AVATARA’

Let me now properly define the word ‘avatara’. The word ‘’avatara’’ literally means divine descent
of the Lord from the spiritual world.

Srila Jiva Goswami, in his Krishna Sandarbha, Text 13, provides following definition of avatara

avatarash ca prakrita-vaibhave 'vataranam iti jneyam

‘’The word ‘avatara’ is defined as the descent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead into the
material world.’’

Another definition is given in Chaitanya Charitamrta Madhya Lila 20.264 as follows

māyātīta paravyome sabāra avasthāna

viśve avatari' dhare 'avatāra' nāma

‘’All the forms of God reside in spiritual world. However, when they descend into the material
world, they are called incarnations [avatāras].’’
Further, in Padma Purana, it is stated as follows

vaikuntha-bhuvane nitye

nivasanti mahojjvalah

avatarah sada tatra

matsya-kurmadayo 'khilah"

‘’All the splendid avataras, beginning with Matsya and Kurma, eternally reside in the eternal realm
of Vaikuntha." (Verse quoted in Laghu bhagavatmrta, verse 70)

Similarly, Varaha Purana says

sarve nityāḥ śāśvatāś ca dehās tasya parātmanaḥ

hānopādāna-rahitā naiva prakrtijā kvacit

paramānandasandohā jñānamātrāśca sarvataḥ

sarve sarvaguṇaiḥ pūrṇāḥ sarvadoṣavivarjitāḥ

‘’All the forms of Lord are eternal and free from the two types of activities known as ‘giving up’
and ‘accepting’. Their bodies are not born from material nature but are composed of pure
consciousness and are the embodiment of condensed bliss. Each limb of Lord’s body is filled with
all transcendental qualities and is free from all defects."

Further also in Bhagavad Gita 4.6, Lord Krishna says

ajo 'pi sann avyayatma

bhutanam isvaro 'pi san

prakrtim svam adhisthaya

sambhavamy atma-mayaya

‘’Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the
Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My transcendental form.’’

In above verse, Krishna employs the word ‘’prakrtim svam adhisthaya’’ which means that He
doesn’t take shelter of matter (Maha maya) while taking His avatara but takes shelter of His own
internal potency (Atma maya or Yoga maya).
With respect to above verse, Sripad Madhvacharya in his book Vishnu Tattva Nirnaya states as
follows

‘’The Parama-shruti says: ‘’There is no birth of Lord Vasudeva. He also manifests in this mortal
world. All others such as Brahma have bodies that comes into being through His actuating force.
The body of Hari, however, is unoriginated and eternal. The bodies of beings like Brahma are not
eternal. The other beings have birth in a primary sense. But the birth of Hari is just his
manifestation.’’ (Verse 453)

Further, Padma Purana, Patala Khanda, 77.43 states

na tasya prākṛtī mūrtirmedomāṃsāsthisaṃbhavā |

yogī caiveśvaraścānyaḥ sarvātmā nityavigrahaḥ || 43 ||

‘’Lord Krishna’s form is not made of material elements such as fat, flesh, and bone. His form is
different from matter, it is transcendental. His form is eternal.’’

Again, in Padma Purana, Patala Khanda 82.72–74, following verses are stated

viharāmyanayā nityamasyāḥ premavaśīkṛtaḥ |

imāṃ tu matpriyāṃ viddhi rādhikāṃ paradevatām || 73 ||

‘’Lord Krishna said: Know that My Vrindavana is eternal. In this abode of Mine, I am completely
bound by the love of My devotees. Know that My beloved Radha is also eternal and is the Supreme
Goddess.’’

asyāśca paritaḥ paśya sakhyaḥ śatasahasraśaḥ |

nityāḥ sarvā imā rudra yathāhaṃ nityavigrahaḥ || 74 ||

‘’Encircling Sri Radha, see Her group of friends in hundreds and thousands. Just as I am eternal,
Oh Rudra, all these associates of Mine are also eternal.’’
gopā gāvo gopikāśca sadā vṛṃdāvanaṃ mama |

sarvametannityameva cidānaṃdarasātmakam || 75 ||

‘’All the cowherd friends, cows, and Gopis of Vrindavana are also eternal. Everything about Me
and in relation to Me, in Vrindavana, is eternal. Know all these to be full of bliss and knowledge
(cidananda svarupa).’’

Above few verses describe the transcendental and eternal form of Lord Krishna and all His
associates. There are profuse quotes in other scriptures too, quoted by our acharyas, on this subject
matter. However, to avoid increasing the length of my answer, I will stop here, for I have already
lot more to cover. Thus, one should definitively know that Lord Krishna’s form is not temporary
or that existing only during His avatara. His form and pastimes are all eternal.

Now that I have explained the meaning of the word ‘avatara’ and the transcendental nature of Lord
Krishna’s eternal form, I will proceed further to analyze the heart of this question.

IS KRISHNA AVATARA OF LORD VISHNU?

Generally, many Hindus believe that Lord Krishna is the avatara/incarnation of Lord Vishnu or
Lord Narayana. Unfortunately, many have not read the scriptures and have grown up watching
B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharata. No disrespect intended, but this is the fact. For many of them, if not
all, whatever little reading has been done has been done without the guidance of the Guru. Thus,
it is difficult to ascertain the nature of absolute truth by such a self-study process.

However, if we carefully ponder over the statement ‘’Lord Krishna is the avatara of Lord
Krishna’’, we will find that this statement, in and of itself, is problematic, as it has grave
complication. Let’s see why.

What exactly do we mean when we say ‘’Krishna is the avatara of Lord Vishnu’’?

Are we saying that Krishna didn’t exist before His avatara and that Krishna merged in His Vishnu
form, after the completion of His lila?

If the answer is Yes, it is in direct contradiction with the previously quoted scriptural statements
that clearly stated Lord Krishna, His paraphernalia, and His entourage to be eternal?

If the answer is No, then what is the point of saying ‘’Krishna is the avatara of Vishnu’’? Why not
simply say ‘’Krishna descends from His eternal spiritual abode of Goloka? Why one needs to attest
any source to His avatara if His form is eternally situated in Goloka Vrindavana? Isn’t this
meaningless?

Reader may pause here and ponder over above-mentioned two scenarios? If ‘avatara’ means
divine descent from the spiritual world, then what is the point of saying ‘’Krishna is the
avatara of Vishnu or for that matter of anyone’’? Think over it.
Moving further….

We shall now use a Purvapaksha approach.

Purvapaksha (Oppostion): Scriptures do talk about avataras of Lord Vishnu. If avatara of Lord
Krishna is eternal, as per your mentioned definition, then is scripture mistaken to say so or do you
interpret such statements? For example, following is the verse from Garuda Purana 3.3.3

avatārā mahāviṣṇoḥ sarve pūrṇāḥ prakīrtitāḥ

pūrṇaṃ ca tatparaṃ rūpaṃ pūrṇātpūrṇāḥ samudgatāḥ

‘’All the incarnations of Lord Mahavishnu are complete in themselves. From the complete whole,
complete units appear. ‘’

In above verse, all forms of Lord are described as avataras of Lord Mahavishnu. There are other
statements in Vishnu Purana such as in 5.1.4, 5.2.4 that describe various forms of Lord to be
appearing from Lord Vishnu. If all forms of Lord are eternal in spiritual world, as you say, why
would scripture use the above phrase then?

Nirnaya(Conclusion): To understand the above verse, let me help you with a simple example.

Consider that the prime minister or president of a country has a name that is used only at home,
but that name doesn’t show up in official documents and paperwork. However, one cannot deny
the fact that the name used at home is also the name of the head of state, for they both refer to the
same personality. From the point of managing the country, it is the president in office, whose mood
and profile becomes prominent. In the same way, Lord Vishnu is God in office and hence in the
Vedas, Lord Vishnu is referred more often than Lord Krishna, although the pastimes of Krishna
are described confidentially in the Vedas. Just as when we have a problem, we would approach a
police officer at the police station and not go at their home, similarly when the devatas are in
trouble and need assistance, they pray to God in office, the one who resides in Ksheera Sagar (Milk
Ocean). From the perspective of this world, all the prayers go to Lord Vishnu and, in response to
these prayers, various avataras descend. The fact that in response to the prayers addressed to Lord
Vishnu, various avataras appear, gives rise to the notion that Lord Vishnu is the source of the
avataras. However, as explained earlier, the very word ‘avatara’ means “one who descends”. This
indicates that it is not true that Krishna’s form is created when the devatas pray to Lord Vishnu.
Rather Krishna eternally exists in the spiritual world and so do all the other Vishnu-tattva forms
such as Lord Rama and Lord Narasimha. When the devatas headed by Lord Brahma go to the
shore of Ksheera Sagara and pray for Lord Vishnu, according to the time and particular lila to be
performed, one of the innumerable avataras descend on Earth. Because these forms descend
through the prayers to Lord Vishnu, they are often thought of as incarnations of Lord Vishnu. In
this matter, even the great devatas and sages get bewildered. However, it is not that Lord Vishnu
is an ‘eternal God’ and that all other incarnations are ‘temporary Gods’. Instead, all the forms of
Lord eternally exist in the spiritual world. All of them are God but in different moods and roles –
God in office, God at home, God more intimate, God less intimate and so on.
Lord Vishnu is specially involved in the acts of maintenance. Thus, whenever devatas have any
problem, they call out to Him, not to Lord Krishna. The fact that Lord Krishna is not directly
involved in the acts of creation, maintenance, and destruction is mentioned in the following verse
of Padma Purana, Patala Khanda 82.71–72

māyāguṇairyatomeṃ'śā kurvaṃti sarjanādikam |

na karomi svayaṃ kiṃcitsṛṣṭyādikamahaṃ śiva || 71 ||

‘’Lord Krishna says: I am not least involved in the acts of creation, maintenance, and annihilation.
All the functioning of the material manifestations is conducted through My Maya Shakti (maya)
and through My plenary portions (*amsas).’’

ahamāsāṃ mahādeva gopīnāṃ premavihvalaḥ |

kriyāṃtaraṃ na jānāmi nātmānamapi manada || 72 ||

‘’Oh Mahadeva (Lord Shiva), I am completely bound by the love of Gopis of Vrindavana. I don’t
know any other act, not even Myself.’’

*Note: We shall discuss about ‘amsas’’ later.

The above two verses prove the fact that Krishna is God at Home. He is not concerned with the
acts of trinity (such as creation, maintenance, and destruction).

In this way, the above quoted verse of Garuda Purana needs to be understood. On a similar line,
all other verses in the scriptures to be understood. Even devatas and sages are bewildered about
the source of the various forms of the Lord, for they think that since they prayed to Vishnu, all
avataras come from Him. In this connection, Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 10.2

na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ prabhavaṁ na maharṣhayaḥ

aham ādir hi devānāṁ maharṣhīṇāṁ cha sarvaśhaḥ

‘’Neither the hosts of devatas nor the great sages know of My origin. I am the source from which
all the devatas and great seers come.’’

LORD KRISHNA IS NON-DIFFERENT FROM LORD VISHNU

Now, we shall move onto second part of this answer. We shall prove how Lord Vishnu and Lord
Krishna are non-different from each other.

Purvapaksha: If Lord Krishna is eternal and all other forms of Lord are also eternal. Then why
does ISKCON differentiates between them by statements such as ‘’Krishna is the source of all
other incarnations’’ or ‘Krishna is the origin of Vishnu’’?
Nirnaya: Hold on. Why ISKCON says so, we shall come to it later. Before, let us clarify our
position on non-difference among various Vishnu tattva forms. It is important to understand that
there is no difference in tattva (ontological reality) among the various forms of Vishnu Tattva, but
distinction is made from the point of Rasa. We will discuss Rasa theology a bit later. Before, let
us see few statements from our acharyas which talk about non-difference among Vishnu tattva
forms.

STATEMENT OF SRILA RUPA GOSWAMI

In Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu 1.2.59, following verse has been quoted from the scriptures.

siddhāntatas tv abhede ’pi

śrīśa-kṛṣṇa-svarūpayoḥ

‘’According to Siddhanta (philosophical position or ontological reality), there is no difference

between the form of Lord Nārāyaṇa and Lord Kṛṣṇa.’’

In this regard, the siddhanta followed by ISKCON is in complete alignment with the teachings of
Sripad Madhvacharya.

Sripad Madhvacharya quotes a following verse from Narada Purana

krsnaramadirupani paripurnani sarvada

na ca anumatram bhinnani tathapy asman vimohasi

"There is not a minutest difference between Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, and any other forms of
Lord. They are complete in all respects. Any other opinion is simply an illusion." (Narada Purana)

Elsewhere, in Varaha Purana, it is stated

matsya-kurma-varahadyah

sama vishnor abhedatah

‘’Matsya, Kurma ,Varaha, and all other forms of Lord are non-different from Vishnu.’’ (a verse
quoted in Laghu Bhagavatamrta- verse 58)
Further, Brhad Aranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1 states:

oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ

pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate

pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya

pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate

‘’God is perfect and complete whole. And because He is completely perfect, all emanations from
Him are also complete whole. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in
itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from
Him, He remains the complete balance.’’

STATEMENTS OF SRILA PRABHUPADA- THE FOUNDER ACHARYA OF ISKCON

‘’there is no difference between Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Kṛṣṇa because both are viṣṇu-tattva.’’ (S.B.
10.3.24 purport)

‘’So Lord Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, there is no difference. They are the same’’. Lecture on B.G. 7.1, 13th
January 1973, Bombay.

‘’Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, the same. But there is controversy whether Viṣṇu is secondary or Kṛṣṇa is
secondary. According to śāstra, nobody's secondary. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, They are simply expansion.
They are not different.’’ Lecture on B.G.7.7, 13th Aug 1974, Vrindavana

‘’As far as power is concerned, Lord Viṣṇu is as powerful as Lord Kṛṣṇa because He possesses all
the opulences.’’ - CC Madhya Lila 20.315 purport

‘’Nārāyaṇa is identical to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They are in fact the same person manifested differently, like
a high-court judge who is differently situated in his office and at home. As Nārāyaṇa the Lord is
manifested with four hands, but as Kṛṣṇa He is manifested with two hands.’’ - Chaitanya
Charitamrta Adi Lila 2.29 purport.

‘’bhakti-yoga can be applicable to any one of these forms, either Kṛṣṇa or Rāma or Viṣṇu or
Nārāyaṇa, so many forms.’’ (15th Jan 1969 lecture- Los Angeles)

STATEMENTS OF LORD CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU- THE FOUNDER OF

GAUDIYA VAISHNAVISM

kṛṣṇa-nārāyaṇa, yaiche eka-i svarūpa

‘’There is no difference between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Nārāyaṇa’’ -(Chaitanya Charitamrta
Madhya Lila, 9.153)
īśvaratve bheda mānile haya aparādha

‘’One should not differentiate between the forms of the Lord, for such a conception is offensive.’’-
(Chaitanya Charitamrta Madhya Lila, 9.154)

eka īśvara — bhaktera dhyāna-anurūpa

eka-i vigrahe kare nānākāra rūpa

‘’There is no difference between the transcendental forms of the Lord. Different forms are
manifested due to different attachments of different devotees. Actually, the Lord is one, but He
appears in different forms just to satisfy His devotees.’’- (Chaitanya Charitamrta Madhya Lila,
9.154)

maṇir yathā vibhāgena

nīla-pītādibhir yutaḥ

rūpa-bhedam avāpnoti

dhyāna-bhedāt tathācyutaḥ

‘’When the jewel known as vaidūrya touches various other materials, it appears to be separated
into different colors, and consequently its forms also appear different. Similarly, according to the
meditational ecstasy of the devotee, the Lord, who is known as Acyuta [“the infallible one”],
appears in different forms, although He is essentially one.’’ - (Chaitanya Charitamrta Madhya Lila,
9.154- a verse quoted by Lord Chaitanya from Narada Pancaratra)

STATEMENTS OF KRISHNADAS KAVIRAJ GOSWAMI- THE PROMINENT

GAUDIYA VAISHNAVA ACHARYA

In Chaitanya Charitamrta, Adi Lila, chapter five, Krishna Das Kaviraja Goswami states

avatāra-avatārī — abheda, ye jāne

pūrve yaiche kṛṣṇake keho kāho kari’ māne

‘’They know that there is no difference between the avatara and the source of all avataras.
Previously Lord Kṛṣṇa was regarded in the light of different principles by different people.’’

keho kahe, kṛṣṇa sākṣāt nara-nārāyaṇa

keho kahe, kṛṣṇa haya sākṣāt vāmana

‘’Some said that Kṛṣṇa is directly Lord Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and some called Him directly Lord
Vāmanadeva.’’
keho kahe, kṛṣṇa kṣīroda-śāyī avatāra

asambhava nahe, satya vacana sabāra

‘’Some called Lord Kṛṣṇa as avatara of Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu (The Lord who resides on Milk
Ocean). All these statements are true. Nothing is impossible in Lord Krishna.’’

yei yei rūpe jāne, sei tāhā kahe

sakala sambhave kṛṣṇe, kichu mithyā nahe

‘’In whatever form one knows the Lord, one speaks of Him in that way. In this there is no falsity
since everything is possible in Kṛṣṇa.’’

All the above quoted statements from Srila Prabhupada, Srila Rupa Goswami, Krishnadas Kaviraja
Goswami, and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself are enough to present the stand of Gaudiya
Vaishnavism on this subject matter, for they are the most prominent figures of Gaudiya
Sampradaya.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LORD VISHNU AND LORD KRISHNA

Now, we will see other side of the coin.

Purvapaksha: I understand the position of your acharyas on non-difference between Lord Vishnu
and Lord Krishna. However, in doing so, you have presented only side of the story, ignoring other
well-known statements of your acharyas. There are many other statements given by your acharyas
that clearly state the difference between Lord Vishnu and Lord Krishna, overemphasis on
statements such as ‘’Krsnas tu Bhagavan Svayam’’, ‘’Krishna is the origin of all incarnations’’,
‘’Krishna is the original Vishnu’’. Such statements are frequently seen in the books of Srila
Prabhupada and your previous acharyas.

Nirnaya: Yes, it is true. Our acharyas have mentioned both non-difference and difference, for
there are two sides of the coin. I have first quoted one side of the statements just to showcase the
philosophical non-difference among the various forms of the Lord. All these are tattva vichara or
siddhanta vichara (ontological discussions). Ontologically, from the point of tattva, there is no
difference, not even a minutest difference among the various forms of the Lord. One who imagines
any difference becomes at once an offender.

Nevertheless, depending on the extent of the manifestation of the opulences of Lord (prakasha),
one form may be considered different from another form. Such differences are not tattva bheda
but rasa bheda. In discussing rasa bheda among the various forms of the Lord, there arises no
conception of offending the Vishnu tattva, for such is the position of rasa and thus scriptures do
mention such differences. We will discuss this in further detail a bit later.
I began my answer stating that Vishnu Tattva is extraordinarily complex. In this regard, one should
know that Lord Vishnu can become Krishna; Krishna can become Vishnu. Lord Vamana can
become Krishna and Krishna can become Varaha. Lord Matsya can become Krishna and Lord
Rama can become Kurma. All such permutations and combinations are possible, for ontologically,
all forms of Lord are non-different from one another. Thus, all are equally powerful.

All forms of Lord are completely capable of changing their form to any other form as per their
own sweet will. They are not restricted in any way, in terms of ability or power to take any other
form. This is tattva vichara. Yet the same time, it is a fact that not all forms of the Lord manifest
or display (prakasha) their opulences to the same degree. In his commentary to Srimad
Bhagavatam 1.3.28, Sri Vamsidhara explains that although scriptures state that all forms of Lord
are complete (sarve sarvaguṇaiḥ pūrṇāḥ sarvadoṣavivarjitāḥ- Maha Varaha Purana), still
depending on the extent of the manifestations of the opulences such as madhurya (sweetness),
richness (aisvarya), and compassion (mercy), scriptures do categorize the forms of Lord as amsa
(partial incarnation), purna (incarnation), etc. When Lord manifests all opulences, He is known as
Purna, when Lord doesn’t manifest all the opulences or manifests only certain opulences to serve
a particular mission, then such forms are known as amsa.

Let’s see few of the scripture which describe the categorization of the forms of the Lord based on
the extent of the manifestations of the opulences.

1.SATVATA TANTRA

Lord Sadashiva states in Satvata Tantra as follows

‘’All the avataras of Lord have complete knowledge, power, and other opulences present in full.
However, because of the nature of Their mission, they do not manifest them in full.’’ (Satvata
Tantra 3.6)

‘’According to the extent of manifestation of the knowledge, power, and other opulences, Lord’s
form is considered full (purna), partial (amsha), or sub-partial (kala).’’
‘’The forms of the Lord that manifest in full the opulences of mystic power, knowledge, piety,
renunciation, wealth, and fame are called the full (purna) manifestation of the Lord by the wise.
As the Lord's incarnations manifest less and less of these opulences they are considered partial
(amsha) and sub-partial (kala) incarnations. Partial (amsha) incarnations manifest one fourth of the
Lord's opulence, sub-partial (kala) incarnations manifest one sixteenth, and potency (vibhuti)
incarnations manifest one hundredth of the Lord's opulence.’’

2.GARGA SAMHITA

Similar classification of the forms of the Lord based on the extent of the manifestation of the
various opulences is also found in Garga Samhita 1.16–20 as follows

‘’Shri Narada said: Great sages who have Vyasa as their leader, explain that Lord descends in six
kinds of forms: 1. amshamsha (a part of a part), 2. amsha (a part), 3. avesha (entrance into a jiva),
4. kala (a full part), 5. purna (full), and 6. paripurnatama (most full).’’- Garga Samhita 1.16

‘’The amshamsha incarnations begin with Marici, the amsha incarnations begin with Brahma, the
kala incarnations begin with Kapila and Kurma, and the avesha incarnations begin with
Parashurama.’’- Garga Samhita 1.17
‘’Purna incarnations are 1. Nrisimha, 2. Rama, 3. Lord Hari, the ruler of Shvetadvipa, 4. Vaikuntha,
5. Yajna, and 6. Nara-Narayana.’’- Garga Samhita 1.18

‘’The paripurnatama form of the Lord is Shri Krishna, who is the original Supreme Personality of
Godhead Himself. He is the master of countless universes. He is splendidly manifest in the realm
of Goloka.’’-Garga Samhita 1.19

‘’The amsha incarnations are said to oversee the execution of the Lord's mission (in the world).
The amshamsha incarnations are understood to perform the work of executing those missions.’’-
Garga Samhita- 1.20

3.SANATKUMARA SAMHITA

In Sanata Kumara Samhita, Lord Sadashiva describes to Narada as folllows

vraja-rāja-suto vṛndā- vane pūrṇatamo vasan

sampūrṇa-ṣoḍaśa-kalo vihāraṃ kurute sadā

‘’Nanda’s son, who is the prince of Vraja, who stays in Vṛndāvana forest and enjoys pastimes there
eternally, and who is like a perfectly full moon, is the most-perfect form of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead.’’ (Verse 291)

vāsudevaḥ pūrṇataro mathurāyaṃ vasan puri

kalābhiḥ pañcadaśābhir yutaḥ krīḍati sarvadā

‘’Vasudeva's son, who stays in Mathurā City and enjoys pastimes there eternally, and who is like
a moon one day before being perfectly full, is the more-perfect form of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead.’’ (Verse 292)

dvārakādhipatir dvāra- vatyāṃ pūrṇas tv asau vasan

caturdaśa-kalā-yukto viharaty eva sarvadā

‘’The king of Dvārakā, who stays in Dvārakā, and enjoys pastimes there eternally, and who is like
a moon two days before being perfectly full, is the perfect form of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.’’ (Verse 293)

sampūrṇa-ṣoḍaśa-kalaḥ kevalo nanda-nandanaḥ

vikrīḍan rādhayā sārdhaṃ labhate paramaṃ sukham

‘’Nanda's son, who enjoys supreme bliss in His pastimes with Śrī Rādhā, is the only most perfect
form of the Lord.’’ (Verse 300)
4. BRAHMAVAIVARTA PURANA

In Brahmavaivarta Purana, Brahma Khanda 22.30, it is stated as follows

‘’Lord Krishna is the most complete form of Lord. He is *Svayam Bhagavan.’’

*Note: We shall expand on the concept of the word ‘Svayam’’ shortly.

5. NATYA SHASTRA /BHAKTI RASAMRTA SINDHU/CHAITANYA CHARITAMRTA

The above three-fold classification mentioned in Sanata Kumara Samhita is also found in Natya
Shastra literatures. Krishna das Kaviraja Goswami repeats this verse in Chaitanya Charitamrta
Madhya Lila 20.399–401. These verses are also repeated in Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu 2.1.221–223,
wherein Srila Rupa Goswami mentions that according to emotional status of the devotee, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is appreciated in three ways: as the most perfect, as very perfect
and as perfect (bhaktäpekñikam asya, trividhatvaà likhyate tad api - BRS. 2.1.220). It is stated as
follows

hariḥ pūrṇatamaḥ pūrṇa-

taraḥ pūrṇa iti tridhā

śreṣṭha-madhyādibhiḥ śabdair

nāṭye yaḥ paripaṭhyate

‘’This is stated in the dramatic literatures as “perfect,” “more perfect” and “most perfect.” Thus,
Lord Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself in three ways — perfect, more perfect, and most perfect.’’

prakāśitākhila-guṇaḥ

smṛtaḥ pūrṇatamo budhaiḥ

asarva-vyañjakaḥ pūrṇa-

taraḥ pūrṇo ’lpa-darśakaḥ

“When the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not manifest all His transcendental qualities, He
is called complete. When all the qualities are manifested, but not fully, He is called more complete.
When He manifests all His qualities in fullness, He is called most complete. This is the version of
all learned scholars in the devotional science.’’
kṛṣṇasya pūrṇatamatā

vyaktābhūd gokulāntare

pūrṇatā pūrṇataratā

dvārakā-mathurādiṣu

‘’The most complete qualities of Kṛṣṇa are manifested within Vṛndāvana, and His complete and
more complete qualities are manifested in Dvārakā and Mathurā.’’

In this way, one may understand the categorization of the various forms of the Lord based on the
extent of the manifestation of the opulences of the Lord.

The manifestations of particular opulences of Lord in particular forms are not unique to Lord’s
various vibhava (avataras), but also applies to Vyuha (catur vyuhas). For example, it is accepted
in Pancharatra that among the four Caturvyuhas, Lord Sankarasha has wisdom and strength. Lord
Pradyumna has wealth and power. Lord Aniruddha has energy and lustre. In Lord Vasudeva, all
six opulences are manifested in full.

Since Lord Krishna manifests or displays all the opulences in His single two-handed form, He is
described above as ‘Pari Purna tamah’ rupa (the most complete form) of the Lord. This fact has
been described in Satvata Tantra 3.27 as follows

‘’Because while performing His activities He displayed all these opulences one after another as it
was appropriate, Lord Krishna is the full and complete (sampurna) form of the Lord.’’ (Satvata
tantra 3.27)

Even Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.32 describes Lord Krishna as the complete manifestation. It is
stated as follows

aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ

nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām

yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ

pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam

‘’How greatly fortunate are Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of
Vrajabhūmi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source of
transcendental bliss, the most manifestation of Brahman, has become their friend.’’

In above verse, the word ‘’purnam’’ is significant. Such epithets are never used for any form of
Lord but Krishna. One may argue that the word ‘’purna’’ (complete) is meaningless adjective for
Brahman, for Brahman is naturally complete. Nevertheless, Bhagavatam has used it to emphasize
the fact that Krishna is the Original Personality of Godhead- the most complete form of the Lord.
Thus, He is described as ‘purna’.

EXPLANATION OF ‘SVAYAM BHAGAVAN’

To His Mother, Lord Krishna is the son. To His cowherd boys and Pandavas, Lord Krishna is the
dearest friend. To the Gopis, Lord Krishna is the conjugal lover. To Rukmini devi, Lord Krishna
is the loving husband. To Kunti devi, Lord Krishna is the Master. To Subhadra devi, Lord Krishna
is the brother. In this way, the same form of Krishna, appears different to His different devotees.
It is this varieties of the relationships that Krishna exhibit with His devotees that scriptures describe
Him as the most complete manifestation of the Lord or Original Personality of Godhead (Svayam
Bhagavan).

The fact that the form of Lord Krishna displayed all the opulences in completeness is technically
termed as ‘Svayam’. The word ‘’Svayam Bhagavan’’ as mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28
is a very technically loaded term. The word ‘’Svayam’’ is loosely translated in English as ‘’By
own’’ or ‘’By Himself’’. In Laghu Bhavatamrta, the technical definition of ‘’Svayam’’ is stated as
follows

ananyapekshi yad rupam

svayam-rupah sa ucyate

''The form of the Lord that is not dependent on any other form (in order to display all the opulences)
is known as ‘Svayam Rupa’ ''- Laghu Bhagavatamrta, verse 12

Thus, from the point of Rasa, Lord Krishna is not dependent on any other form of the Lord to
attract His devotees. In His form of Lord Krishna, He can attract all the kinds of devotees that are
situated in different rasas. Some may be engaged in Santa rasa (neutrality), some may be engaged
in dasya rasa (servitorship), some may be engaged in sakhya rasa (friendship), some may be
engaged in vatsalya rasa (parental affection), and some may be engaged in madhurya rasa
(conjugal mood). In other forms of the Lord such as Vaikuntha natha or in the form of Lord
Narayana, above-mentioned five rasas are not exchanged in fullness. This is one of the reasons
why Lord Krishna is known as ‘’Svayam Bhagavan’’.

Now that we have understood the differences in the forms of Lord, based on rasa bheda, depending
on the extent of the manifestations of Lord’s opulences, we can make better sense of the Paribhasa
Sutra of Srimad Bhavavatam 1.3.28
ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ

kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam

indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ

mṛḍayanti yuge yuge

‘’*All the above-mentioned incarnations (ete) are either plenary portions (amsa) or portions of the
plenary portions of the Lord (kalah), but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead.
All of them appear, millennium after millennium, on planets whenever there is a disturbance
created by the atheists (enemies of Indra).’’

*Note: We shall again discuss on the above Pari bhasa sutra in concluding section of the answer.

Now, we shall discuss how the concept of ‘Svayam Bhagavan’ is not unique to Srimad
Bhagavatam but has been mentioned in various scriptures. We shall discuss few of them.

1.GARGA SAMHITA

The ‘Svayam Rupa’ form of Lord Krishna has been described in Garga Samhita 1.16 as follows

‘’Vyasadeva and other sages describe ‘Paripurnatamah’ (most complete form) of Lord as
‘Svayam’.’’- Garga Samhita 1.16

‘’Paripurnatamah (most complete form) of the Lord is Krishna. He is ‘Svayam Bhagavan’.’’-

Garga Samhita 1.19

2.BRAHMA VAIVARTA PURANA

In Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Krishna Janma Khanda 87.26, Sanatakumara states as follows
‘’Lord Krishna is the seed of all existence. He is ‘Svayam Bhagavan’. He is indestructible and
chief source of all the avataras. ‘’

3.PADMA PURANA

In the conversation between Lord Brahma and Narada Muni, following verse has been quoted

avatara hy asankhyatah

kathita me tavagratah

param samyak pravakshyami

krishnas tu bhagavan svayam

‘’Now that I have described the uncountable incarnations of Godhead, I will say that Shri Krishna
is the Original Personality of Godhead (Svayam Bhagavan).’’- This verse has been quoted in Hari
Bhakti Ratna Prakasha 5.25)

The above two verses are the direct explanation of the famous Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.3.28
(Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam)

4. NARAYANEEYAM

In the famous composition of Narayaneeyam, Sri Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, one of the
celebrated Sanskrit poets in Kerala, states as follows

‘’O Lord Krishna! Your unattainable abode (of Goloka) was revealed to the devotees with such
ease and clearly as a berry in one's palm. In which other incarnation (avatara) of Yours has such a
thing happened? So, it is certain that here in the form of a cowherd, You are the Supreme Self. O
Dweller of Guruvaayur! save me from ailments.’’ (64th Dashakam, Verse 10)

LORD KRISHNA IS THE ‘AVATARI’ (SOURCE OF ALL OTHER INCARNATIONS)

Now that we have understood the differences among the forms of the Lord based on the extent of
the manifestations of the Lord. We shall discuss the reason why Gaudiya Vaishnavas describe
Krishna as the source of all the avataras (incarnations). We shall again discuss this with the help
of Purvapaksha approach.
Purvapaksha: I understand the definition of ‘Svayam Bhagavan’. However, why you consider
Krishna as the ‘’source’’ of all the other incarnations. Why there is a concept of avatara-avatari
bheda? Doesn’t it delimit the eternality of Lord’s form that you have described earlier. If all forms
are eternal, how could one be the source of other?

Nirnaya: Yes, one form of the Lord cannot be the source of other if all forms of the Lord are said
to be eternal. It is like two parallel lines; they can never intersect each other. If they never intersect
each other, one of them cannot be said to be the source of others. By that logic, even Lord Vishnu
cannot be considered the source of Lord Krishna or other incarnations. Thus, even the statements
by many Hindus that Lord Krishna is the avatar of Lord Vishnu must also be wrong. Isn’t it? Think
over it. We already touched upon this issue at the start of our answer.

So, what exactly do we mean when we say that Lord Krishna is the source of all other incarnations?

Again, hermeneutics come into play. In material world, words have certain connotations.
Similarly, the word ‘source’ has a connotation of time factor associated with it. However, the
‘source’ in Vedic context shouldn’t be viewed in terms of the chronology of time, for time only
acts in the material word. There is no creation in spiritual world and no creation of the
transcendental forms of the Lord. In Vedic parlance, the exact equivalent of the word ‘source’
means ‘’bija’’ or ‘’potential seed’’. I will explain what I mean.

The various expansions of Krishna, including the Vishnu expansions (svamsa) as well as the other
living entities (vibhinnamsa), are described as being *co-eternal* with Krishna. However, it is the
limitation of language, which is unavoidable, as our acarya Bhaktivinode Thakura writes, to speak
of spiritual events using worldly language such as describing Krishna as the `origin’ of these
eternal expansions.

Let’s take an example to understand this. In Taittriya Upanishad 2.6.1, it is stated

so 'kāmayata bahu syāṃ

‘’Lord desired. Let I become many.’’

Here, one may ask if all forms of the Lord are eternal. Where is the question of one becoming
many? The answer would be that if we talk about material creation (where time factor is involved),
one can become many, just as Lord Narayana desired to become many, thus Brahma, Vishnu, and
Shiva appeared. In this way, all the living entities appeared. This is the principle of avyakta to
vyakta (un-manifestation to manifestation). Something similar applies in the spiritual world too,
with the spiritual forms of the Lord, however there is no time factor involved. Thus, the linear
chronology of time is absent. Thus, even though Lord Krishna is said to become many, all forms
of the Lord are still eternal.

Krishna’s expanding Himself in this way is not a chronological event, but “an ontological event”.
In other words, it is not that at one point in time there was just Krishna, and after some time lapse
the other manifestations of the spiritual world came into being. Such a description would be
appropriate for material events. The position of Krishna as the ‘source of all spiritual emanations’
is beyond the grasp of our conditioned minds, accustomed and limited to conceive of events only
in a relative time-sequential way. Our material mind and intelligence are in themselves products
within material time, and thus have a beginning and end. These faculties cannot conceive of
something that lies beyond the purview of time. This understanding can be realized by the soul
through the cultivation of Prema Bhakti for the Lord. In this connection, Srila Vishwanatha
Chakravarti Thakura says

nityaiva sarva yadi krishna-lila

tathapy anityaiva matapi kaiscit

adeyatato 'ti-rahasyatatas

tasyecchayeti pravadanti taj-jnah

‘’Someone many ask: "If Shri Krishna's pastimes are all eternal, then why do some people think
that they are temporary?"

The devotees, learned in transcendental science, reply: "These matters are very confidential, and
Shri Krishna is unwilling to allow unqualified non-devotees to understand them. For this reason,
He conceals the truth from them."- (Vraja Riti Cintamani 44)

To make better sense of the above concept, in Chaitanya Charitamrta, Madhya Lila 20.257, it is
stated as follows

yadyapi asṛjya nitya cic-chakti-vilāsa

tathāpi saṅkarṣaṇa-icchāya tāhāra prakāśa

''Actually, there is no creation in the spiritual world (or of the spiritual forms of the Lord). The
creation means it begins at a certain time and ends at a certain time, but in the spiritual world there
is no such beginning. But because we find the creation of this material world by the kriyā-śakti
potency of Lord, therefore it is understood that the spiritual world is also manifested by the same
potency, with the help of His spiritual energy.''

Here Srila Prabhupada explains

‘’The spiritual world – the Vaikuṇṭha planets and Kṛṣṇaloka – is situated in Kṛṣṇa’s energy of
thinking (iccha shakti). Although there is no creation in the spiritual world, which is eternal, it is
still to be understood that the spiritual planets depend on the thinking energy of the Supreme
Lord.’’

Thus, although all the forms of Lord are eternal, it is manifested by the potency of willing (iccha
shakti) and subsequently by the potency of action (kriya shakti). It is this manifestation that is
described in the scriptures to be chronological, although there is no conception of chronological
time factor.
The term ‘origin’ or ‘source of emanation’ or ‘avatari’ in spiritual manifestations indicates an
inconceivable relationship of Krishna (avatari) and all other forms of the Lord (avatara). This
wholesome relationship is described as follows, by Srila Krishna das Kaviraja Goswami

avatārīra dehe saba avatārera sthiti

keho kona-mate kahe, yemana yāra mati

‘’All forms of Lord (avatara) are situated in potential form in the original body of the primeval
Lord Krishna (avatari). Thus, according to one’s opinion, one may address Him as any one of the
forms.’’ (CC. Adi Lila 2.112)

The word ‘’source’’ (avatari) here means that all forms of Lord are present in bija rupa (seed form)
in Lord Krishna. Our acharyas have explained that whenever Lord Krishna descends, along with
Him descends all the forms of Lord. In this sense, Krishna is the avatari (source or bija of all other
forms of Lord). For example:

In a single form of Lord Krishna, pastimes of many other forms of Lord are also seen. Lord
Narayana's pastimes are seen in the wonderful display to Lord Brahma in Vrindavana of millions
of universes and their demigods (Refer Brahma Vimohana lila 10.13-14 of Srimad Bhagavatam).
This pastime is understood to be manifested by the Lord's amsa-avatara. 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. The
pastimes of killing the demons are performed by Lord Sankarshana. Also, the forms of Lord
Pradyumna and Lord Aniruddha are eternally present in the district of Mathura, as confirmed by
the Gopala-tapani Upanishad, Varaha Purana, and other Vedic literatures.

In this way, it is seen that all forms of the Lord are present in bija form in the form of Lord Krishna.
Thus, Krishna is considered as the source or avatari or amsi. We will understand it in further detail
in the next section of my answer.

ALL FORMS OF LORD (AVATARAS) ACCOMPANY THE FORM OF KRISHNA

(AVATARI)

We shall now quote few verses which describe how all other forms of Lord accompany the form
of Lord Krishna, thus known as avatari (source of all other incarnations).

1.SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 3.2.15

It is stated in Srimad Bhagavatam 3.2.15 as follows

sva-śānta-rūpeṣv itaraiḥ svarūpair

abhyardyamāneṣv anukampitātmā

parāvareśo mahad-aṁśa-yukto

hy ajo ’pi jāto bhagavān yathāgniḥ

‘’When pure devotees of the Lord like Vasudeva are greatly disturbed by dangerous demons like
Kaṁsa, Lord Kṛṣṇa joins along with all His pastime expansions (amsa yukto), such as the Lord of
Vaikuṇṭha, and, although unborn, becomes manifest, just as fire becomes manifest by the friction
of araṇi wood.”

The word ‘’amsa yukto’’ in above verse is significant. It means that when Krishna descends, all
other forms of Lord also join Him. When Kṛṣṇa appears, He appears in full, including within
Himself all His expansions, such as Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha and Pradyumna.
Kṛṣṇa is always integrated with His other forms, like Nṛsiṁhadeva, Varāha, Vāmana, Nara-
Nārāyaṇa, Hayagrīva and Ajita. In Vṛndāvana Lord Kṛṣṇa sometimes exhibits the functions of
such incarnations.Thus, He is known as ‘avatari’.

2.KRSNO UPANISHAD (PART OF ATHARVA VEDA)

It is described that Lord Vishnu Himself became Shankha (conch) of Lord Krishna. It is stated in
Krsno Upanishad as follows

‘’ Lord Vishnu Himself became the conch (shankha) of Lord Krishna.’’

In this Upanishad, it is described how various devotees and devatas of Lord such as Lord Shiva
and others become various paraphernalia of Lord and assist Lord Krishna in His pastimes. Such
wonderful descriptions are never seen in any form of the Lord, except Svayam Bhagavan Krishna.

3.KRISHNA YAMALA TANTRA

Similarly, in Krishna Yamala tantra, it is said

evam catuh-shashthi-bhagair avatarah paratmanah

‘’The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna descends to this world accompanied by His 64
expansions and opulences.’’- Quoted in Hari Bhakti Ratna Prakasha 4.25
4. SAMMOHANA TANTRA

Further, in Sammohana Tantra, section of Gopala Sahasranama Stotra, Lord Shiva states as follows

murali-vadanädhäri

rädhäyai pritim ävahan

amshämshebhyah samunmilya

purna-rüpa-kalä-yutah

‘’Playing on a flute, Lord Krishna brings great happiness to Sri Rädhä. His expansion (amsa),
partial expansions (amsamsa), and the parts of His partial expansions are all present in that form
of a cowherd boy.’’

Here again, it is described that in Lord Krishna, all the avataras or forms of Lord are present.

5.SANATAKUMARA SAMHITA

In Sanata Kumara samhita, Lord Sadasiva states

tayā śrī-kṛṣṇacandrasya krīḍā yāḥ samaye mune

tadāviśṭaṃ vāsudevaṃ saha kśīrābdhi-nāyakam

‘’O sage, Lord Vāsudeva and Lord Kśīrodakaśāyī Vishnu are also present in the pastimes that Lord
Kṛṣṇacandra enjoys with His Hladini potency.’’ (Verse 299)

In this way, it is understood that when Lord Krishna appears, all other forms of Lord also
accompany Him. Thus, Krishna is known as the source of all other incarnations or avatari.

BASICS OF PURUSA AVATARAS

Before continuing further, let me describe the three forms of Lord Vishnu (Purusha avataras)
The three forms of Purusa are described in Satvata Tantra as follows

visnos tu trini rupani

purusakhyany atho viduh

ekam tu mahatah srastr

dvitiyam tv anda-samsthitam

trtiyam sarva-bhuta-stham

tani jnatva vimucyate

"For material creation, Lord Krsna's plenary expansion assumes three Visnus. The first one, Maha-
Visnu, creates the total material energy, known as mahat-tattva. The second, Garbhodakasayi
Visnu, enters all the universes to create diversities in each of them. The third, Ksirodakasayi Visnu,
is diffused as the all-pervading Supersoul in all the universes and is known as Paramatma, who is
present even within the atoms. Anyone who knows these three Visnus can be liberated from
material entanglement."

I. Lord Maha-Vishnu is described in Srimad Bhagavatam 11.4.3

bhūtair yadā pañcabhir ātma-sṛṣṭaiḥ

puraṁ virājaṁ viracayya tasmin

svāṁśena viṣṭaḥ puruṣābhidhānam

avāpa nārāyaṇa ādi-devaḥ

"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 Purusha.’’

Lord Mahavishnu has also been described in S.B.2.6.42 as ''ādyo ’vatāraḥ puruṣaḥ parasya'' . This
Maha-Vishnu is the same Purusha of Rig Veda Suktam 10.90.1.

II. Lord Garbhodakashayi Vishnu is described in Brahma Samhita 5.14. It is also described in
Narayana Upakhyana, Moksha Dharma section of Mahabharata (garbhodaka-sayah padma-nabho
'sav aniruddhakah). He is also mentioned in S.B.3.8.24, S.B.3.8.29, S.B.3.8.30, S.B.9.14.2

III. Lord Ksirodakasayi Vishnu is described in Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.8

LORD KRISHNA IS THE SOURCE OF THREE PURUSHA FORMS OF VISHNU

Now that we know about the three forms of Lord Vishnu. I will now establish how Lord Krishna
is the source of three Purusha forms of Vishnu through various scriptural verses.

1. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 10.2.9

It is stated Srimad Bhagavatam 10.2.9 as follows

athāham aṁśa-bhāgena

devakyāḥ putratāṁ śubhe

prāpsyāmi tvaṁ yaśodāyāṁ

nanda-patnyāṁ bhaviṣyasi

‘’O all-auspicious Yoga-māyā, I shall appear along with My expansions as the son of Devakī, and
you will appear as the daughter of mother Yaśodā, the queen of Mahārāja Nanda.’’

SRIDHARA SWAMI’s commentary: In his commentary to above verse, Sridhara Swami

explains that in this verse the word "amsa-bhägena" means "accompanied by His expansions, the
three purusa forms of Lord Vishnu’’.

2. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 10.85.31

Another verse in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.85.31, clearly addressed to Lord Krishna, states as
follows

yasyāṁśāṁśāṁśa-bhāgena

viśvotpatti-layodayāḥ

bhavanti kila viśvātmaṁs

taṁ tvādyāhaṁ gatiṁ gatā

‘’O Soul of all that be, the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe are all carried out
by a fraction of an expansion of an expansion of Your expansion. Today I have come to take shelter
of You, the Supreme Lord.’’

Now, the above verse is very explicit glorification of Lord Krishna. If Krishna were just an avatara
of Lord Vishnu, the one who maintains the creation, then why would Bhagavatam use the word
ámsamsamasa bhagena’’? It wouldn’t make sense. Thus, the verse demands a proper explanation.
SRIDHARA SWAMI’S COMMENTARY: Sridhara Swami explains in his commentary to
above verse, the usage of three ‘’amsa’’: "In this verse, the first "amsa" (portion) refers to the
purusa-avatära (three forms of Lord Vishnu: Maha Vishnu, Garbhodoka Vishnu, and Ksirabdhi
Vishnu). The second ‘’amsa’’ refers to the portion of the purusa-avatära that is the illusory potency
maya, and the third ‘’amsa’’ refers to the portion of maya that is the three modes of material nature.
By an atomic fragment (Bhagena) of the modes of nature, the material universes are created,
maintained, and destroyed. In this way, by a portion (bhagena) of a portion (amsa) of a
portion(amsa) of a portion (amsa) of the Lord Krishna’s potency, the material world is created.’’

3. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 10.1.23

In spite of the above-mentioned verses and the explanations of acharyas, some people may still
raise the argument that when Lord Vishnu was worshiped by the devatas, headed by Lord Brahma,
on the shore of the milk ocean, He descended and bore the name Krishna. Thus, they think that
Lord Krishna is the avatara of Kshirodakasayi Vishnu. However, it is not a fact. This is again
proved in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.1.23 as follows

vasudeva-gṛhe sākṣād

bhagavān puruṣaḥ paraḥ

janiṣyate tat-priyārthaṁ

sambhavantu sura-striyaḥ

‘’The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, 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.’’

In above verse, the phrase "bhagavan purushah parah" in this verse prove that the purusha-avatara
that creates the mahat-tattva is an amsa-avatara of Lord Krishna. And Lord Krishna is superior to
Purusha avataras (purushah parah).

4.BHAGAVAD GITA 10.42

The fact that Lord Vishnu is the avatar of Lord Krishna is also established by Krishna Himself in
Bhagavad Gita 10.42 when Lord states

ekamsena sthito jagat

‘’By single fragment (amsa) of Myself, I sustain the universe.’’

5. PADMA PURANA

The fact that Lord Vishnu is the amsa of Lord Krishna has been stated by Lord Krishna Himself
in Padma Purana, Patala Khanda 82.71 as follows
māyāguṇairyatomeṃ'śā kurvaṃti sarjanādikam |

na karomi svayaṃ kiṃcitsṛṣṭyādikamahaṃ śiva || 71 ||

‘’Lord Krishna says: I am not least involved in the acts of creation, maintenance, and annihilation.
All the functioning of the material manifestations is conducted through My Maya Shakti (maya)
and through My plenary portions (amsa).’’

In above verse of Padma Purana, Krishna clearly demonstrates that He is not involved in the acts
of maintenance (function of Lord Vishnu). Then who performs this function. It is performed by
His plenary portion. Specifically, the word ‘’amsa’’ has been used in above Sanskrit verse. One
can find the co-relation between this verse and the earlier quoted Gita verse 10.42 (ekamsena).

6. BRAHMA SAMHITA -5.48

Some people doubt the authenticity of Brahma Samhita without presenting any evidence.
However, such doubts shouldn’t be created. All our acharyas have quoted based on Brahma
Samhita. Thus, we consider it bonafide. Moreover, this book is also specifically mentioned in
Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Krishna Janma Khanda 133. 23-26.

Let us now see the verse from Brahma Samhita.

yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya

jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ

viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

‘’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."

7. BRAHMA VAIVARTA PURANA

In Brahma vaivarta Purana, Brahma Khanda 1.18.28, it is stated as follows

‘’Lord Mahavishnu is the sixteenth amsa of Lord Krishna.’’

8. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 11.6.16

tvattaḥ pumān samadhigamya yayāsya vīryaṁ

dhatte mahāntam iva garbham amogha-vīryaḥ

so ’yaṁ tayānugata ātmana āṇḍa-kośaṁ

haimaṁ sasarja bahir āvaraṇair upetam

‘’My dear Lord, the original puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu (puman), acquires His creative potency
from You. Thus, with infallible energy He impregnates material nature, producing the mahat-
tattva. Then the mahat-tattva, the amalgamated material energy, endowed with the potency of the
Lord, produces from itself the primeval golden egg of the universe, which is covered by various
layers of material elements.’’

In above verse, the word ‘puman’ means Lord Maha Vishnu. The word ‘samadhigamya’ means
acquiring/obtaining. The word ‘tvattah’ means ‘from You- Lord Krishna’. The word ‘viryam’
means creative potency. Thus, the whole verse clearly establishes that Lord Mahavishnu acquires
creative potency from Lord Krishna. In this way, Lord Mahavishnu creates manifold universes
(āṇḍa-kośaṁ).

9. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 11.29.7

Further, In Srimad Bhagavatam 11.29.7, Sukadeva Goswami addresses Lord Krishna as follows

śrī-śuka uvāca

ity uddhavenāty-anurakta-cetasā

pṛṣṭo jagat-krīḍanakaḥ sva-śaktibhiḥ

gṛhīta-mūrti-traya īśvareśvaro

jagāda sa-prema-manohara-smitaḥ

‘’Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus, questioned by the most affectionate Uddhava, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the
supreme controller of all controllers, who takes the entire universe as His plaything and assumes
the three forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, began to reply, lovingly displaying His all-attractive
smile.’’

Similarly, we can find statement of Lord Brahma in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.19 that states Lord
Krishna assuming three forms of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
10.PADMA PURANA

In Padma Purana, Patala Khanda 69.73, following verse clearly establishes that Lord Mahavishnu
is the avatara or amsa of Lord Krishna.

taddaśāṃśaṃ mahāviṣṇuṃ pravadaṃti manīṣiṇaḥ

‘’ Wise say that Lord Mahavishnu is the one tenth portion (dasa amsa) of Lord Krishna.’’

In another place, in Padma Purana, Patala Khanda 69.111, it is stated as follows

tatkalākoṭikoṭyaṃśā brahmaviṣṇumaheśvarāḥ |

sṛṣṭisthityādinā yuktāstiṣṭhaṃti tasya vaibhavāḥ

‘’Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva who are engaged in the process of creation,
maintenance, and destruction are equal to the parts of the measure of a croreth of a croreth of Lord
Krishna. Such is the glory of Lord Krishna. ‘’

11.SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 11.29.49

Another instance when Lord Krishna has been described as the source of all the Purusha forms of
Lord Vishnu is described in Srimad Bhagavatam 11.29.49

puruṣam ṛṣabham ādyaṁ kṛṣṇa-saṁjñaṁ nato ’smi

‘’Lord Krishna is the Origin of the Purusha (adyam purusam)- the source of Purusha avataras-three
forms of Lord Vishnu).’’

12.SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 3.2.21

In Srimad Bhagavatam 3.21.21, Lord Krishna is described as superior to three forms of Vishnu

svayaṁ tv asāmyātiśayas tryadhīśaḥ

svārājya-lakṣmy-āpta-samasta-kāmaḥ

baliṁ haradbhiś cira-loka-pālaiḥ

kirīṭa-koṭyeḍita-pāda-pīṭhaḥ

‘’Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of all kinds of threes and is independently supreme by achievement
of all kinds of fortune. He is worshiped by the eternal maintainers of the creation, who offer Him
the paraphernalia of worship by touching their millions of helmets to His feet.’’
In above verse, the word ‘’tryadhīśaḥ’’ is significant. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself
explains the meaning of this word in Chaitanya Charitamrta Madhya Lila, chapter 21 as follows:

First meaning: tryadhīśaḥ- Master of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

Second meaning: tryadhīśaḥ- Master of three forms of Vishnu (described before)

13.KRISHNA YAMALA TANTRA

In Krishna Yamala Tantra, Jnana Khanda 6.23, it is stated as follows

‘’ Lord Mahavishnu manifests from Lord Krishna. ‘’

14.NARADA PANCARATRA

In Narada Pancaratra, while explaining the etymology of the name of Vasudeva, it is described as
follows

‘’Because all of the universes rest within the pores of Mahavisnu's body, He is also called Vasu.
And since Krsna is the Lord of Mahavisnu, He is called Vasudeva.’’- Narada Pancaratra 2.6.26

‘’Lord Maha-visnu is one sixteenth portion of Sri Krsna.’’ - Narada Pancaratra 2.2.99
Thus, we can understand from the above descriptions that Lord Krishna is the source of other
Purusha expansions (Lord Maha Vishnu, Lord Garbhodakasayi Vishnu- Lord Padmanabha, and
Lord Kshirodaksayi Vishnu)

15.DEVI BHAGAVATAM

In Devi Bhagavatam 9.3.5, it is stated as follows

‘’Lord Mahavishnu is one sixteenth portion of the Lord Krishna’’

LORD NARAYANA IS THE VILASA EXPANSION OF LORD KRISHNA

Now that we have understood about Lord Krishna being the source of Purusha forms. We shall
now understand how Lord Narayana, who Himself is the source of Lord Mahavishnu, is the Vilasa
expansion of Lord Krishna.

Some people say

avatārī nārāyaṇa, kṛṣṇa avatāra

teṅha catur-bhuja, iṅha manuṣya-ākāra

‘’Because Nārāyaṇa has four hands whereas Kṛṣṇa looks just like a man, they say that Nārāyaṇa
is the original God whereas Kṛṣṇa is but an incarnation.’’- CC. Adi Lila 2.61

However, using such logic is faulty for understanding the nature of the absolute truth.

In Pancharatra, five-fold aspects of Lord are described: Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Antaryami, and
Archa. Among them, Para aspect is considered Lord Narayana, who resides in Maha Vaikuntha
Loka (paravyoma- spiritual sky). Now, in this section, we shall see how even Lord Narayana is
the vilasa expansion of Lord Krishna. Before that, let us define the meaning of the word ‘’vilasa’’.

The Laghu bhagavatamrta (1.15) defines a vilasa form as follows:

svarupam anyakaram yat tasya bhati vilasatah prayenatma samam sa-ktya sa vilaso nigadyate

"When the Lord expands into a form that appears different from His original form but has almost
all His original qualities, that form is called a vilasa expansion."
1.NARADA PURANA

Now, Narada Purana 1.83.12 clearly describes how Lord Narayana is the Vilasa (expansion) of
Lord Krishna

kṛṣṇasya vāmabhāgāttu jāto nārāyaṇaḥ svayam

rādhikāyāśca vāmāṅgānmahālakṣmīrbabhūva ha

‘’From left side of Lord Krishna, Lord Narayana manifested. From left side of Sri Radha,
Mahalakshmi manifested.''

2.SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 10.14.14

nārāyaṇas tvaṁ na hi sarva-dehinām

ātmāsy adhīśākhila-loka-sākṣī

nārāyaṇo ’ṅgaṁ nara-bhū-jalāyanāt

tac cāpi satyaṁ na tavaiva māyā

‘’Are You not the original Nārāyaṇa, O supreme controller, since You are the Soul of every
embodied being and the eternal witness of all created realms? Indeed, Lord Nārāyaṇa is Your
expansion, and He is called Nārāyaṇa because He is the generating source of the primeval water
of the universe. He is real, not a product of Your illusory Māyā.’’

Sridhara Svami explains in his commentary:

"This verse explains that Lord Narayana rests on the Garbhodaka Ocean which was manifested
from His own body. It is further explained that Narayana is a plenary portion of Lord Krsna.

If anyone is further interested in the explanation of above verse, one may refer to the commentary
of Srila Sanatana Goswami (Brhad Vaishnava toshini). Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraj Goswami
summarizes it as follows

sei tinera aṁśī paravyoma-nārāyaṇa

teṅha tomāra vilāsa, tumi mūla-nārāyaṇa

‘’The source of three Purusa features is the Nārāyaṇa in the spiritual sky. He is Your vilāsa
expansion. Therefore, You are the Mula Nārāyaṇa.”- C.C. Adi Lila 2.57
3. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM -BRAHMA VIMOHANA LILA (10.13)

In Brahma Vimohana Lila, Lord Krishna expanded into innumerable forms of Lord Narayana and
bewildered Brahma. And again, all forms of Lord Narayana entered into form of Lord Krishna. In
the word of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

eka kṛṣṇa-deha haite sabāra prakāśe

kṣaṇeke sabāi sei śarīre praveśe

“All these transcendental bodies emanated from the body of Kṛṣṇa, and within a second They all
entered again into His body.’’- CC. Madhya Lila 21.23

This passage from Srimad-Bhagavatam describes how millions of Lord Krsna's visnu-tattva
expansions were shown to Brahma by Lord Krsna. who manifested Them as merely a portion of a
portion of His potency. These visnu-tattva expansions were all in the material universes and they
were being worshiped by the Lord’s various potencies, headed by Aja, by all personified opulences
, by the mystic perfections , headed by Anima, by the 24 material elements enumerated by the
Sankhya philosophy , by the mahat-tattva and other potencies, by the Lord's assistants and
associates, by personified time and other potencies of the Lord, by the various material universes
manifested by the time potency, by innumerable Brahmas and other demigods entrusted with the
details of universal creation, and by all the individual living entities(jivas), even down to the blade
of grass.

In his commentary on this verse, Srila Sridhara Svami confirms that all transcendental potencies
are manifested from Lord Krsna, and Lord Krsna is the original source of everything. In order to
substantiate these points, Sridhara Svami quotes the "krsnas tu bhagvan svayam" (Sri Krsna is the
Original Personality of Godhead) statement of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.28).

In this way, the above pastime establishes that Lord Krishna is not an incarnation of Lord
Narayana. But it is otherwise. It is for this reason that Lord Narayana is known as the Vilasa
expansion of Lord Krishna.

KRISHNA IS THE SOURCE OF ALL THE AVATARAS

Now that I have described Lord Krishna to be the source of Purusha forms of Vishnu and Lord
Narayana, I will quote few more scriptural verses that explain Lord Krishna as the Original
Personality of Godhead- the source of all the avataras.
I. SATVATA TANTRA

In Satvata Tantra 3.52, it is described as follows

atah sarvavataranam

karanam krishna ucyate

srishty-ady-aneka-karmani

darshitani yatah svatah

‘’Lord Krishna, who displays many different activities beginning with the creation of the material
worlds, is said to be the source of all avataras.’’

II. NARADA PANCARATRA

Further, in Narada Pancaratra 1.12.75, it is confirmed that Lord Krishna is the source (bija) of all
other avataras as follows

bījaṃ nānāvatārāṇāṃ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

‘’Lord Krishna is the seed (bija) of all the avataras. He is the cause of all the causes.’’

III. PRABODHA SUDHAKARA- COMPOSITION OF ADI SANKARACHARYA

In his composition entitled Prabodha Sudhakara, Adi Sankaracharya also confirms that Lord
Krishna is the source of all other avataras. It is stated as follows

‘’Even those who were killed by Yadu Nandan Krishna have attained Moksha. Thus, one should
know that Lord Krishna is the source of all the avataras.’’
Special Position of Lord Krishna is further established by Adi Sankaracharya, by citing the pastime
of Brahma Vimohana Lila as follows

‘’The one (Lord Krishna) who showed Lord Brahma many universes and in each universe many
Brahmas and Vishnus that person is different from Tri Murti (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva).’’-
Prabodha Sudhakara, verse 242.

In above verse, Lord Krishna has clearly been described as superior to forms of Trinity (krsno vai
prthag asti)

IV. GAUTAMIYA TANTRA

In Govinda Vrindavana Shastra (part of Gautamiya Tantra), a verse quoted in Hari Bhakti Ratna
Prakasha 5.12, Lord Krishna says to Balarama as follows

aham atma param brahma

sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah

sadashiva-maha-vishnu-

brahma-rudradi-karakah

narakritir nitya-rupi

vamshi-vadya-priyah sada

‘’I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead. My form is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of
bliss. I am the progenitor of Lord Sadashiva, Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, Lord Rudra, and
everyone else. I am eternally manifest in this humanlike form, and I am very fond of playing the
flute."
V. PADMA PURANA

In Krishna Sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswami quotes following verses from Padma Purana.

Lord Brahma says to Narada as follows

avatara hy asankhyatah

kathita me tavagratah

param samyak pravakshyami

krishnas tu bhagavan svayam

" I have described about uncountable avataras of Godhead. However, know that Shri Krishna is
the Original Form of the Personality of Godhead.’’

krishnakhyam tu param brahma

bhuvi jatam na samshayah

dvayam vatha trayam vatha

catvarah panca caiva ca

drishyante vaishnava-shreshöha

avatare kanthancana

‘’O best of the Vaishnavas, Lord Krishna is the original feature of the Personality of Godhead. Of
this there is no doubt. On the lotus feet of the many avataras of the Lord: two, three, four, or five
of the auspicious signs may be present, but all sixteen signs are present only on the feet of Lord
Krishna.’’

VI. BRAHMA PURANA- LORD VISHNU MEDITATES ON HIS OWN VASUDEVA

FORM

In Brahma Purana, it is described that during the time of annihilation, Lord Vishnu meditates on
His Vasudeva form. The fact that Lord Vishnu meditates on His Vasudeva form indicates that
Lord Vasudeva is the source of Lord Vishnu. It is stated as follows

ātmānaṃ vāsudevākhyaṃ cintayan parameśvaraḥ

‘’ Lord Vishnu meditates on His Vasudeva form.’’- Brahma Purana 233.6

VI. PADMA PURANA- VYASADEVA WAS SHOWN THE HIGHEST FORM OF
BRAHMAN

When Vyasadeva requested Lord Madhusudhana to show His highest form that is confidentially
described in the Upanishads. Then, it is described that he saw a beautiful two-handed form of Lord
Krishna. This conversation is recorded in Padma Purana, Nirvana Khanda (Rahasya section)-
Patala Khanda, chapter 73. The same narration has also been quoted by our Gaudiya Vaishnava
acharya Sri Raghava Pandita Goswami in his book Hari Bhakti Ratna Prakasha.

vyāsa uvāca |

tvāmahaṃ draṣṭumicchāmi cakṣurbhyāṃ madhusūdana |

yattatsatyaṃ paraṃ brahma jagajjyotiṃ jagatpatim || 13 ||

vadaṃti vedaśirasaścākṣuṣaṃ nāthamadbhutam |

‘’Vyasadeva said: O Madhusudhana, I desire to see Your that form, whom the principal Vedas
describes as the truth, the highest Brahman, the one which illuminates the entire universe.’’

śrībhagavānuvāca |

paśyādya darśayiṣyāmi svarūpaṃ vedagopitam |

‘’Today I shall show you My original form that is concealed by the Vedas.’’

vedavyasa uvaca

tato'paśyaṃ bhūpabālamahaṃ kālāṃbudaprabham || 18 ||

gopakanyāvṛtaṃ gopaṃ hasaṃtaṃ gopabālakaiḥ |

kadaṃbamūlaāsīnaṃ pītavāsasamadbhutam || 19 ||

vanaṃ vṛṃdāvanaṃ nāma navapallavamaṃḍitam |

kokilabhramarārāvaṃ manobhava manoharam || 20 ||

‘’Vedavyasa said: "O king, at that moment I saw a cowherd boy splendid as a dark monsoon cloud,
surrounded by gopis, laughing with cowherd boys, dressed in yellow garments, and sitting under
a kadamba tree in the wonderful, supremely enchanting forest named Vrindavana, which was
decorated with newly blossoming flowers and filled with the sounds of cuckoos and bees."
yadidaṃ me tvayā dṛṣṭaṃ rūpaṃ divyaṃ sanātanam |

niṣkalaṃ niṣkriyaṃ śāṃtaṃ saccidānaṃdavigraham || 24 ||

‘’Then the lord, moving in the Vṛndāvana grove, Himself said to me: “The form that you are seeing
now is eternal and transcendental form of Mine. This form is free of all blemishes, without any
material qualities, inactive (not engaged in the functioning of the material world), calm, and of the
form of sat-chit-ananda (eternity, knowledge, and bliss).’’

pūrṇaṃ padmapalāśākṣaṃ nātaḥ parataraṃ mama |

idamevavadaṃtyetevedāḥkāraṇakāraṇam || 25 ||

‘’ This is My complete form (purnam), having eyes like the petals of a fully blossomed lotus. There
is no form greater than this form of Mine. The Vedas describe this form of Mine alone as the ‘cause
of the causes.’’

In Srimad Bhagavatam 3.9.3, Lord Brahma also says the same thing to Krishna as follows

nātaḥ paraṁ parama yad bhavataḥ svarūpam

ānanda-mātram avikalpam aviddha-varcaḥ

‘’O my Lord Krishna, I do not see a form superior to Your present form of eternal bliss and
knowledge."

In this way, the above narration from Padma Purana establishes that Lord Krishna is the Original
Personality of Godhead.

VII. VAYU PURANA- VYASA SAMSHYA (DOUBT OF VYASADEVA RAISED TO

PERSONIFIED VEDAS)

In this section of Vayu Purana, Vyasadeva raises a doubt to personified Vedas that Vedas talk
about Akshara Brahma (immutable Brahman) as the highest aspect. However, Vedas also talk
about Aksarah Parah (Superior to Akshara), although Vedas don’t describe much in detail about
the nature of this form (the one who is even beyond Akshara).

‘’Vyasadeva said: I have heard that Lord Krishna who is always engaged in sporting with Srimati
Radharani is considered the Supreme Person. I have heard that this form of Lord is beyond
description. Verily, this form of Brahman is considered free from all the material qualities, devoid
of all the dualities. I have heard that He is the Lord of Goloka, transcendental to all material
manifestations. The Nigamas (Vedas and Upanishads) describe this form as beyond Akshara.
There is nothing that is higher than this form of Krishna.’’

After describing his realization, Vyasadeva sought confirmation from the personified Vedas on the
nature of Lord Krishna who has been considered beyond Akshara in the Vedas. To this, personified
Vedas replied as follows

‘’Personified Vedas said: The one superior to Akshara Brahma is this form (of Lord Krishna). It
is the cause of all the causes. It is the atman of the atman. Know this form to be highest.’’

‘’ This has been experienced by us when the universal annihilation took place. This form that is
described as beyond the Akshara (imperishable Brahman) is verily Rasa (bliss personified). We
are unable to describe about this form, for it is beyond words.’’

Note: Readers will notice how Lord Krishna is described in above verse as ‘sarva karana aranam’-
the very first verse of Brahma Samhita 5.1

In this way, in the above confidential section of Vayu Purana, Lord Krishna is described as of the
nature of highest Brahman.

VIII. BRHAD VAMANA PURANA- UPA PURANA (PART OF VAMANA PURANA)-

MANUSCRIPT LOST IN ANTIQUITY

In a Upa Purana called as Brhad Vamana Purana, part of Vamana Purana, in a section entitled
‘’Vrindavana Mahatmya’’, personified Vedas asks a benediction from Lord Krishna as follows

narayanadi-rupani

jnatany asmabhir acyuta

sa-gunam brahma sarvedam

vastu-buddhir na teshu nah

"The Personified Vedas said: O infallable Lord, to a certain extent we can understand Your forms
of Lord Narayana and other incarnations. At least we can understand that these forms are all
spiritual and full of spiritual attributes. We do not mistake them for matter.’’
brahmeti procyate 'smabhir

yad rupam nirgunam param

van-mano-gocaratitam

tato na jnayate hi tat

"These forms are all spiritual and transcendental. They have no material qualities. Because they
are beyond the touch of the material mind and material words, we cannot properly understand
them.’’

ananda-matram iti yad

vadantiha pura-vidah

tad rupam darshayasmakam

yadi deyo varo hi nah

"The great sages of ancient times have also said that Your original transcendental form is
composed of spiritual bliss alone. If You think if we are qualified, please show us that form of
Yours. That is the only benediction we request’’

Then, Lord displayed His original youthful form along with His eternal abode of Goloka
Vrindavana. This incident proves that Lord Krishna is not an avatara of Vishnu.

The above verses are recorded in Hari Bhakti Ratna Prakasha of Sri Raghava Pandita Goswami.

IX. POSITION OF GOLOKA IS HIGHER THAN VAIKUNTHA

We shall now describe how the position of Goloka is considered superior to that of Vaikuntha or
how Goloka is situated in the highest region of Vaikuntha. By such descriptions, one should
understand, Lord Krishna is the original personality of Godhead, otherwise such descriptions
would be meaningless.

A) PADMA PURANA

In Padma Purana 5.69.9, position of Goloka Vrindavana is described as superior in glory and
position than that of Vaikuntha. It is stated as follows

pūrṇabrahmasukhaiśvaryaṃ nityamānaṃdamavyayam |

vaikuṃṭhādi tadaṃśāṃśaṃ svayaṃ vṛṃdāvanaṃ bhuvi || 9 ||

‘’The eternal abode of Vrindavana is of the nature of complete Brahman. It is full of bliss and
opulences. All other Vaikuntha planets are portion of the portion of Vrindavana. ‘’

Above statement is also confirmed by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Chaitanya Charitamrta

Madhya Lila 21.29

B) BRAHMA VAIVARTA PURANA

Similarly, in Brahma Vaivarta Purana, it is described as follows

‘’The highest abode of Goloka is situated five hundred million yojanas above the abode of the
Vaikuntha. It is the best of all the places."- Prakriti Khanda 2.54.15–16

C) GAUTAMIYA TANTRA 4.5

dvatrimsad-vana-samvitam

vaikunthad ati-saukhyadam

purandara-mukhair devaih

sarvatah samadhishthitam

‘’Vrndavana contains 32 forests, and it grants transcendental bliss even more than Vaikuntha. Lord
Indra and the other demigods are absorbed in meditation upon that Vrndavana.’’ -Gautamiya
Tantra 4.5

D) BRIHAT BRAHMA SAMHITA (DIFFERENT FROM LAGHU BRAHMA SAMHITA)

In Brhat Brahma Samhita 3.1.122, it is stated as follows

‘’Goloka is the highest abode, situated outside the material world. It cannot be described by word
nor understood by mind. It is the eternal effulgent abode.’’

E. DEVI BHAGAVATAM

In Devi Bhagavatam 9.3.9-10, it is stated as follows

‘’The abode of Vaikuntha is situated outside the universe. The abode of Goloka is situated even
higher than Vaikuntha by 500 million yojanas. This Goloka Dhama is as real and eternal as Lord
Krishna.’’

The above verses describing the glory of Goloka Vrindavana as superior to that of Vaikuntha
establishes the fact that Krishna is not an avatara of Lord Vishnu. If Krishna were just an
incarnation of Lord Vishnu, all the above-mentioned things descriptions would be meaningless.

F) HARI VAMSA PURANA

In Hari Vamsa Purana 2.19.32, the abode of Lord Krishna is described as higher than that of
Vaikuntha.

tasyopari gavāṃ lokaḥ sādhyās taṃ pālayanti hi

sa hi sarvagataḥ kṛṣṇa mahākāśagato mahān

‘’Above the Brahma Loka (Vaikuntha) is the planet of Surabhi cows (Golokah), which is protected
by the great saints. The all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead- Lord Krishna resides
there.’’ (2.19.32)

G) RIG VEDA 1.154.6 & 1.22.20

Here, someone may ask if the supreme position of Goloka mentioned in Srutis such as Rig Veda?

To answer this, we shall present couple of verses which confidentially describe the position of
Goloka.

Rig Veda 1.22.20 states as follows

tad viṣṇoḥ paramam padaṃ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ | divīva cakṣur ātatam ||

‘’The wise ever contemplate that supreme abode of Lord Vishnu with the eye ranging over the
sky.”

Rig Veda 1.154.6 states as follows

tā vāṃ vāstūny uśmasi gamadhyai yatra gāvo bhūriśṛṅgā ayāsaḥ | atrāha tad urugāyasya vṛṣṇaḥ
paramam padam ava bhāti bhūri ||

“We wish to go to Your [Radha’s and Krsna’s] beautiful houses, about which cows with large,
excellent horns are wandering. Yet distinctly shining on this earth is that supreme abode of Yours
that showers joy on all, O Urugaya [Krsna, who is much praised].”

Objection: You are just making up a false connection of these Rig Vedic verses with Goloka.
Nowhere does the original verses mention about Goloka and Radha Krishna.
Reply: No, it is not true. We need to understand two things here.

Mahabharata (Adi Parva 1.1.204) states

itihāsapurāṇābhyāṃ vedaṃ samupabṛṃhayet

bibhety alpaśrutād vedo mām ayaṃ pratariṣyati

‘’One must complement one’s study of the Vedas with the Itihasas and the Puranas, for Vedas has
a fear that unqualified people will read her and then distort her meaning. "

In view of the above verse, one should complement above Rig Veda verses with their Upa
brahmanas (ancillary literatures that explain the given verse of Samhita) as follows

Bhagavad Gita

Let’s see what Lord Krishna states in Bhagavad Gita 15.6

tad dhama paramam mama

‘’Lord Krishna says: That is My supreme abode.’’

Above verse is Upa brahmana for ‘tad visnoh paramam padam’. This proves that Goloka is the
supreme abode of Lord Krishna.

Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda

In Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, chapter 227, Lord Shiva states as follows

tadviṣṇoḥ paramaṃ dhāma sadā paśyaṃti sūrayaḥ |

akṣaraṃ śāśvataṃ divyaṃ devi cakṣurivātatam || 68 ||

‘’O goddess, the wise ones always see with expanded eye that highest abode of Viṣṇu, which is
indestructible, eternal, divine.’’

viṣṇoḥ pade hi parame pade tatsaśubhāhvayeḥ |

yatra gāvo bhūriśṛṃgā āsate susukhāḥ prajāḥ || 71 ||

‘’At that highest place of Viṣṇu, cows with many horns and blissful devotees live.’’

atrāha tatparaṃ dhāma gopaveṣasya śārṅgiṇaḥ |

tadbhāti paramaṃ dhāma gobhirgopaissukhāhvayaiḥ || 72 ||

‘’It is described as the supreme abode of Lord, where Lord stays in the form of cowherd. Together
with the cows and various other cowherds of pleasant appellations that great abode shines. ‘’

The above two verses specifically describe the supreme abode of Goloka which has earlier been
confidentially described in Rig Veda 1.154.6. One should specifically note the correlation between
the Padma purana and the Rig veda (yatra gāvo bhūriśṛṃgā).

X. DASHAVATARA STOTRA- GITA GOVINDA (COMPOSITION BY SRI JAYADEVA

GOSWAMI)

Sri Jayadeva Goswami, who appeared even before the appearance of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,
in his composition Dashavatra stotram has described Lord Krishna to be the source of all the
avataras.

In his composition, Jayadeva Goswami lists the following 10 avataras.

1. Matysa

2. Kurma

3. Varaha

4. Nrsimha

5. Vamana

6. Parshurama

7. Rama

8. Balabhadra

9. Buddha

10.Kalki

Interestingly, He doesn’t count Lord Krishna in this ten avataras, even though Krishna appeared
along with Balabhadra (Balarama, whom he mentions)). In the final verse of the stotram, he says
as follows

vedan uddharate jaganti vahate bhu-golam udbibhratedaityam darayate balim chalayate kshatra-
kshayam kurvatepaulastyam jayate halam kalayate karunyam atanvatemlecchan murchayate
dasakriti-krite krishnaya tubhyam namah

‘’O Lord Krishna, I offer my obeisances unto You, who appear in the forms of these ten
incarnations. In theform of Matsya You rescue the Vedas, and as Kurma You bear the Mandara
Mountain on Your back. AsVaraha You lift the earth with Your tusk, and in the form of Narasimha
You tear open the chest of the daitya Hiranyakasipu. In the form of Vamana, You trick the daitya
king Bali by asking him for only three stepsof land, and then You take away the whole universe
from him by expanding Your steps. As Parasurama You slay all of the wicked kshatriyas, and as
Ramacandra You conquer the rakshasa king Ravana. In the form of Balarama, You carry a plow
with which You subdue the wicked and draw toward You the River Yamuna. As Lord Buddha
You show compassion toward all the living beings suffering in this world, and at the end of the
Kali-yuga You appear as Kalki to bewilder the mlecchas [degraded low-class men].’’

In this way, Jayadeva Goswami also agrees with the fact that Lord Krishna is the source of all
other incarnations.

XI. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM VERSES GLORIFYING KRISHNA AS THE SOURCE OF

MANY INCARNATIONS

In Srimad Bhagavatam 10.87.46, Narada Muni says to Lord Krishna

śrī-nārada uvāca

namas tasmai bhagavate

kṛṣṇāyāmala-kīrtaye

yo dhatte sarva-bhūtānām

abhavāyośatīḥ kalāḥ

‘’I offer my respectful obeisances to Lord Krsna, the all-knowing Original Personality of Godhead
who, in order to liberate the conditioned souls, accepts the auspicious forms of his many
incarnations."

Sridhara Swami explains in his commentary to this verse:

"Speaking to Narayana Rsi, Narada glorified the appearence of lord Krsna by speaking this verse,
which confirms the truth of the statement "ete camsa-kalah pumsah krsnas tu bhagavan svayam".
In this way, at the end of the Prayers of the Personified Vedas, Narada Muni affirmed that Lord
Krsna is the Orignal Personality of Godhead, the source of all incarnations.’’
There are many more verses in Srimad Bhagavatam that describe Lord Krishna as the source of
many incarnations. To cite a few

S.B.10.14.20

S.B.10.8.15

S.B.10.10.34

S.B.10.58.37

S.B.10.87.46

One can refer Bhakti Vedanta Vedabase website for accessing above-mentioned verse references
of Srimad Bhagavatam. I have provided link for the same in my reference section at the end.Thus,
from the above quoted various scriptural verses, one can understand how Lord Krishna is the
source of all other incarnations.

PARIBHASA SUTRA OF SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM - KRSNAS TU BHAGAVAN

SVAYAM

Finally, I will once again touch upon this important verse of Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28. I shall
describe it once again, now that we have clear background of the nuances of the various forms of
Lord to be incarnations of Lord Krishna.

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28 is described as the Paribhasa sutra by our acharyas- one that represents
the essence of Srimad Bhagavatam. Paribhasa sutra is a technical term that is defined as follows

‘’A paribhasa-sutra explains the proper method for understanding a book. It gives the key
by which one may understand the actual purport of a series of apparently unrelated facts
and arguments."

The paribhasa-sutra is stated only once in a book, and it is not repeated. A single paribhasa-sutra
may govern the contents even of a very large book with millions of statements or arguments. An
example of this is the paribhasa-sutra

"vipratisedhe param karyam," which governs the entire TEXT of Panini's Astadhyayi.

However, before understanding this paribhasa sutra, let us take a step back and understand the
previous verses to better gauge the context of that chapter.

From verses 6 to 25, in total, twenty-two incarnations of Lord (Garbhodakasayi Vishnu) are
mentioned. However, only in verse 23, while referring to Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama, the
adjective ‘Bhagavan’ has been employed (rāma-kṛṣṇāv iti bhuvo bhagavān aharad bharam). The
very fact that no other incarnation of the Lord, previously described in that chapter, were described
with the adjective ‘’bhagavan’’ indicates a difference or speciality of the form of Lord Krishna
and Lord Balarama over all other incarnations.

Given the above context, let us now understand the important verse 1.3.28

ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ

kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam

‘’All of the above-mentioned incarnations (ete) are either plenary portions (amsah) or portions of
the plenary portions (kalah) of the Purusha (Lord Vishnu), but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original
Personality of Godhead (svayam bhagavan).’’

In above verse, the word ‘pumsah’ is significant. It describes that all the above-mentioned avataras
(ete) and all those that are not mentioned (ca) are either kalah (such as devatas, Manu, Manu putra,
Prajapati, Rsis) or amshas (such as Matysa, Kurma, etc) of the Purusha rupa-one of the three forms
of Lord Vishnu (pumsah) that were described in 1.3.1–5, however (tu), Krishna is Svayam
Bhagavan.

The word ‘’tu’’ negates the previously mentioned categorization of Krishna being one of the
avatara of Purusha Rupa. By using the word "tu" (but), Lord Krishna is clearly distinguished from
the "amsha-kalah" (plenary portions and parts of the plenary portions of the purusha-incarnation).
Lord Krishna is not another expansion of the purusha-incarnation.

It is for the same reason that S.B.1.3.23 uses the word ‘’bhagavan’’ only for describing Lord
Krishna. Thus, Brahma Samhita 5.39, in line with the above verse, mentions as follows

rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan

nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu

kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

‘’I worship Govinda, who is superior to Purusha rupa (paramah puman). He is svayam bhagavan.
The different avatāras in the world in the forms of Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana, etc., are His subjective
portions.’’

Here, someone may raise a doubt, ‘’Is Krishna not already included in the list of avataras?’’

Then, please listen. It is said in the book Ekadasi Tattva

anuvādam anuktvaiva

na vidheyam udīrayet

na hy alabdhāspadaṁ kiñcit

kutracit pratitiṣṭhati

‘’ Without first mentioning what is known, one should not introduce the unknown, for that which
has no solid basis can never be established anywhere.’’- CC. Adi Lila 16.58

The above verse basically means that without stating the subject, the predicate should not be
supplied. With this understanding, it is understood that Lord Krishna has only been mentioned in
the previous list to give a general explanation of the various avataras of Lord. In this connection,
Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraj Goswami explains

‘’An opponent may say, “This is your interpretation, but actually the Supreme Lord is Nārāyaṇa,
who is in the transcendental realm.

To such a misguided interpreter we may reply, “Why should you suggest such fallacious logic?
An interpretation is never accepted as evidence if it opposes the principles of scripture. One should
not state a predicate before its subject, for it cannot thus stand without proper support. If I do not
state a subject, I do not state a predicate. First, I speak the former and then I speak the latter. The
predicate of a sentence is what is unknown to the reader, whereas the subject is what is known to
him. For example, we may say, ‘This vipra is a greatly learned man.’ In this sentence, the vipra is
the subject, and the predicate is his erudition. The man’s being a vipra is known, but his erudition
is unknown. Therefore, the person is identified first and his erudition later. In the same way, all
these incarnations were known, but whose incarnations they are was unknown. First the word ‘ete’
[‘these’] establishes the subject [the incarnations]. Then ‘plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras’
follow as the predicate. In the same way, when Kṛṣṇa was first counted among the incarnations,
specific knowledge about Him was still unknown. Therefore, first the word ‘kṛṣṇa’ appears as the
subject, followed by the predicate, describing Him as the original Personality of Godhead. This
establishes that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. The original Personality of
Godhead is therefore necessarily Kṛṣṇa. Had Kṛṣṇa been the plenary portion and Nārāyaṇa the
primeval Lord, the statement of Sūta Gosvāmī would have been reversed. Thus, he would have
said, ‘Nārāyaṇa, the source of all incarnations, is the original Personality of Godhead. He has
appeared as Śrī Kṛṣṇa.’’

To clarify that Lord Krishna is ‘Svayam Bhagavan’ and not the amsa or incarnation of Lord
Vishnu, the word ‘’tu’’ (negation) has been used. The word ‘tu’ distinguishes Svayam Bhagavan
from the amsas and kalas and from the Purusha forms.
Further, as per the sutra of Jaimini Mimamsa sutra 6.5.54 ‘paurvāparye pūrvadaurbalyaṃ
prakṛtivat’: In the list of items, the previous ones are weaker than the later ones as in the case of
prakriti sacrifices.

In other words, The rules of literary composition state:

"More significant facts and facts meant to be emphasized should be placed at the end of a
composition, for the final parts of a composition are naturally considered more important
by the reader."

Therefore, because the statement "Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead" is placed at the
end of the list of incarnations, that is to be stressed more than the fact that He is also included in
that list.

For example, in the description of the Agnisthoma sacrifice, the Shruti-shastra explains:

yady udgata vicchidyad akakshinena yajate, yadi pratiharta sarvasva-dakshinena

‘’If the Udgata priest leaves prematurely and does not complete the sacrifice, he becomes ineligible
to receive the priestly remuneration. If his assistant, the Pratiharta priest, then completes the
sacrifice, that assistant becomes then entitled to receive all the priestly rewards."

This is another example of the great significance of the final statement or the final activity.

When two contradictory methods of atonement are prescribed in the scriptures, and the difference
between them cannot be reconciled by learned scholars, the atonement mentioned last is always
considered to overrule what was stated previously and is taken as the conclusion.

In the same way, the inclusion of Krishna in the list of incarnations is overruled by the statement
that appears at the conclusion of the description of the incarnations: that Krishna is the original
Personality of Godhead.

The word "tu" may also be used simply to emphasize a statement and may mean "certainly" or
"indeed". This is confirmed in the statement "savadharana shrutir balavati" (The word ‘tu’ is used
for emphasis). Taken in this way, the word "tu" emphasizes that only Krishna is the original form
of the Personality of Godhead, Narayana, or any of the other secondary expansions of the Lord,
are not the original form of the Lord.

For more detail and the explanation on this important verse of Srimad Bhagavatam, one may refer
Srila Jiva Goswami’s commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28 verse (in his book Krama
Sandarbha) and in Krishna Sandarbha (one of the Sat Sandarbhas). I am refraining to produce that
complete explanation here, for the fear of further increasing the length of my answer any further.
MISINTERPRETED VERSES CLARIFIED.

Some people have wrongly translated various verses from the scriptures to prove that Lord Krishna
is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This section intends to address such issues and present a proper
interpretation.

1.S.B.10.1.2: tatrāṁśenāvatīrṇasya

S.B. 10.1.2 is presented by some people as a statement contradicting the assertion of our paribhasa-
sutra, and someone may claim that these words mean " Lord Vishnu appeared in this material
world by expanding Himself as Sri Krsna ". Actually, however, this is not the proper interpretation
of these words. The word "amsena" should be understood to mean "with His plenary portion, Lord
Baladeva", and the entire statement should be interpreted: " The Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Lord Krsna, appeared in this material world accompanied by His plenary portion, Lord Baladeva."

2. S.B.10.20.48: kalabhyam nitaram hareh

The statement "kalabhyam nitaram hareh" (S.B. 10.20.48) is also presented as a statement
contradicting our paribhasa-sutra and someone may claim that these words mean " The Supreme
Godhead appeared in the forms of His two expansions, Krsna and Balarama." Actually, however,
this is not the proper interpretation of these words. "Kalabhyam" (by the two plenary portions) is
not actually one word, but the two words

"kala" and "abhyam", joined by sandhi. The phrase "harer kala" means the earth planet, which is
one of Lord Hari's many potencies and "abhyam" means "by Krsna and Balarama". The actual
meaning of this statement is: " The earth planet appeared very beautiful because of the presence
of Krsna and Balarama."

3. S.B.10.2.41: distyamba te kuksi-gatah parah puman amsena saksad bhagavan bhavaya

nah

Someone may claim that the verse "distyamba te kuksi-gatah parah puman amsena saksad
bhagavan bhavaya nah" from Srimad Bhagavatam (10.2.41) contradicts the view presented in our
paribhasa-sutra ("Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam"). Such a person may interpret this verse from
Srimad Bhagavatam to mean " O mother Devaki, for your good fortune and ours, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead Himself has expanded into His plenary portion known as Krsna. In His
Krsna-expansion, He is now within your womb."

This is not the proper way to understand the meaning of this verse. The word "amsena" means by
His appearance as Lord Matsya and other incarnations", and the second line of the verse should be
understood in the past tense. In this way one will be able to perceive the actual meaning of the
verse: "O mother Devaki, the Supreme Personality of Godhead formerly appeared as Lord Matsya
and His many other incarnations just for our good-fortune. He has now appeared with your womb,
in His original form of Lord Krsna."
4. S.B.10.2.18: tato jaganmangalam acyutamsam

Someone may claim that the statement of our paribhasa-sutra is contradicted by the following verse
from (S.B. 10.2.18): "tato jaganmangalam acyutamsam". Such a critic may interpret this
statement: " Thereafter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is auspicious for the entire
universe, expanded Himself as His plenary portion Krsna and appeared in this material world."

The world "acyutamsam" in this verse is actually an anyapadartha-bahuvrihi-samasa and it means

" He in whom all the incarnations of Godhead are present." The actual meaning of these words of
Srimad Bhagavatam is: Thereafter, the Original Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, from whom
the various forms of the Personality of Godhead have expanded, and who is auspicious for the
entire universe, appeared in this material world, accompanied by all His plenary expansions."

Based on above logic, the statements from Vishnu Purana such as 5.1.4 (viṣṇor aṃśāṃ), 5.2.4
(viṣṇor aṃśe) also needs to be understood.

5. S.B. 10.43.23: dharer narayanasya hi avatirnav ihamsena

A critic may try to refute the statement of our paribhasa-sutra by pushing forward this verse from
Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.43.23):

etau bhagavatah saksad

dharer narayanasya hi

avatirnav ihamsena

vasudevasya vesmani

He may interpret this verse to mean: "Krsna and Balaram, who are both plenary expansions of the
Original Personality of Godhead, Lord Narayana, have descended to this material world, appearing
in the home of King Vasudeva."

In this verse the word "amsena" does not mean as an expansion of Lord Narayana, but rather it
means accompanied by all His plenary portions. In this way the actual meaning of the verse is
established: "The Original Personality of Godhead, Krsna and Balarama, have descended to this
material world accompanied by all Their plenary expansions. They have appeared in the home of
King Vasudeva."

6. S.B.4.1.59: harer aṁśāv ihāgatau

Attempting to discredit the validity of our paribhasa-sutra, someone may quote the following verse
from Srimad-Bhagavatam:
tāv imau vai bhagavato

harer aṁśāv ihāgatau

bhāra-vyayāya ca bhuvaḥ

kṛṣṇau yadu-kurūdvahau

Our critic may try to interpret this verse to mean: "Krsna and Arjuna are plenary expansions of
Nara and Narayana Rsis and they have appeared in the Yadu and Kuru dynasties just to remove
the burden of the world."

That is not the proper way to interpret this verse. In this sentence, we may note that the past-
participle "agatau" is the subject of the sentence, in the nominative case. The word "krsnau" is in
the accusative case. The word "bhagavatah" means The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
origin of all incarnations of Godhead", and "hareh" means of the purusa-incarnation." The words
"tau imau amsau" refer to Nara-Narayana Rsis and these words are in the nominative case. The
word "krsnau" in the accusative case refers to Krsna and Arjuna. The meaning of the sentence is
"Nara and Narayana Rsis were present within Krsna and Arjuna." In other words, Nara and
Narayana Rsis accompanied Krsna and Arjuna. This verse does not mean that Krsna and Arjuna
are expansions of Nara and Narayana Rsis. The remainder of the sentence describes Krsna and
Arjuna. Firstly, the verse says that Krsna and Arjuna descended to this world to relieve the burden
of the earth. The use of the word "ca" (also) suggests that They also appeared to grant
transcendental happiness to the devotees by performing various pastimes. We may also note that
the word "yadu-kurudvahau" means who appeared in the Yadu and Kuru dynasties."

Our interpretation of this verse from Srimad Bhagavatam therefore is " Nara and Narayana Rsis
appeared within the bodies of Krsna and Arjuna, who took birth in the Yadu and Kuru dynasties
just to relieve the burden of the earth."

A person may still come up with few other verses that prove otherwise. Again, it needs proper
interpretation. All these critics have been elegantly handled by Srila Jiva Goswami in his book
Krishna Sandarbha.

Finally, we also need to understand that Srimad Bhagavatam is the best of the Pramana (evidence).
There are limitless glorifications of Srimad Bhagavatam over all other puranas. It is considered a
ripened fruit of all the Vedic literatures (nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ- S.B.1.1.3). Even
after Vyasadeva wrote all the Puranas, He was still dissatisfied (asampanna ivabhati- S.B.1.4.30).
He was finally satisfied when He wrote Bhagavatam. Since Bhagavatam presents the essence of
all the puranas, Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda 193.3 emphatically States: puranesu tu sarvesu
srimad bhagavatam param- Of all the Puranas, Srimad Bhagavatam is the best. If anyone wants
to know about more the details on Srimad Bhagavatam being the best of all the evidence, one
should carefully study the Tattva Sandarbha of Srila Jiva Goswami. The statements of the Srimad-
Bhagavatam are conclusive and eclipse any scripture that contradicts them. Therefore, the wise
see that other scriptures all follow Srimad-Bhagavatam just as courtiers follow their king's orders.
This is the opinion of all Vaishnava acharyas. Thus, one shouldn’t doubt the evidence presented
above. And as per the numerous evidence described, it has conclusively been established that Lord
Krishna is the Original Personality of Godhead, of whom, Lord Narayana/ Lord Vishnu is the
avatara.

LORD NARAYANA/ LORD MAHAVISHNU IS ALSO THE SOURCE OF

INNUMERABLE INCARNATIONS (avatārāvalī-bījaṁ)

Now that we have described how Lord Krishna is the source of all the incarnations. One may still
have the question: Even if I accept that Lord Krishna is the source of Vishnu, how should I make
sense or reconcile the statements in various other scriptures which also describe Lord Vishnu to
be the source of many incarnations. How could both be true?

To answer this doubt, please consider below explanation.

In Brahma Samhita 5.11, Lord Mahavishnu has been described as ''sahasramsah”- the one from
whom thousands of ‘amsa-avataras’ come forth. Nevertheless, in that verse, even Lord
Mahavishnu is described to be amsa of Lord Krishna. We have already analyzed this verse earlier.

Similarly, one of the sixty qualities that are common to both Lord Krishna and Lord Narayana is
described to be ‘avatārāvalī-bījaṁ’ (one who is the source of innumerable incarnations).
Although Krishna is considered ‘avatari’- the source of all the incarnations (including Narayana).
Nevertheless, Lord Narayana is also considered source of many incarnations such as Purusha
avataras and so forth (svamsa and vibbhinamsa- as described in Varaha Purana). Thus, the
scriptural statements that describe Lord Narayana to be the source of many incarnations is also a
fact, for Lord Narayana is the source of three forms of Vishnu, who in turn are the source of
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and all other living entities. However, this doesn’t deny the fact that Lord
Narayana is also a vilasa expansion of Lord Krishna.

One can refer the verses such as Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.5, Garuda Purana 3.3.3, Garuda Purana
3.2.6 that describe how Lord Vishnu is the source of innumerable incarnations. Nevertheless, the
Paribhasa sutra (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28) negates this fact as not applicable for Svayam Rupa
Lord Krishna by stating ‘’krsnas tu Bhagavan svayam’’ and thus establishing that incarnations (eg
Matysa, Kurma, etc) from Lord Vishnu or from Lord Narayana doesn’t apply to Lord Krishna who
is known as ‘avatari’ or ‘amsi’.

In this way, both the kinds of statements from the scriptures should be understood without
contradiction. The concept of avataras is very complex as I said at the beginning of my answer. If
one wants to understand it better, one may refer to twentieth chapter of Madhya Lila, Chaitanya
Charitamrta, wherein Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains in much greater detail.

FOUR UNIQUE QUALITIES FOUND IN LORD KRISHNA- IN ADDITION TO LORD

NARAYANA

Now, we shall discuss four unique qualities of Lord Krishna, based on the rasa theology, that are
not even found in Lord Narayana. It is these four unique qualities that make the form of Krishna
superior to Narayana. Although there is no ontological difference between Krishna and Narayana,
as explained before. Nevertheless, based on the rasa, the form of Krishna is considered superior.
One shouldn’t misconstrue such statements as fanaticism but as based on the objective study of
the scriptures. We have already discussed before how Lord Krishna exchanges five-fold rasas with
His devotees. Among them, four are considered prominent (dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and
madhurya). Only in the form of Lord Krishna, can all these rasas manifest in its completeness. In
the word of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: amī kṛṣṇe kilādbhutāḥ (‘’Although these qualities are
present in Nārāyaṇa, the dominating Deity of the Vaikuṇṭha planets, they are even more
wonderfully present in Kṛṣṇa’’- CC. Madhy Lila 23.81).

In Vedic literatures, the word Bhakti is used for both Narayana and various other expansions of
Krsna, but the complete sentiments of bhakti which can be reciprocated with Krsna cannot be
reciprocated with other forms, thus says the Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his book Bhakti Viveka.
This is based upon the nature of rasa tattva. Now, one may ask what specific qualities make
Krishna’s form superior to Narayana, in terms of rasa. We shall explain it shortly. Before that, we
shall understand the nature of the unlimited qualities of Lord, in general.

Lord Brahma says in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.7 as follows

guṇātmanas te ’pi guṇān vimātuṁ

hitāvatīṛnasya ka īśire ’sya

kālena yair vā vimitāḥ su-kalpair

bhū-pāṁśavaḥ khe mihikā dyu-bhāsaḥ

‘’In time, learned philosophers or scientists might be able to count all the atoms of the earth, the
particles of snow, or perhaps even the shining molecules radiating from the sun, the stars, and other
luminaries. But among these learned men, who could possibly count the unlimited transcendental
qualities possessed by You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have descended onto the
surface of the earth for the benefit of all living entities?’’

Further in Srimad Bhagavatam 11.4.2, it is stated as follows

śrī-drumila uvāca

yo vā anantasya guṇān anantān

anukramiṣyan sa tu bāla-buddhiḥ

rajāṁsi bhūmer gaṇayet kathañcit

kālena naivākhila-śakti-dhāmnaḥ ‘’

‘’Śrī Drumila said: Anyone trying to enumerate or describe fully the unlimited quality of the
unlimited Supreme Lord has the intelligence of a foolish child. Even if a great genius could
somehow or other, after a time-consuming endeavor, count all the particles of dust on the surface
of the earth, such a genius could never count the attractive qualities of the Personality of Godhead,
who is the reservoir of all potencies.’’

Considering above verses, some people say that qualities of Lord are unlimited, so we shouldn’t
count the qualities of the Lord.

Nevertheless, we see that scriptures profusely enumerate the qualities of the Lord. Even though,
Lord Vishnu has unlimited names and qualities, nevertheless we glorify Him through His thousand
names or 108 names. For glorifying the unlimited qualities of the Lord, we would need unlimited
mouths, however we just have one mouth, so should we not glorify the Lord? Certainly, we should
glorify the Lord. One should always the glorify the Lord Uttamshloka, for it purifies us. Thus,
although Lord has unlimited spiritual qualities, sixty-four qualities are considered prominent.
Similarly, although qualities of Sri Radha are unlimited, twenty-five qualities of Her are
considered prominent. In this connection, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself states as follows

ananta kṛṣṇera guṇa, cauṣaṭṭi — pradhāna

eka eka guṇa śuni’ juḍāya bhakta-kāṇa

“The transcendental qualities of Lord Kṛṣṇa are unlimited. Out of these, sixty-four are considered
prominent. The ears of the devotees are satisfied simply by hearing all these qualities one after the
other.’’ (CC.Madhya Lila 23.69)

Out of sixty-four qualities, the first sixty qualities are found both in Lord Narayana and in Lord
Krishna. However, the last four qualities are only found in Krishna. It is described as follows

sarvādbhuta-camatkāra

līlā-kallola-vāridhiḥ

atulya-madhura-prema-

maṇḍita-priya-maṇḍalaḥ

trijagan-mānasākarṣi-

muralī-kala-kūjitaḥ

asamānordhva-rūpa-śrī-

vismāpita-carācaraḥ

‘’Apart from these sixty transcendental qualities, Kṛṣṇa has an additional four transcendental
qualities, which are not manifest even in the personality of Nārāyaṇa. These are: (1) Kṛṣṇa is like
an ocean filled with waves of pastimes that evoke wonder within everyone in the three worlds. (2)
In His activities of conjugal love, He is always surrounded by His dear devotees who possess
unequaled love for Him. (3) He attracts the minds of all three worlds by the melodious vibration
of His flute. (4) His personal beauty and opulence are beyond comparison. No one is equal to Him,
and no one is greater than Him. Thus, the Personality of Godhead astonishes all living entities,
both moving and nonmoving, within the three worlds. He is so beautiful that He is called Kṛṣṇa.’’
(Chaitanya Charitamrta Madhya Lila 23.82-83)

līlā premṇā priyādhikyaṁ

mādhuryaṁ veṇu-rūpayoḥ

ity asādhāraṇaṁ proktaṁ

govindasya catuṣṭayam

evaṁ guṇāś catur-bhedāś

catuḥ-ṣaṣṭir udāhṛtāḥ

‘’Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said: Above Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa has four specific transcendental
qualities — His wonderful pastimes (lila madhurya), an abundance of wonderful associates who
are very dear to Him [like the gopīs]-prema madhurya, His wonderful beauty (rupa madhurya) and
the wonderful vibration of His flute (venu madhurya). Based on these four qualities, He is even
more exalted than His personal expansion Nārāyaṇa. In all, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
has sixty-four transcendental qualities in full.’ (Verse ref: CC. Madhya Lila 23.84-85, B.R.S.
2.1.43)

Each of the four unique qualities of Lord Krishna are mentioned in various scriptures. Let us touch
upon each of them.

1. LILA MADHURYA- Sweetness of Krishna’s pastimes

The sweetness of Krishna’s pastimes has been profusely mentioned in various Vedic literatures
and by various poets. Let me cite couple of such instances.

A) BRAHMANDA PURANA

Lord Krishnasays in Brahmanda Purana as follows

santi bhurini rupani

mama purnani shad-gunaih

bhaveyus tani tulyani

na maya gopa-rupina
"Although I appear in many different forms, all full in six opulences, none of these forms is equal
to My form as the cowherd boy Krishna. - A verse quoted in Laghu Bhagavatamrta-1.5.524

B) PADMA PURANA

caritam krishnadevasya

sarvam evadbhutam bhavet

gopala-lila tatrapi

sarvato 'ti-manohara

"All Lord Krishna's pastimes are wonderful. Still, His pastimes as a cowherd boy are more
charming than all others."- (a verse quoted in Laghu Bhagavatamrta 1.5.530)

In line with the above scriptural statements, Bilvamangala Thakura has composed a following
verse (a verse quoted in Laghu Bhagavatamrta 1.5.37)

santv avatārā bahavaḥ

puṣkara-nābhasya sarvato-bhadrāḥ

kṛṣṇād anyaḥ ko vā latāsv

api premado bhavati

"There may be many all-auspicious incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, but who other than
Lord Śrī Krishna can bestow love of God upon the surrendered souls?"

It is for this reason when Lord Brahma asked Lord Narayana in Gopala Tapani Upanishad that
who is the best of the avatara of Your many avataras, Lord Narayan replied ‘It is the form of
Gopala’’. It is stated as follows

sa hovacabjayonir yo'vataranam madhye srestho'vatarah ko bhavati

‘’Brahma said: Among Your many avataras, which is the best?’’- Gopala Tapani 2.33

Lord Narayana then answers

tad gopala eva param satyam avadhitam

‘’The Supreme Personality of Godhead is therefore known as Gopala.’’-(2.51)

tasyam adhisthitah krishna-rupi pujyas tvaya sada

‘’You should always worship Me in the form of Krishna.’’ (2.57)

The speciality of Lord Krishna’s pastimes has also been indicated when just to associate with
Kṛṣṇa, Lakṣmī abandoned all transcendental happiness in Vaikuṇṭha and for a long-time accepted
vows and regulative principles and performed unlimited austerities. This is described by the wives
of serpent Kaliya in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.16.36 as follows

kasyānubhāvo ’sya na deva vidmahe

tavāṅghri-reṇu-sparaśādhikāraḥ

yad-vāñchayā śrīr lalanācarat tapo

vihāya kāmān su-ciraṁ dhṛta-vratā

‘’O Lord Krishna, we do not know how the serpent Kāliya has attained this great opportunity of
being touched by the dust of Your lotus feet. For this end, the goddess of fortune (Lakshmi devi)
performed austerities for centuries, giving up all other desires and observing austere vows.’’

Because Kṛṣṇa has four extraordinary qualities not possessed by Lord Nārāyaṇa, the goddess of
fortune, Lakṣmī, always desires His company. This has to be understood from the point of rasa,
not tattva. Ontologically, there is no difference between Sri Radha and Lakshmi Devi, such
descriptions are only to be relished from the point of rasa.

In this way, lila madhurya of Lord Krishna has been distinctly indicated and explained by our
acharyas.

2.VENU MADHURYA-Sweetness of Krishna’s flute

Sweetness of Krishna’s flute has been described in many scriptures. One such instance of venu
madhurya can be found in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.35-14-15 wherein it is described how just by
hearing the sweet song of Krishna’s flute, all living entities get bewildered and become confused.

3. RUPA MADHURYA- Sweetness of Krishna’s form

There are profuse descriptions in various Rasa literatures that describe the beauty of Krishna’s
form such as Madhurastakam, etc. One such instance of rupa madhurya is found in Srimad
Bhagavatam 10.29.40 wherein all residents of Vrindavana get bewildered by seeing the beautiful
form of Krishna. It is described that even the animals get so captivated that their bodily hairs stand
on end. Elsewhere in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.32.2, Lord Krishna is described as sākṣān manmatha-
manmathaḥ- One who bewilders even the cupid-god of love (Kamadeva). There are many more
nectarian verses in Bhagavatam that describe about the rupa madhurya of Krishna.
4.PREMA MADHURYA- Sweetness of Krishna’s love.

The exchanges of love that Krishna makes with His associate know no limit. For this, Gopis of
Vrindavana are the best example. One such instance of prema madhurya is mentioned in Srimad
Bhagavatam 10.31.15. Another instance of prema madhurya is described confidentially in
Bhagavad Gita 18.66. In Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, Srila Rupa Goswami states

tatrāpy ekāntināṃ śreṣthā govinda-hṛta-mānasāḥ |

yeṣāṃ śrīśa-prasādo'pi mano hartuṃ na śaknuyāt ||1.2.58||

‘’Among the devotees who are dedicated solely to serving the Lord in prema, the devotees whose
hearts have been stolen Govinda are the best. Even the kindness of Narayana or other forms of
Krsna cannot steal their hearts.”

Thus to summarize, Lord Krishna possesses sixty-four primary transcendental qualities, out of
which four are unique to Him alone: (1) venu-madhurya, He attracts the entire world and especially
the gopis with the melodious sound of His flute; (2) rupa-madhurya, He possesses extraordinary
beauty which captivates the minds of all; (3) prema-madhurya, He is surrounded by intimate loving
associates whose prema is completely unbounded by reverence or formality; and (4) lila madhurya,
He performs beautiful and enchanting pastimes, amongst which rasa-lila is the summit.

Thus, based on the above-mentioned four unique qualities that is exclusively possessed by all
attractive Krishna, His form is considered superior to Narayana or Vishnu.

One should be cautious not to treat the above objective analysis of rasa subjectively. One who has
natural love for Lord Ramachandra, for him, Lord Rama is the complete embodiment of bliss.
Same applies for devotees situated in another mood for other forms of the Lord. It is only for this
reason that Lord manifests various forms. Consider example of Sri Hanuman. He is ever satisfied
in his dasya rasa (servant- master relationship). He doesn’t consider any other rasa to be superior
to this. This is His svarupa (original constitutional position).

Thus, the above-mentioned analysis of rasa tattva shouldn’t be confused and carefully understood.
All these have simply been described to indicate how when all the opulences manifest
simultaneously and when all the rasas can be exchanged with the single form of the Lord, would
such a form be known as Svayam Bhagavan Krishna.

SUMMARY

In my answer, I discussed on the various aspects of Vishnu tattva. I explained how Vishnu tattva
is extremely complex. I discussed how one should neither look at aspect of non-difference alone
nor look at aspect of difference alone. There is simultaneous difference and non-difference
between the form of Krishna and Vishnu. When we discuss about siddhanta (ontological theology),
we stress on non-difference. When we stress on rasa theology, we stress on the difference. If one
only considers one aspect and ignores other, such a conception is not to be considered complete,
for we must be ready to appreciate the multi-faceted aspects of Vishnu tattva. When we discussed
on the non-difference in our earlier section of the answer, we quoted various statements from the
scriptures and acharyas to establish non-difference among the various forms of Lord Vishnu.

As we went further, we also acknowledged the differences in terms of three aspects as follows

1. Based on the Rasa bheda (exchange of all five rasas in completeness in the form of Krishna)

2. Based on the extent of the manifestation of opulences

3. Based on the chronological manifestation of the eternal forms of Lord (through iccha shakti- act
of willing and kriya shakti- action) that exist beyond time factor.

FINAL WORDS

I will finally end my answer with an important verse, quoted by Srila Rupa Goswami, in Bhakti
Rasamrta Sindhu, that best summarizes the position of ISKCON and Gaudiya Vaishnavas in
general on the relation between Lord Krishna and Lord Narayana/ Lord Vishnu.

siddhāntatas tv abhede'pi śrīśa-kṛṣṇa-svarūpayoḥ |

rasenotkṛṣyate kṛṣṇa-rūpam eṣā rasa -sthitiḥ ||1.2.59||

“Though the forms of Narayana and Kṛṣṇa are nondifferent according to the statements of
scripture, Kṛṣṇa’s form is shown to be superior because of His rasas, which are endowed with the
highest kind of prema. The very nature of His rasas shows Kṛṣṇa’s form to be superior.”

Those who cannot understand the mysteries of rasa tattva, they may find my answer objectionable.
However, those who appreciate the nature of rasa tattva and its diversities, they will understand it
(esa rasa sthitih- such is the position of rasa tattva). I didn’t write this answer to change the
opinions of the Hindu, but just to implore upon the credibility of the position of Gaudiya Vaishnava
or ISKCON movement. Of course, Gaudiya Vaishnavas are not the exception to consider Lord
Krishna as the source of all the incarnations. There are other Sampradayas too, but ISKCON often
seems to be on the radar, perhaps due to its success in spreading the Krishna consciousness
movement. In any case, I hope that a sincere reader and spiritual seeker will appreciate the rich
philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and at least provide credence to our position, if not accept.
This answer may be a hard read for many, especially those who are not familiar with the various
vedic scriptures and certain Vedic tools often used by our acharyas. I have tried my best to keep it
simple as far as possible, nevertheless due to gravity of the topic, certain sections demanded in-
depth analyis and clarifications.

Thus, I conclude my long-winded answer. If anyone has any queries or questions, please drop in
the comment section below, I would be happy to respond to the best of my ability.
SUBMISSION

yad atra skhalitaṁ kiñcid vidvāṁsaḥ pūrayantu tat

yad atra sauṣṭhavaṁ kiñcid tad guror eva me na hi

‘’Whatever errors are present in this explanation may the learned souls correct it; and whatever
good is found here, it is due to my Guru, not me.”

Enough of philosophy. On a lighter note, if you are still reading, you have come a long way.
Reading such long answer needs a really good stamina and if not anything, it will at least help you
develop verbal aptitude. 😊

Originally, I intended to write the answer on Quora. However, I received pop-up from Quora that
the answer is too long. Thus, I decided to upload its PDF version on Quora.

Thank You

Hare Krishna

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