What is the significance of the Gita’s reference to Krishna as Bhagavan because Mahabharata also refers to Shiva as Bhagavan?

From: Narendra Bhati
I heard in one of the Lectures of Srila Prabhupada where he says that Krishna is Bhagwan thats why in the Bhagvad Gita Krishna is mentioned as “Shri Bhagwan Uvacha”.
Since Bhagvad Gita is a part of Mahabharat, when i read Mahabharat at many places Lord shiva was Mentioned as “Shri Bhagwan Uvach” and yet at many other places i read where Krishna is mentioned as “Shri Krishna/ Vasudev uvach”. Going by this explanation isnt Lord Shiva Bhagvan and isnt Lord Krishna less than Bhagwan.

Transcript

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Question from Narendra Bhati Prabhu I heard in one of the lectures of Shri Prabhupada where he says that Krishna is Bhagawan, that’s why in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna is mentioned as Shri Bhagawan Uvacha since Bhagavad Gita is a part of Mahabharata when I read Mahabharata at many places Lord Shiva was mentioned as Shri Bhagawan Uvacha and yet at many other places I read where Krishna is mentioned as Shri Krishna Vasudeva Uvacha going by this explanation is it Lord Shiva Bhagawan and is it Lord Krishna less than Bhagawan answer that Lord Krishna is referred to as Bhagawan in the Bhagavad Gita is one reason by which we can understand that he is Bhagawan in the sense that he is the supreme personality of Godhead so actually speaking Shri Prabhupada himself explains elsewhere for example in his Bhagavatam purports at some places Narada Muni is referred to also as Bhagawan and he describes that actually speaking great souls who are very devoted to Bhagawan and in whose heart Bhagawan lives happily and through whom Bhagawan manifests to the world they are also referred honorably as Bhagawan so Narada Muni even when he is referred to as Bhagawan by his disciple Vyasadeva Vyasadeva when he refers to Narada Muni by that name and even Narada Muni refers to Vyasadeva sometimes by the name Bhagawan so of course Vyasadeva is the literary incarnation of the Lord but the point is that there are references uses of the word Bhagawan which are also in the sense to indicate greatness by connection with the supreme great so therefore it is not just one reference that is decisive it is contributive to the decision so Srila Prabhupada is essentially contrasting in this particular discussion in the Bhagavad Gita that all the other people are referred to by their names so in the context of the Bhagavad Gita it is said Sanjay Vyasa Dhritarashtra Vyasa it is not said Raja Vyasa when it is said Arjuna Vyasa he is referred to by his given name but when it comes to Krishna Vyasadeva is using the word Sri Bhagawan Vyasa so it is within the context of the Bhagavad Gita that the nomenclature is significant that the other people are not referred to as Bhagawan but Krishna is referred to not by his given name but by the name Bhagawan so within the context of the Bhagavad Gita Vyasadeva is indicating that the person speaking this is no ordinary person although he seems to be living among the other ordinary persons as one of them he is in fact acting as a charioteer for one of the people in this conversation that is Arjuna but he is no ordinary person and that is indicated by Vyasadeva through the designation Bhagawan but that as I said is contributive there are other factors which is the Bhagavad Gita itself narration is there in which Krishna explains his own supreme position and then Arjuna says that not only you say this but others also confirm it that apart from you there are many other great Rishis So he describes this after the chatushloki Bhagavad Gita in 10.14-15 he mentions that you are the supreme person even the devatas don’t understand you but you have declared it and even the Rishis have confirmed this about you and then Krishna also exhibits the Vishwaroopa in the 11th chapter so that is the designation Bhagawan can refer to other people like Lord Shiva and even Narada so it is not the single factor based on which we infer that the person being referred to is the supreme personality of Godhead there are other factors to be considered and here we consider so it is the verdict of the great sages it is the proclamation by the same person directly in among the Vedic scriptures there are very few occasions where a deity directly declares one’s own supremacy the way Krishna does in the Bhagavad Gita and then the capacity to show the viratroopa is also extraordinary so there is there are concurrent lines of inference which point to the same conclusion and within the context of the Bhagavad Gita where other people are referred to by their given names and Vyasadev doesn’t refer to Krishna by his name or he doesn’t use Krishna or Vyasadev but he refers to him by the respectful, honorific Sri Bhagawan vacha that indicates that what is being referred to over here is the supreme person Jiva Goswami in his commentary also explains that the Sri Bhagawan is also important not just Bhagawan generally Narada Muni or other people in the Bhagavatam they are referred to as Bhagawan but Sri indicates that Bhagawan is always with the goddess of fortune and both of them together are actually the complete supreme person there is one person manifested as two so now in the Mahabharata it is not that Krishna is throughout acting as the supreme person so when he is not acting as a supreme person when he is acting as a Kshatriya king one of the many characters in the Mahabharata at that time he is appropriately referred to as Krishna or Vyasadev so often we will have to look at the context when Lord Shiva is playing the role of instructor or the role of a Devata then it is appropriate to refer to him as Bhagawan because his position is far greater than the position of all other protagonists, all other people in the narrative over there so the when Vyasadev refers to Krishna as Bhagawan the important point is not just that he is Bhagawan that he is Bhagawan is inferred from various angles but also what is emphasized by the use of the Bhagawan is that this person is Bhagawan and this person is acting as Bhagawan now he is speaking according to his supreme position and he will reveal his supreme position through his words and through his actions through the Virat Roop Darshan so that is how there are multiple factors which are involved in Vyasadev’s referring to Krishna as Bhagawan thank you