Srimad Bhagavad Gita : KrushnAvatArA

[Guest guest]

anushtAnudhrNAm abhibhUyamAnE dharmE, pravardhamAnE ca adharmE jagata: sthithim

paripAlayishu: sa AdhinArAkhyO vishnu: bhaumasya brahmaNO brAhmanthvasya

rakshanArtham devakhyAm vasudEvAdhAmsEna krushNa: khila sambhava|

 

When the votaries of religion failed to practise the paths of dharma properly,

dharma was over powered by adharma. In order to protect the universe, the

original doer Vishnu, who is known as nArAyanA, appeared in the universe to

protect the spiritualists on earth and their spiritual life. This is krushnA,

the son of dEvaki and vasudEva.

[The term brahmana means one who knows or is trying to know brahman, the supreme

being, god, the basic reality of every thing, absoute truth, the supreme spirit,

the very nature of existence. The lord appears on earth to protect these saintly

persons and their eternal dharma - the pravrtti and nivrtti margas with the

different sub-categories mentioned earlier.

According to Adi Sankara Bhagavad pAdAl, Krushna is sad Ananda Atmaka or one who

is eternal and full of bliss. The eternal union of existence (Krs) and bliss

(na), the all pervading vishnu is Krushna, the eternal being. The lord does not

have origin nor destruction. Krushna is of dark blue colour and that is one

reason why He is called so. Krushna also refers to Krushna Dvaipanya Vyasa but

in this context Krushna refers to the son of Devaki and Vasudeva as clarified by

the acharya. This Krushna is non-different from Vishnu, who pervades the whole

universe by His energy, who is non-different from the innermost Self of all, the

parabrahman, who measured the world in three steps, who is glorifed as the only

deity to be worshipped. He is the only deity to be worshipped because all names

and forms are His only including the name Siva and Acyuta. Though there is no

gradation in one being, for the purpose of lila, they manifest different

energies. This is all beyond mAyA, which is itself

beyond time and this universe. Therefore, they are not material or born of

karma. If it is not material, then how are they visible ? That is by the

inconceivable power of mAyA and its controller. The parabrahman is nirguna

because there is no one else to ascertain His attributes. One cannot observe

one's own attributes as the one whom we seek to observe is the only observer.

However, this parabrahman, who is immutable, is able to manifest His nature in

front of the so called others by His inconceivable potencies. Thus Krushna is

non-different from parabrahman even though He seems to be born, seems to be

doing some specific functions and seems to be gone after passage of certain

time. ]

What is the purpose of protecting the practioners of eternal dharma ? This is

explained next.