When the Bhagavatam declares Krishna to the source of all incarnations then why does it refer to the Supreme by the name Vishnu repeatedly, even in the rasa-lila section?
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna question when the Bhagavatam declares that Krishna is the source of all incarnations all forms of Vishnu also Krishna is the Bhagawan Swayam then why does it repeatedly refer to Vishnu throughout the Bhagavatam and even in the Rastila pastime towards the end in the 33rd chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam and why does it not refer consistently to Krishna only and not to Vishnu answer we don’t have to create a hair-splitting difference between Krishna and Vishnu understand that essentially they are the same person not that they are two distinct persons they are the same person the difference is in rasa that they are one same person manifesting in two different moods so when they are manifesting in two different moods they serve specific purposes according to those moods so what we understand is that they enjoy rasa in different ways according to their specific moods so the Bhagavatam in the initial section in the chapter on the various incarnations in the third chapter of the first canto it mentions Krishna is the Bhagawan so from the point of view of conceptual understanding it makes that point clear that Krishna is the source of all incarnations and Jiva Goswami explains that he gives an elaborate grammatical and technical analysis of this verse and he says this verse is like a commander he says one commander can defeat many many soldiers so like that this one praman can counter many other pramanas because it is such a forceful praman but after that after establishing it thus then the Bhagavatam doesn’t make a hair splitting difference no, the names Krishna and Vishnu are used in an identical and interchangeable way, identical and interchangeable, for example in the seventh canto of Srimad Bhagavatam it is described that that Prahlad Maharaj is a devotee of Vishnu and even Narasimhadeva asks where is your Vishnu so generally it is understood that Prahlad Maharaj is a devotee of Vishnu but then at that time also it is said Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna so that actually some people can be affected by some planets so it is said that he is affected by the Krishna so he is affected with Krishna, so that doesn’t say Vishnu over there now later on when the lord manifests, the lord doesn’t manifest as Vishnu nor as Krishna he manifests as Narasimhadeva so we don’t have to make an unnecessary difference yes there is a difference in moods but essentially they are the same person and when we are trying to understand the broad philosophy of the Vedic literature then we don’t have to technically hammer this point down that Krishna is the source of Vishnu, they are both supreme and both are equally potent in granting liberation to those who worship them, so in that sense even the attainment of lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha is extraordinary attainment now in the Bhagavatam in the later part in the 10th canto when it is said that lord at the end when it is said in 10.33 the last verse of the Rastila section there the name Vishnu is used in the whole Rastila section the word Govinda, Krishna are used but Vishnu is not used before that but here Vishnu is used to emphasize the position don’t think this is just a boy-girl enjoying but this is the supreme lord who is Yajneshwar and he is performing pastimes so when the name Vishnu reminds us of the position of the supreme lord and the message if we see of what is being told over there is that this is not an ordinary lusty affair, this is going to purify us of lust, that’s what the verse says that soon lust will go away from the heart by hearing the pastimes of Vishnu with the Gopis, so in that sense Vishnu and Krishna are used as identical and interchangeable names and there is a difference of rasa that should be a matter of personal relishing but we don’t have to create a hair-splitting difference between Vishnu and Krishna at all times.
Thank you. Hare Krishna.