Inquiries Into the Absolute: Digest 132, Lord Krishna is Avatara of

[Guest guest]

Digest 132, August 21st, 2005. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja

**You are welcome to send in your questions to HH Romapada Swami at

iskcondc with the word "Question" included in the subject line.

 

Lord Krishna is Avatara of Lord Vishnu?

***************************************

 

Q: I understand Lord Vishnu comes from Krishna who is the source of all

sources, but in Hinduism this conception is not there. My question is why is

that? How do they scriptually come to believe that Krishna is the 8th

incarnation of Lord Visnu. I did a search on google "define: Krishna" and was

quite shocked at the different meanings of Krishna, but the general one that

came out was that Krishna is an avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu and was

wondering how that conception has come about and where in the Vedas is this

stated and misunderstood.

 

Answer:

For affairs of the material creation, the Personality of Godhead expands

Himself as the purusha avatars. Maha-Vishnu, a plenary portion of Lord Krishna,

is the original cause of the material creation, from Him Garbhodakasayi Vishnu

expands, and then Kshirodakasayi Vishnu.

 

Generally, all the incarnations appearing within this material universe are

described as being plenary expansions from Kshirodakasayi Vishnu. But we also

know that all these various forms of the Lord are existing eternally in the

spiritual world and their descent to the material world is called avatar

(literally, one who descends) In other words when the Lord descends, the

incarnation emanates from or through Ksirodakasayi Vishnu.

 

Thus in Srimad Bhagavatam, we hear the purusha avatar being described as the

seed of all the multifarious incarnations within this universe. (SB 1.3.5

http://vedabase.net/sb/1/3/5/en) Bhagavatam then goes on to describe the

various incarnations of Vishnu (SB 1.3.6-25 http://vedabase.net/sb/1/3/en),

among which are included Krishna and Balarama. However, right after this list,

it is explained that although Krishna appears to be one of the avatars, He is

in fact the Original Personality of Godhead, and that all other incarnations

are His plenary expansions: krishnas tu bhagavan svayam (SB 1.3.28

http://vedabase.net/sb/1/3/28/en) Krishna is the complete whole, and when He

descends, all plenary expansions and incarnations, including Maha Vishnu,

descend along with Him in His transcendental body.

 

Thus, in one sense, it is not entirely wrong to say that Krishna is an avatar

of Vishnu, and in fact some Vaishnavas understand Krishna as such, being most

attracted to the reverential worship of Vishnu or Narayana as the supreme form

of worship. However, based on scriptural conclusions of Srimad Bhagavatam, we

understand Lord Krishna to be svayam Bhagavan, or the summum bonum.

 

Another popular source, which many believe to be describing Krishna as the

eighth avatar of Vishnu, is Srila Jayadeva Gosvami's Dasavatara stotra; yet

here again we find that after listing ten of the most prominent among the

innumerable incarnations of the Lord, the poet concludes his composition with

an ode to Lord Krishna who appears in these ten forms.

 

You can also refer to our previous discussion on this question at

http://www.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest39.

 

Forms of Lord Krsna

*******************

 

Q: I understand that the 2 hand form of Krishna is the highest. Which form in

particular? Gopinath or Syamasundara? The names of the Lord represent the

relationships he enacts with his devotees, does it not? Please clarify.

 

Answer: The 2-handed form of Krishna is the form in which He is known in

Vrndavan. Either Gopinatha or Syamasundara (or many other names, for that

matter) identify Krishna in His Vraja lila.

 

Yes, names of the Lord identify His specific relationships or His

transcendental qualites.

 

This digest on the web:

http://iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest131

 

All previous digests in one file (with responses to about 400 questions):

http://iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest00

 

Responses to Some Frequently Asked Questions (Karma, free-will, demigods, Lord

Siva, why are we here, how to control the mind, Deity worship, marriage, Jesus

Christ, spiritual and material relationships and morality of Lord Krsna's

conjugal pastimes, spiritual master, spirit soul/jiva/living entity):

http://www.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest999_faq

 

To , or change/add your email address please send email to

iskcondcr Please reply to this email at iskcondcr if you

choose to discontinue receiving these digests. If you have received the

"Inquiries Into the Absolute" digests despite requesting removal in the past,

please let us know immediately by emailing us at iskcondcr These

functions are currently not available at the ISKCON DC website or by emailing

admin (AT) iskcondc (DOT) org.

 

-----

** A brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami is available at:

http://www.prastha.com/cgi-bin/uncgi/renderphilo.pl?ndx=2

** This and all previous digests are available on the web** They can be

accessed at: http://www.iskcondc.org -> Inquiries into the Absolute

http://www.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?ndx=132

ISKCON DC Philosophy Website:

http://www.prastha.com/cgi-bin/uncgi/renderphilo.pl

Related Sites: http://www.romapadaswami.com, http://www.caitanya.com

-----

 

This email has been sent to you by the ISKCON temple of Washington D.C. Our

contacts are:

Email: iskcondcr

Web Address: http://www.iskcondc.org

Postal Address: 10310 Oaklyn Drive, Potomac, MD 20854-3932