Krishna's name in scriptures

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Question:

 

"Was Sri Krsna's name mentioned in the Vedic literature, before his appearance on this earth?"

 

Answer:

 

Before getting into this particular point, we must understand that the vishnu-tattva (category of the Lord) is absolute and non different. Thus one form of the Lord and another form of the Lord are one and the same person. The difference only comes in the spiritual qualities they choose to manifest externally. Thus any name referring to a form of the vishnu-tattva is a name of Krishna and Narayana. When the name Rama is mentioned in Vedic texts, it is not that it is refering to a seperate personality. Rama is Krishna, Krishna is Narayana, and Narayana is Vishnu. When the supreme person manifests His enjoying quality, He is known as Rama. When He manifests His all attractive quality, He is known as Krishna. And when He manifests His all-pervasive quality, He is known as Vishnu. Among all of the names that refer to the vishnu-tattva, the names Rama and Krishna are topmost, as they most perfectly describe the Lord's qualities in full. Thus the Vishnu Sahasranama states:

 

sri rama rama rameti rame rame mano rame

sahasranama tat tulyam rama nama varanane

 

"Simply by chanting the name of Lord Rama three times one attains the same results as chanting the thousand names of Lord Vishnu."

 

Elsewhere in the Kali-santarana Upanishad the importance of the names Krishna and Rama are stated as follows:

 

hare rama hare rama

rama rama hare hare

hare krishna hare krishna

krishna krishna hare hare

 

iti shodashakam namnam

kali-kalmasha-nashanam

natah parataropayah

sarva-vedeshu drsyate

 

"These sixteen names [hare rama... hare krishna...] are the only means to counteract the evil affects of Kali yuga. In all of the Vedas it is seen that to cross the ocean of nescience there is no alternative to the chanting of the Holy Name."

 

It is especially interesting to note that the deity of the Vishnu Sahasranama is mentioned as follows:

 

rishir namnam sahasrasya vedavyaso mahamunih

chando 'nushtup tatha devo bhagavan devakisutah

 

"The great muni Vedavyasa is the rishi of these thousand names of Vishnu; Anushtup is its metre; and the presiding deity is Lord Krishna, the son of Devaki."

 

Thus the personality of Lord Vishnu is non-different from that of Lord Krishna.

 

Lord Krishna was acknowledged in the scriptures as the Supreme Lord even prior to His incarnation as the son of Devaki. In the Satya yuga, the great devotee Bhakta Prahlada mentions Lord Krishna by name many millions of years prior to Lord Krishna's incarnation:

 

sri-prahrada uvaca

matir na krishne paratah svato va

mitho 'bhipadyeta griha-vratanam

 

"Sri Prahlada said: Persons too addicted to materialistic life never develop inclinations toward Krishna, neither by the instructions of others nor by their own efforts."

 

[bhagavata Purana 7.5.30]

 

Lord Krishna is further glorified in practically every Purana, especially the Brahmavaivarta, Markendeya, Skanda and Bhagavata.

 

Other texts, such as the Narada Pancharatra, Satvata Tantra, Gopala-Tapani Upanishad, Krishna Upanishad and Kali-santarana Upanishad establish Lord Krishna as the Supreme Lord.

 

The Pancharatras describe in detail the quadruple expansion of the Lord as Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Beyond the four-armed Vasudeva, who is the source of this first quadruple expansion, there is Sukshma Vasudeva, a two handed form of the Lord. It is this form of the Lord who is worshipped at Sri Rangam in Tamil Nadu. Though the general public think the deity to be that of Narayana, it actually isn't so. The deity has only two hands, instead of four, and there is no Lakshmi Devi present at the feet of the deity, as is the case in other Vishnu temples. For example in the temple of Padmanabha at Trivandram in Kerala, there is a deity of Gabhodakashayi Vishnu. This is the form of Vishnu who lies in the universal waters on the snake bed of Ananta Sesha. From His navel a lotus flower sprouts, and Lord Brahma is born within this lotus. At the feet of this deity is Lakshmi Devi performing pada-seva. In other Vishnu temples we find it is the deity of Kshirodakashayi Vishnu, or the Vishnu form present in Shvetadvipa. This is also a four-armed form of the Lord with Lakshmi Devi present. Only at Sri Rangam, which is considered the most important Vishnu temple, do we find that the deity is not Vishnu.

 

In the Satvata Tantra three expansions of Vishnu are explained:

 

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, the Lord expands as three Visnus. The first one, Maha-Visnu, creates the total material energy, known as the mahat-tattva. The second, Garbhodakasayi Visnu, enters into 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. He is present even within the atoms. By knowing these three Visnus one is liberated from material entanglement.”

 

The deity in Sri Rangam is none of these three forms of Vishnu. The Kshirodakashayi Vishnu and Garbhodakashayi Vishnu are four-handed and are accompanied by lakshmi, whereas the Sri Rangam Vishnu deity is two handed and alone. The Maha Vishnu is also alone, but He is four handed, and He is not lying on the Ananta-sesha, whereas the Sri Rangam Vishnu is. Thus we find that the most important Vishnu deity on the planet is not a form of Narayana. He is a two armed form of the Lord known as Sukshma Vasudeva, whereas the four armed form of Narayana is known as Sthula Vasudeva. The words sukshma (subtle) and sthula (gross) clearly indicate the origin, as the gross is a manifestation of the subtle.

 

Unfortunately, I have not been able to quote the exact text from the Pancharatras which refer to these two forms of Vasudeva, as I have misplaced the manuscript in which it comes. Hopefully I will find it and be able to present the reference to you later. Regardless, I feel it is very significant that the deity of Sri Rangam, which is considered the most important Vishnu temple, is a two handed form of the Lord lying on Ananta-sesha. Sri Rangam is the head quarters of Sri Ramanuja, the greatest devotee of Narayana, and the Sri Sampradaya, which worships Narayana as supreme, practically finds its foundation there. This is not a textual evidence (shabda-pramana), but a visual evidence (pratyaksha-pramana).

 

In the Srimad Bhagavatam tenth canto we find the naration of how Lord Brahma kidnapped the cowherd boys, who were Lord Krishna's associates. I will not quote the entire text here, as it will be quite long. But in summary, Lord Krishna expanded Himself into hundreds of forms as cowherd boys and cows. When Lord Brahma saw the cowherd boys and cows still playing with Krishna, despite the fact that he had kidnapped them all, he became bewildered. He wondered how they had freed themsleves from captivity. At that time, all of Lord Krishna's expansions as cowherd boys and cows transformed into four-armed Vishnu forms. When Lord Brahma saw this, he immediately appeared before Lord Krishna and began offering prayers to Him, understanding Krishna to be the absolute truth.

 

In regards to our topic, it is significant that Lord Krishna expanded as hundreds of Narayana forms. People who consider Lord Krishna to be a latter expansion of Narayana fail to understand the omnipotence of the Lord. The Lord exists beyond time and space. He can manifest any of His unlimited forms at will. There is no first or last in regards to the Lord, as He is not influenced by time. There are only degrees of manifestation in regards to the Lord's opulence. This is what we mean when we say 'original form', that form which fully manifests the Lords unlimited opulence. When the unlimited Lord chooses to manifest a different opulence in another unlimited form it is termed as an expansion. Such expansions are eternal and thus cannot be traced back in time. The Lords forms are described as:

 

advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam

 

Each expansion of the Lord is advaita, or nondifferent, acyutam, or infallible, and anadim, or beginningless. These three qualities perfectly define the expansions of the Lord. Just like the sun in the morning, the sun at noon, and the sun in the evening; they are different simply by name. To the sun there is no morning or evening or noon, but still we say morning sun, evening sun, and noon sun. From the Lord's perspective His unlimited forms are one, advaitam. He manifests His qualities according to the desire of the devotee, and thus He appears in unlimited forms. Which form is the highest? That form which is manifested for the topmost devotee. The topmost devotee is the one who possess unlimited unconditional love of the highest degree. The scriptures describe Srimati Radharani to be the highest devotee, and thus the form which is manifested for Her is the topmost display of the Lord's oppulence.