Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth

Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who has unlimited, wonderful opulences. By His mercy, even a person born as the lowest of men can spread the science of devotional service.

All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Nityānanda Prabhu! All glories to Advaita Ācārya! And all glories to all the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu!

While Sanātana Gosvāmī was imprisoned in Bengal, a letter arrived from Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

When Sanātana Gosvāmī received this note from Rūpa Gosvāmī, he became very pleased. He immediately went to the jail superintendent, who was a meat-eater, and spoke as follows.

Sanātana Gosvāmī told the Muslim jailkeeper, “Dear sir, you are a saintly person and are very fortunate. You have full knowledge of the revealed scriptures such as the Koran and similar books.

“If one releases a conditioned soul or imprisoned person according to religious principles, he himself is also released from material bondage by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī continued, “Previously I have done much for you. Now I am in difficulty. Please return my goodwill by releasing me.

“Here are five thousand gold coins. Please accept them. By releasing me, you will receive the results of pious activities and gain material profit as well. Thus you will profit in two ways simultaneously.”

In this way Sanātana Gosvāmī convinced the jailkeeper, who replied, “Please hear me, my dear sir. I am willing to release you, but I am afraid of the government.”

Sanātana replied, “There is no danger. The Nawab has gone to the south. If he returns, tell him that Sanātana went to pass stool near the bank of the Ganges and that as soon as he saw the Ganges, he jumped in.

“Tell him, ‘I looked for him a long time, but I could not find any trace of him. He jumped in with his shackles, and therefore he was drowned and washed away by the waves.’

“There is no reason for you to be afraid, for I shall not remain in this country. I shall become a mendicant and go to the holy city of Mecca.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī could see that the mind of the meat-eater was still not satisfied. He then stacked seven thousand gold coins before him.

When the meat-eater saw the coins, he was attracted to them. He then agreed, and that night he cut Sanātana’s shackles and let him cross the Ganges.

In this way, Sanātana Gosvāmī was released. However, he was not able to walk along the path of the fortress. Walking day and night, he finally arrived at the hilly tract of land known as Pātaḍā.

After reaching Pātaḍā, he met a landholder and submissively requested him to get him across that hilly tract of land.

A man who was expert in palmistry was at that time staying with the landlord. Knowing about Sanātana, he whispered the following in the landlord’s ear.

The palmist said, “This man Sanātana possesses eight gold coins.” Hearing this, the landlord was very pleased and spoke the following to Sanātana Gosvāmī.

The landlord said, “I shall get you across that hilly tract at night with my own men. Now just cook for yourself and take your lunch.”

Saying this, the landlord offered Sanātana grain to cook. Sanātana then went to the riverside and took his bath.

Because Sanātana had been fasting for two days, he cooked the food and ate it. However, having formerly been a minister of the Nawab, he began to contemplate the situation.

As a former minister for the Nawab, Sanātana could certainly understand diplomacy. He therefore thought, “Why is this landlord offering me such respect?” Thinking in this way, he questioned his servant, whose name was Īśāna.

Sanātana asked his servant, “Īśāna, I think you have some valuable things with you.”

Hearing this, Sanātana Gosvāmī chastised his servant, saying, “Why have you brought this death knell with you?”

Thereupon, Sanātana Gosvāmī took the seven gold coins in his hands and went to the landlord. Holding the gold coins before him, he spoke as follows.

“I have these seven gold coins with me. Please accept them, and from a religious point of view please get me across that hilly tract of land.

“I am a prisoner of the government, and I cannot go along the way of the ramparts. It will be very pious of you to take this money and kindly get me across this hilly tract of land.”

Smiling, the landlord said, “Before you offered them, I already knew that there were eight gold coins in your servant’s possession.

“On this very night I would have killed you and taken your coins. It is very good that you have voluntarily offered them to me. I am now relieved from such a sinful activity.

“I am very satisfied with your behavior. I shall not accept these gold coins, but I shall get you across that hilly tract of land simply to perform a pious activity.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī replied, “If you do not accept these coins, someone else will kill me for them. It is better that you save me from the danger by accepting the coins.”

After this settlement was made, the landlord gave Sanātana Gosvāmī four watchmen to accompany him. They went through the forest path for the whole night and thus brought him over the hilly tract of land.

After crossing the hills, Sanātana Gosvāmī told his servant, “Īśāna, I think you still have some balance left from the gold coins.”

Īśāna replied, “I still have one gold coin in my possession.”

After departing from Īśāna, Sanātana Gosvāmī began traveling alone with a waterpot in his hand. Simply covered with a torn quilt, he thus lost all his anxiety.

Walking and walking, Sanātana Gosvāmī finally arrived at a place called Hājipura. That evening he sat down within a garden.

In Hājipura there was a gentlemen named Śrīkānta, who happened to be the husband of Sanātana Gosvāmī’s sister. He was engaged there in government service.

Śrīkānta had 300,000 gold coins with him, which had been given to him by the emperor for the purchase of horses. Thus Śrīkānta was buying horses and dispatching them to the emperor.

When Śrīkānta was sitting in an elevated place, he could see Sanātana Gosvāmī. That night he took a servant and went to see Sanātana Gosvāmī.

When they met, they had many conversations. Sanātana Gosvāmī told him in detail about his arrest and release.

Śrīkānta then told Sanātana Gosvāmī, “Stay here for at least two days and dress up like a gentleman. Abandon these dirty garments.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī replied, “I shall not stay here even for a moment. Please help me cross the Ganges. I shall leave immediately.”

With great care, Śrīkānta gave him a woolen blanket and helped him cross the Ganges. Thus Sanātana Gosvāmī departed again.

After a few days, Sanātana Gosvāmī arrived at Vārāṇasī. He was very pleased to hear about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s arrival there.

Sanātana Gosvāmī then went to the house of Candraśekhara and sat down by the door. Understanding what was happening, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu spoke to Candraśekhara.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “There is a devotee at your door. Please call him in.” Going outside, Candraśekhara could not see a Vaiṣṇava at his door.

When Candraśekhara informed the Lord that no Vaiṣṇava was at his door, the Lord asked him, “Is there anyone at all at your door?”

Candraśekhara replied, “There is a Muslim mendicant.”

“O Muslim mendicant, please come in. The Lord is calling you.” Sanātana Gosvāmī was very pleased to hear this order, and he entered Candraśekhara’s house.

As soon as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw Sanātana Gosvāmī in the courtyard, He immediately went up to him with great haste. After embracing him, the Lord was overwhelmed with ecstatic love.

As soon as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu touched Sanātana Gosvāmī, Sanātana was also overwhelmed with ecstatic love. In a faltering voice, he said, “O my Lord, do not touch me.”

Shoulder to shoulder, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Sanātana Gosvāmī began to cry unlimitedly. Candraśekhara was very much astonished to see this.

Catching his hand, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took Sanātana Gosvāmī inside and made him sit on an elevated place next to Him.

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began cleansing Sanātana Gosvāmī’s body with His own transcendental hand, Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “O my Lord, please do not touch me.”

The Lord replied, “I am touching you just to purify Myself, because by the force of your devotional service you can purify the whole universe.

“ ‘Saints of your caliber are themselves places of pilgrimage. Because of their purity, they are constant companions of the Lord, and therefore they can purify even the places of pilgrimage.’

“[Lord Kṛṣṇa said:] ‘Even though a person is a very learned scholar of the Sanskrit Vedic literatures, he is not accepted as My devotee unless he is pure in devotional service. However, even though a person is born in a family of dog-eaters, he is very dear to Me if he is a pure devotee who has no motive to enjoy fruitive activity or mental speculation. Indeed, all respects should be given to him, and whatever he offers should be accepted. Such devotees are as worshipable as I am.’

“ ‘One may be born in a brāhmaṇa family and have all twelve brahminical qualities, but if he is not devoted to the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who has a navel shaped like a lotus, he is not as good as a caṇḍāla who has dedicated his mind, words, activities, wealth and life to the service of the Lord. Simply to take birth in a brāhmaṇa family or to have brahminical qualities is not sufficient. One must become a pure devotee of the Lord. If a śva-paca or caṇḍāla is a devotee, he delivers not only himself but his whole family, whereas a brāhmaṇa who is not a devotee but simply has brahminical qualifications cannot even purify himself, what to speak of his family.’”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “By seeing you, by touching you and by glorifying your transcendental qualities, one can perfect the purpose of all sense activity. This is the verdict of the revealed scriptures.

“ ‘My dear Vaiṣṇava, seeing a person like you is the perfection of one’s eyesight, touching your lotus feet is the perfection of the sense of touch, and glorifying your good qualities is the tongue’s real activity, for in the material world it is very difficult to find a pure devotee of the Lord.’”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “My dear Sanātana, please hear from Me. Kṛṣṇa is very merciful, and He is the deliverer of all fallen souls.

“My dear Sanātana, Kṛṣṇa has saved you from Mahāraurava, life’s deepest hell. He is an ocean of mercy, and His activities are very grave.”

Sanātana replied, “I do not know who Kṛṣṇa is. As far as I am concerned, I have been released from prison only by Your mercy.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then asked Sanātana Gosvāmī, “How were you released from prison?” Sanātana then described the story from beginning to end.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “I met your two brothers, Rūpa and Anupama, at Prayāga. They have now gone to Vṛndāvana.”

By the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Sanātana Gosvāmī met both Tapana Miśra and Candraśekhara.

Tapana Miśra then extended an invitation to Sanātana, and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Sanātana to go get a shave.

After this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu called Candraśekhara and asked him to take Sanātana Gosvāmī with him. He also asked him to take away Sanātana’s present dress.

Candraśekhara then made Sanātana Gosvāmī look like a gentleman. He took him to bathe in the Ganges, and afterwards he brought him a new set of clothes.

Candraśekhara offered a new set of garments to Sanātana Gosvāmī, but Sanātana did not accept them. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard news of this, He became unlimitedly happy.

After bathing at noon, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the house of Tapana Miśra for lunch. He took Sanātana Gosvāmī with Him.

After washing His feet, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sat down for lunch. He asked Tapana Miśra to supply Sanātana Gosvāmī lunch also.

Tapana Miśra then said, “Sanātana has some duty to perform; therefore he cannot accept lunch now. At the conclusion of the meal, I shall supply Sanātana with some remnants.”

After eating, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took rest for a while. Tapana Miśra then gave Sanātana Gosvāmī the remnants of food left by Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

When Tapana Miśra offered Sanātana Gosvāmī a new cloth, he did not accept it. Instead, he spoke as follows.

“If you want to give me some cloth according to your desire, please give me an old cloth you have used.”

When Tapana Miśra gave Sanātana Gosvāmī a used dhotī, Sanātana immediately tore it into pieces to make two sets of outer cloth and underwear.

When Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced the Maharashtrian brāhmaṇa to Sanātana, the brāhmaṇa immediately invited Sanātana Gosvāmī for full meals.

The brāhmaṇa said, “My dear Sanātana, as long as you remain at Kāśī, please accept lunch at my place.”

Sanātana replied, “I shall practice the process of mādhukarī. Why should I accept full meals in the house of a brāhmaṇa?”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt unlimited happiness to observe Sanātana Gosvāmī’s strict following of the principles of sannyāsa. However, He repeatedly glanced at the woolen blanket Sanātana Gosvāmī was wearing.

Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was repeatedly glancing at this valuable woolen blanket, Sanātana Gosvāmī could understand that the Lord did not approve of it. He then began to consider a way to give it up.

Thinking in this way, Sanātana went to the bank of the Ganges to bathe. While there, he saw that a mendicant from Bengal had washed his quilt and spread it out to dry.

Sanātana Gosvāmī then told the Bengali mendicant, “My dear brother, please do me a favor. Trade me your quilt for this woolen blanket.”

The mendicant replied, “Sir, you are a respectable gentleman. Why are you joking with me? Why would you trade your valuable blanket for my torn quilt?”

Sanātana said, “I am not joking; I am speaking the truth. Kindly take this blanket in exchange for your torn quilt.”

Saying this, Sanātana Gosvāmī exchanged the blanket for the quilt. He then returned to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with the quilt on his shoulder.

When Sanātana Gosvāmī returned, the Lord asked, “Where is your woolen blanket?” Sanātana Gosvāmī then narrated the whole story to the Lord.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then said, “I have already deliberately considered this matter. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is very merciful, He has nullified your attachment for material things. Why should Kṛṣṇa allow you to maintain a last bit of material attachment? After vanquishing a disease, a good physician does not allow any of the disease to remain.

“It is contradictory to practice mādhukarī and at the same time wear a valuable blanket. One loses his spiritual strength by doing this, and one will also become an object of jokes.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī replied, “The Supreme Personality of Godhead has saved me from the sinful life of material existence. By His desire, my last piece of material attraction is now gone.”

Being pleased with Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His causeless mercy upon him. By the Lord’s mercy, Sanātana Gosvāmī received the spiritual strength to inquire from Him.

Formerly, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had asked Rāmānanda Rāya spiritual questions, and by the Lord’s causeless mercy, Rāmānanda Rāya could properly reply. Now, by the Lord’s mercy, Sanātana Gosvāmī questioned the Lord, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally supplied the truth.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, personally told Sanātana Gosvāmī about Lord Kṛṣṇa’s real identity. He also told him about the Lord’s conjugal love, His personal opulence and the mellows of devotional service. All these truths were explained to Sanātana Gosvāmī by the Lord Himself out of His causeless mercy.

Putting a straw in his mouth and bowing down, Sanātana Gosvāmī clasped the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and humbly spoke as follows.

Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “I was born in a low family, and my associates are all low-class men. I myself am fallen and am the lowest of men. Indeed, I have passed my whole life fallen in the well of sinful materialism.

“I do not know what is beneficial for me or what is detrimental. Nonetheless, in ordinary dealings people consider me a learned scholar, and I am also thinking of myself as such.

“Out of Your causeless mercy, You have delivered me from the materialistic path. Now, by the same causeless mercy, please tell me what my duty is.

“Who am I? Why do the threefold miseries always give me trouble? If I do not know this, how can I be benefited?

“Actually I do not know how to inquire about the goal of life and the process for obtaining it. Being merciful upon me, please explain all these truths.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Lord Kṛṣṇa has bestowed His full mercy upon you so that all these things are known to you. For you, the threefold miseries certainly do not exist.

“Since you possess Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potency, you certainly know these things. However, it is the nature of a sādhu to inquire. Although he knows these things, the sādhu inquires for the sake of strictness.

“ ‘Those who are eager to awaken their spiritual consciousness and who thus have unflinching, undeviated intelligence certainly attain the desired goal of life very soon.’

“You are fit to propagate the cult of devotional service. Therefore gradually hear all the truths about it from Me. I shall tell you about them.

“It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṇa and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṇa has three varieties of energy.

“ ‘Just as the illumination of a fire, which is situated in one place, is spread all over, the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Parabrahman, are spread all over this universe.’

“Lord Kṛṣṇa naturally has three energetic transformations, and these are known as the spiritual potency, the living entity potency and the illusory potency.

“ ‘Originally, Kṛṣṇa’s energy is spiritual, and the energy known as the living entity is also spiritual. However, there is another energy, called illusion, which consists of fruitive activity. That is the Lord’s third potency.’

“ ‘All the creative energies, which are inconceivable to a common man, exist in the Supreme Absolute Truth. These inconceivable energies act in the process of creation, maintenance and annihilation. O chief of the ascetics, just as there are two energies possessed by fire — namely heat and light — these inconceivable creative energies are the natural characteristics of the Absolute Truth.’

“ ‘O King, the kṣetra-jña-śakti is the living entity. Although he has the facility to live in either the material or the spiritual world, he suffers the threefold miseries of material existence because he is influenced by the avidyā [nescience] potency, which covers his constitutional position.

“ ‘This living entity, covered by the influence of nescience, exists in different forms in the material condition. O King, he is thus proportionately freed from the influence of the material energy, to greater or lesser degrees.’

“ ‘Besides these inferior energies, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.’

“Forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy [māyā] gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence.

“In the material condition, the living entity is sometimes raised to higher planetary systems and material prosperity and sometimes drowned in a hellish situation. His state is exactly like that of a criminal whom a king punishes by submerging him in water and then raising him again from the water.

“ ‘When the living entity is attracted by the material energy, which is separate from Kṛṣṇa, he is overpowered by fear. Because he is separated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the material energy, his conception of life is reversed. In other words, instead of being the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, he becomes Kṛṣṇa’s competitor. This is called viparyayo’smṛtiḥ. To nullify this mistake, one who is actually learned and advanced worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead as his spiritual master, worshipful Deity and source of life. He thus worships the Lord by the process of unalloyed devotional service.’

“If the conditioned soul becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious by the mercy of saintly persons who voluntarily preach scriptural injunctions and help him to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, the conditioned soul is liberated from the clutches of māyā, who gives him up.

“ ‘This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.’

“The conditioned soul cannot revive his Kṛṣṇa consciousness by his own effort. But out of causeless mercy, Lord Kṛṣṇa compiled the Vedic literature and its supplements, the Purāṇas.

“The forgetful conditioned soul is educated by Kṛṣṇa through the Vedic literatures, the realized spiritual master and the Supersoul. Through these, he can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is, and he can understand that Lord Kṛṣṇa is his eternal master and deliverer from the clutches of māyā. In this way one can acquire real knowledge of his conditioned life and can come to understand how to attain liberation.

“The Vedic literatures give information about the living entity’s eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, which is called sambandha. The living entity’s understanding of this relationship and his acting accordingly is called abhidheya. Returning home, back to Godhead, is the ultimate goal of life and is called prayojana.

“Devotional service, or sense activity for the satisfaction of the Lord, is called abhidheya because it can develop one’s original love of Godhead, which is the goal of life. This goal is the living entity’s topmost interest and greatest wealth. Thus one attains the platform of transcendental loving service unto the Lord.

“When one attains the transcendental bliss of an intimate relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he renders service to Him and tastes the mellows of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

“The following parable may be given. Once a learned astrologer came to the house of a poor man and, seeing his distressed condition, questioned him.

“The astrologer asked, ‘Why are you unhappy? Your father was very wealthy, but he did not disclose his wealth to you because he died elsewhere.’

“Just as the words of the astrologer Sarvajñā gave news of the poor man’s treasure, the Vedic literatures advise one about Kṛṣṇa consciousness when one is inquisitive to know why he is in a distressed material condition.

“By the words of the astrologer, the poor man’s connection with the treasure was established. Similarly, the Vedic literature advises us that our real connection is with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

“Although being assured of his father’s treasure, the poor man cannot acquire this treasure by such knowledge alone. Therefore the astrologer had to inform him of the means whereby he could actually find the treasure.

“The astrologer said, ‘The treasure is in this place, but if you dig toward the southern side, the wasps and drones will rise, and you will not get your treasure.

“ ‘If you dig on the western side, there is a ghost who will create such a disturbance that your hands will not even touch the treasure.

“ ‘If you dig on the northern side, there is a big black snake that will devour you if you attempt to dig up the treasure.

“ ‘However, if you dig up a small quantity of dirt on the eastern side, your hands will immediately touch the pot of treasure.’

“The revealed scriptures conclude that one should give up fruitive activity, speculative knowledge and the mystic yoga system and instead take to devotional service, by which Kṛṣṇa can be fully satisfied.

“[The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, said:] ‘My dear Uddhava, neither through aṣṭāṅga-yoga [the mystic yoga system to control the senses], nor through impersonal monism or an analytical study of the Absolute Truth, nor through study of the Vedas, nor through austerities, charity or acceptance of sannyāsa can one satisfy Me as much as by developing unalloyed devotional service unto Me.

“ ‘Being very dear to the devotees and sādhus, I am attained through unflinching faith and devotional service. This bhakti-yoga system, which gradually increases attachment for Me, purifies even a human being born among dog-eaters. That is to say, everyone can be elevated to the spiritual platform by the process of bhakti-yoga.’

“The conclusion is that devotional service is the only means for approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This system is therefore called abhidheya. This is the verdict of all revealed scriptures.

“When one actually becomes rich, he naturally enjoys all kinds of happiness. When one is actually in a happy mood, all distressful conditions go away by themselves. No extraneous endeavor is needed.

“Similarly, as a result of bhakti, one’s dormant love for Kṛṣṇa awakens. When one is so situated that he can taste the association of Lord Kṛṣṇa, material existence, the repetition of birth and death, comes to an end.

“The goal of love of Godhead is not to become materially rich or free from material bondage. The real goal is to be situated in devotional service to the Lord and to enjoy transcendental bliss.

“In the Vedic literatures, Kṛṣṇa is the central point of attraction, and His service is our activity. To attain the platform of love of Kṛṣṇa is life’s ultimate goal. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s service and love of Kṛṣṇa are the three great riches of life.

“In all revealed scriptures, beginning with the Vedas, the central point of attraction is Kṛṣṇa. When complete knowledge of Him is realized, the bondage of māyā, the illusory energy, is automatically broken.

“ ‘There are many types of Vedic literatures and supplementary Purāṇas. In each of them there are particular demigods who are spoken of as the chief demigods. This is just to create an illusion for moving and nonmoving living entities. Let them perpetually engage in such imaginations. However, when one analytically studies all these Vedic literatures collectively, he comes to the conclusion that Lord Viṣṇu is the one and only Supreme Personality of Godhead.’

“When one accepts the Vedic literature by interpretation or even by dictionary meaning, directly or indirectly the ultimate declaration of Vedic knowledge points to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

“[Lord Kṛṣṇa said:] ‘What is the purpose of all Vedic literatures? On whom do they focus? Who is the object of all speculation? Outside of Me no one knows these things. Now you should know that all these activities are aimed at ordaining and setting forth Me. The purpose of the Vedic literatures is to know Me by different speculations, either by indirect understanding or by dictionary understanding. Everyone is speculating about Me. The essence of all Vedic literatures is to distinguish Me from māyā. By considering the illusory energy, one comes to the platform of understanding Me. In this way one becomes free from speculation about the Vedas and comes to Me as the conclusion. Thus one is satisfied.’

“The transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa is unlimited and also has unlimited opulence. He possesses the internal potency, external potency and marginal potency.

“The material and the spiritual world are transformations of Kṛṣṇa’s external and internal potencies respectively. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the original source of both the material and the spiritual manifestations.

“ ‘The Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam reveals the tenth object, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the shelter of all surrendered souls. He is known as Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and He is the ultimate source of all the universes. Let me offer my obeisances unto Him.’

“O Sanātana, please hear about the eternal form of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He is the Absolute Truth, devoid of duality but present in Vṛndāvana as the son of Nanda Mahārāja.

“Kṛṣṇa is the original source of everything and the sum total of everything. He appears as the supreme youth, and His whole body is composed of spiritual bliss. He is the shelter of everything and master of everyone.

“ ‘Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes.’

“The original Supreme Personality of Godhead is Kṛṣṇa. His original name is Govinda. He is full of all opulences, and His eternal abode is known as Goloka Vṛndāvana.

“ ‘All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras. But Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In every age He protects the world through His different features when the world is disturbed by the enemies of Indra.’

“There are three kinds of spiritual processes for understanding the Absolute Truth — the processes of speculative knowledge, mystic yoga and bhakti-yoga. According to these three processes, the Absolute Truth is manifested as Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.

“ ‘Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.’

“The manifestation of the impersonal Brahman effulgence, which is without variety, is the rays of Kṛṣṇa’s bodily effulgence. It is exactly like the sun. When the sun is seen by our ordinary eyes, it appears to consist simply of effulgence.

“ ‘I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes.’

“The Paramātmā, the Supersoul feature, is a plenary portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the original soul of all living entities. Kṛṣṇa is the source of the Paramātmā.

“ ‘You should know Kṛṣṇa to be the original soul of all ātmās [living entities]. For the benefit of the whole universe, He has, out of His causeless mercy, appeared as an ordinary human being. He has done this by the strength of His own internal potency.’

“ ‘But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.’

“Only by devotional activity can one understand the transcendental form of the Lord, which is perfect in all respects. Although His form is one, He can expand His form into unlimited numbers by His supreme will.

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead exists in three principal forms — svayaṁ-rūpa, tad-ekātma-rūpa and āveśa-rūpa.

“The original form of the Lord [svayaṁ-rūpa] is exhibited in two forms — svayaṁ-rūpa and svayaṁ-prakāśa. In His original form as svayaṁ-rūpa, Kṛṣṇa is observed as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana.

“In His original form, Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself in two features — prābhava and vaibhava. He expands His one original form into many, as He did during the rāsa-līlā dance.

“When the Lord married 16,108 wives at Dvārakā, He expanded Himself into many forms. These expansions and the expansions at the rāsa dance are called prābhava-prakāśa, according to the directions of revealed scriptures.

“The prābhava-prakāśa expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa are not like the expansions of the sage Saubhari. Had they been so, Nārada would not have been astonished to see them.

“ ‘It is astounding that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is one without a second, expanded Himself in sixteen thousand similar forms to marry sixteen thousand queens in their respective homes.’

“If one form or feature is differently manifested according to different emotional features, it is called vaibhava-prakāśa.

“When the Lord expands Himself in innumerable forms, there is no difference in the forms, but due to different features, bodily colors and weapons, the names are different.

“ ‘In different Vedic scriptures, there are prescribed rules and regulative principles for worshiping different types of forms. When one is purified by these rules and regulations, he worships You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although manifested in many forms, You are one.’

“The first manifestation of the vaibhava feature of Kṛṣṇa is Śrī Balarāmajī. Śrī Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa have different bodily colors, but otherwise Śrī Balarāma is equal to Kṛṣṇa in all respects.

“An example of vaibhava-prakāśa is the son of Devakī. He sometimes has two hands and sometimes four hands.

“When the Lord is two-handed He is called vaibhava-prakāśa, and when He is four-handed He is called prābhava-prakāśa.

“In His original form, the Lord dresses like a cowherd boy and thinks Himself one. When He appears as Vāsudeva, the son of Vasudeva and Devakī, His dress and consciousness are those of a kṣatriya, a warrior.

“When one compares the beauty, opulence, sweetness and intellectual pastimes of Vāsudeva, the warrior, to Kṛṣṇa, the cowherd boy, son of Nanda Mahārāja, one sees that Kṛṣṇa’s attributes are more pleasant.

“Indeed, Vāsudeva is agitated just to see the sweetness of Govinda, and a transcendental greed awakens in Him to enjoy that sweetness.

“ ‘My dear friend, this dramatic actor appears like a second form of My own self. Like a picture, He displays My pastimes as a cowherd boy overflowing with wonderfully attractive sweetness and fragrance, which are so dear to the damsels of Vraja. When I see such a display, My heart becomes greatly excited. I long for such pastimes and desire a form exactly like that of the damsels of Vraja.’

“One instance of Vāsudeva’s attraction to Kṛṣṇa occurred when Vāsudeva saw the Gandharva dance at Mathurā. Another instance occurred in Dvārakā when Vāsudeva was surprised to see a picture of Kṛṣṇa.

“ ‘Who manifests an abundance of sweetness greater than Mine, which has never been experienced before and which causes wonder to all? Alas, I Myself, My mind bewildered upon seeing this beauty, impetuously desire to enjoy it like Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.’

“When that body is a little differently manifested and its features are a little different in transcendental emotion and form, it is called tad-ekātma.

“In the tad-ekātma-rūpa there are pastime expansions [vilāsa] and personal expansions [svāṁśa]. Consequently there are two divisions. According to pastime and personal expansion, there are various differences.

“Again the vilāsa forms are divided into twofold categories — prābhava and vaibhava. Again the pastimes of these forms are of unlimited variety.

“The chief quadruple expansions are named Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. These are called prābhava-vilāsa.

“Balarāma, who has the same original form as Kṛṣṇa, is Himself a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana, and He also considers Himself a member of the kṣatriya race in Dvārakā. Thus His color and dress are different, and He is called a pastime form of Kṛṣṇa.

“Śrī Balarāma is a vaibhava-prakāśa manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. He is also manifested in the original quadruple expansions of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. These are prābhava-vilāsa expansions with different emotions.

“The first expansion of the caturvyūha, quadruple forms, is unique. There is nothing to compare with Them. These quadruple forms are the source of unlimited quadruple forms.

“These four prābhava pastime forms of Lord Kṛṣṇa reside eternally in Dvārakā and Mathurā.

“From the original quadruple expansions, twenty-four forms are manifested. They differ according to the placement of the weapons in Their four hands. They are called vaibhava-vilāsa.

“Lord Kṛṣṇa again expands, and within the paravyoma, the spiritual sky, He is situated in fullness as the four-handed Nārāyaṇa, accompanied by expansions of the original quadruple form.

“Thus the original quadruple forms again manifest Themselves in a second set of quadruple expansions. The residences of these second quadruple expansions cover the four directions.

“Again these quadruple forms expand three times, beginning with Keśava. That is the fulfillment of the pastime forms.

“Out of the catur-vyūha, there are three expansions of each and every form, and They are named differently according to the position of the weapons. The Vāsudeva expansions are Keśava, Nārāyaṇa and Mādhava.

“The expansions of Saṅkarṣaṇa are Govinda, Viṣṇu and Madhusūdana. This Govinda is different from the original Govinda, for He is not the son of Mahārāja Nanda.

“The expansions of Pradyumna are Trivikrama, Vāmana and Śrīdhara. The expansions of Aniruddha are Hṛṣīkeśa, Padmanābha and Dāmodara.

“These twelve are the predominating Deities of the twelve months. Keśava is the predominating Deity of Agrahāyana, and Nārāyaṇa is the predominating Deity of Pauṣa.

“The predominating Deity of the month of Māgha is Mādhava, and the predominating Deity of the month of Phālguna is Govinda. Viṣṇu is the predominating Deity of Caitra, and Madhusūdana is the predominating Deity of Vaiśākha.

“In the month of Jyaiṣṭha, the predominating Deity is Trivikrama. In Āṣāḍha the Deity is Vāmana, in Śrāvaṇa the Deity is Śrīdhara, and in Bhādra the Deity is Hṛṣīkeśa.

“In the month of Āśvina, the predominating Deity is Padmanābha, and in Kārttika it is Dāmodara. This Dāmodara is different from Rādhā-Dāmodara, the son of Nanda Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana.

“When putting the twelve tilaka marks on the twelve places of the body, one has to chant the mantra consisting of these twelve Viṣṇu names. After daily worship, when one anoints the different parts of the body with water, these names should be chanted as one touches each part of the body.

“From Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, there are eight additional pastime expansions. O Sanātana, please hear Me as I mention Their names.

“The eight pastime expansions are Puruṣottama, Acyuta, Nṛsiṁha, Janārdana, Hari, Kṛṣṇa, Adhokṣaja and Upendra.

“Of these eight expansions, two are pastime forms of Vāsudeva. Their names are Adhokṣaja and Puruṣottama. The two pastime forms of Saṅkarṣaṇa are Upendra and Acyuta.

“The pastime forms of Pradyumna are Nṛsiṁha and Janārdana, and the pastime forms of Aniruddha are Hari and Kṛṣṇa.

“All these twenty-four forms constitute the chief prābhava-vilāsa pastime forms of the Lord. They are named differently according to the position of the weapons in Their hands.

“Of all these, the forms that differ in dress and features are distinguished as vaibhava-vilāsa.

“Of Them, Padmanābha, Trivikrama, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana, Hari, Kṛṣṇa and so on all have different bodily features.

“Vāsudeva and the three others are direct prābhava pastime forms of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Of these quadruple forms, the pastime expansions are twenty in number.

“All these forms preside over different Vaikuṇṭha planets in the spiritual world, beginning from the east in consecutive order. In each of the eight directions, there are three different forms.

“Although They all have Their residences eternally in the spiritual sky, some of Them are situated within the material universes.

“There is an eternal residence of Nārāyaṇa in the spiritual sky. In the upper portion of the spiritual sky is a planet known as Kṛṣṇaloka, which is filled with all opulences.

“The planet of Kṛṣṇaloka is divided into three sections — Gokula, Mathurā and Dvārakā.

“Lord Keśava eternally resides at Mathurā, and Lord Puruṣottama, known by the name Jagannātha, eternally resides at Nīlācala.

“At Prayāga, the Lord is situated as Bindu Mādhava, and at Mandāra-parvata, the Lord is known as Madhusūdana. Vāsudeva, Padmanābha and Janārdana reside at Ānandāraṇya.

“At Viṣṇu-kāñcī there is Lord Viṣṇu, at Māyāpur Lord Hari, and throughout the universe a variety of other forms.

“Within the universe the Lord is situated in different spiritual manifestations. These are situated on seven islands in nine sections. Thus Their pastimes are going on.

“The Lord is situated in all the universes in different forms just to please His devotees. Thus the Lord destroys irreligious principles and establishes religious principles.

“Of these forms, some are considered incarnations. Examples are Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Trivikrama, Lord Nṛsiṁha and Lord Vāmana.

“My dear Sanātana, just hear from Me as I tell you how the different viṣṇu-mūrtis hold Their weapons, beginning with the disc, and how They are named differently according to the placement of the weapons in Their hands.

“The procedure for counting begins with the lower right hand and goes to the upper right hand, the upper left hand, and the lower left hand. Lord Viṣṇu is named according to the order of the weapons He holds in His hands.

“According to the Siddhārtha-saṁhitā there are twenty-four forms of Lord Viṣṇu. First I shall describe, according to the opinion of that book, the location of the weapons, beginning with the disc.

“In His lower right hand, Lord Vāsudeva holds a club, in the upper right hand a conchshell, in the upper left hand a disc and in the lower left hand a lotus flower. In His lower right hand, Saṅkarṣaṇa holds a club, in His upper right hand a conchshell, in His upper left hand a lotus flower and in His lower left hand a disc.

“Pradyumna holds the disc, conch, club and lotus. Aniruddha holds the disc, club, conch and lotus.

“Thus in the spiritual sky the expansions, headed by Vāsudeva, hold weapons in Their own respective order. I am repeating the opinion of the Siddhārtha-saṁhitā in describing Them.

“Lord Keśava holds the lotus, conch, disc and club. Lord Nārāyaṇa holds the conch, lotus, club and disc.

“Lord Mādhava holds the club, disc, conch and lotus. Lord Govinda holds the disc, club, lotus and conch.

“Lord Viṣṇu holds the club, lotus, conch and disc. Lord Madhusūdana holds the disc, conch, lotus and club.

“Lord Trivikrama holds the lotus, club, disc and conch. Lord Vāmana holds the conch, disc, club and lotus.

“Lord Śrīdhara holds the lotus, disc, club and conch. Lord Hṛṣīkeśa holds the club, disc, lotus and conch.

“Lord Padmanābha holds the conch, lotus, disc and club. Lord Dāmodara holds the lotus, disc, club and conch.

“Lord Puruṣottama holds the disc, lotus, conch and club. Lord Acyuta holds the club, lotus, disc and conch.

“Lord Nṛsiṁha holds the disc, lotus, club and conch. Lord Janārdana holds the lotus, disc, conch and club.

“Śrī Hari holds the conch, disc, lotus and club. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa holds the conch, club, lotus and disc.

“Lord Adhokṣaja holds the lotus, club, conch and disc. Lord Upendra holds the conch, club, disc and lotus.

“According to the Hayaśīrṣa-pañcarātra, there are sixteen personalities. I shall now describe that opinion of how They hold the weapons.

“Keśava is described differently as holding the lotus, conch, club and disc, and Mādhava is described as holding the disc, club, conch and lotus in His hands.

“According to the Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarātra, Nārāyaṇa and others are also presented differently as holding the weapons in different hands.

“Kṛṣṇa, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, indicated as the son of Mahārāja Nanda, has two names. One is svayaṁ bhagavān, and the other is līlā-puruṣottama.

“Lord Kṛṣṇa personally surrounds Dvārakā-purī as its protector. In different parts of the city, in nine places, He expands in nine different forms.

“ ‘The nine personalities mentioned are Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Nārāyaṇa, Nṛsiṁha, Hayagrīva, Varāha and Brahmā.’

“I have already described the pastime and prakāśa forms. Now please hear about the different personal expansions.

“The first personal expansion is Saṅkarṣaṇa, and the others are incarnations like the fish incarnation. Saṅkarṣaṇa is an expansion of the Puruṣa, or Viṣṇu. The incarnations such as Matsya, the fish incarnation, appear in different yugas for specific pastimes.

“There are six types of incarnations [avatāras] of Kṛṣṇa. One comprises the incarnations of Viṣṇu [puruṣa-avatāras], and another comprises the incarnations meant for the performance of pastimes [līlā-avatāras].

“There are incarnations that control the material qualities [guṇa-avatāras], incarnations who appear during the reign of each Manu [manvantara-avatāras], incarnations in different millenniums [yuga-avatāras] and incarnations of empowered living entities [śaktyāveśa-avatāras].

“Childhood and boyhood are the typical ages of the Deity. Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda, performed His pastimes as a child and as a boy.

“There are innumerable incarnations of Kṛṣṇa, and there is no possibility of counting them. We can simply indicate them by giving the example of the moon and the branches of a tree.

“ ‘O learned brāhmaṇas, just as hundreds and thousands of small rivulets issue from great reservoirs of water, innumerable incarnations flow from Śrī Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the reservoir of all power.’

“In the beginning, Kṛṣṇa incarnates Himself as the puruṣa-avatāras, or Viṣṇu incarnations. These are of three types.

“ ‘Viṣṇu has three forms called puruṣas. The first, Mahā-Viṣṇu, is the creator of the total material energy [mahat], the second is Garbhodaśāyī, who is situated within each universe, and the third is Kṣīrodaśāyī, who lives in the heart of every living being. He who knows these three becomes liberated from the clutches of māyā.’

“Kṛṣṇa has unlimited potencies, out of which three are chief — willpower, the power of knowledge and the creative energy.

“The predominator of the willing potency is Lord Kṛṣṇa, for by His supreme will everything comes into existence. In willing, there is a need for knowledge, and that knowledge is expressed through Vāsudeva.

“There is no possibility of creation without thinking, feeling, willing, knowledge and activity. The combination of the supreme will, knowledge and action brings about the cosmic manifestation.

“Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa is Lord Balarāma. Being the predominator of the creative energy, He creates both the material and the spiritual world.

“That original Saṅkarṣaṇa [Lord Balarāma] is the cause of both the material and the spiritual creation. He is the predominating Deity of egotism, and by the will of Kṛṣṇa and the power of the spiritual energy, He creates the spiritual world, which consists of the planet Goloka Vṛndāvana and the Vaikuṇṭha planets.

“Although there is no question of creation as far as the spiritual world is concerned, the spiritual world is nonetheless manifested by the supreme will of Saṅkarṣaṇa. The spiritual world is the abode of the pastimes of the eternal spiritual energy.

“ ‘Gokula, the supreme abode and planet, appears like a lotus flower that has a thousand petals. The whorl of that lotus is the abode of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. This lotus-shaped supreme abode is created by the will of Lord Ananta.’

“By the agency of the material energy, this same Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa creates all the universes. The dull material energy — known in modern language as nature — is not the cause of the material universe.

“Without the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s energy, dull matter cannot create the cosmic manifestation. Its power does not arise from the material energy itself but is endowed by Saṅkarṣaṇa.

“Dull matter alone cannot create anything. The material energy produces the creation by the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Iron itself has no power to burn, but when iron is placed in fire, it is empowered to burn.

“ ‘Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa are the original efficient and material causes of the material world. As Mahā-Viṣṇu and the material energy, They enter into the material elements and create the diversities by multi-energies. Thus They are the cause of all causes.’

“The form of the Lord that descends into the material world to create is called an avatāra, or incarnation.

“All the expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa are actually residents of the spiritual world. But when they descend into the material world, they are called incarnations [avatāras].

“To glance over that material energy and empower her, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa first incarnates as Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu.

“ ‘In the beginning of the creation, the Lord expanded Himself in the form of the puruṣa incarnation, accompanied by all the ingredients of material creation. First He created the sixteen principal energies suitable for creation. This was for the purpose of manifesting the material universes.’

“ ‘Kāraṇābdhiśāyī Viṣṇu [Mahā-Viṣṇu] is the first incarnation of the Supreme Lord, and He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, the mind, the elements, the material ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form of the Lord, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.’

“That original Personality of Godhead, named Saṅkarṣaṇa, first lies down in the river Virajā, which serves as a border between the material and the spiritual world. As Kāraṇābdhiśāyī Viṣṇu, He is the original cause of the material creation.

“The Virajā, or Causal Ocean, is the border between the spiritual and the material world. The material energy is situated on one shore of that ocean, and it cannot enter onto the other shore, which is the spiritual sky.

“ ‘In the spiritual world, there is neither the mode of passion, the mode of ignorance nor a mixture of both, nor is there adulterated goodness, the influence of time or māyā herself. Only the pure devotees of the Lord, who are worshiped both by demigods and by demons, reside in the spiritual world as the Lord’s associates.’

“Māyā has two functions. One is called māyā, and the other is called pradhāna. Māyā refers to the efficient cause, and pradhāna refers to the ingredients that create the cosmic manifestation.

“When the Supreme Personality of Godhead glances over the material energy, she becomes agitated. At that time, the Lord injects the original semen of the living entities.

“To impregnate with the seeds of the living entities, the Lord Himself does not directly touch the material energy, but by His specific functional expansion He touches the material energy, and thus the living entities, who are His parts and parcels, are impregnated into material nature.

“ ‘At a time beyond memory, after agitating the material nature into three qualities, the Supreme Personality of Godhead placed the semen of innumerable living entities within the womb of that material nature. Thus material nature gave birth to the total material energy, known as the hiraṇmaya-mahat-tattva, the original symbolic representation of the cosmic manifestation.’

“ ‘In due course of time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead [Mahā-Vaikuṇṭhanātha], by the agency of an expansion of His personal self [Mahā-Viṣṇu], placed the seed of the living entities entities within the womb of material nature.’

“First the total material energy is manifested, and from this arise the three types of egotism, which are the original sources from which all demigods [controlling deities], senses and material elements expand.

“Combining all the different elements, the Supreme Lord created all the universes. Those universes are unlimited in number; there is no possibility of counting them.

“The first form of Lord Viṣṇu is called Mahā-Viṣṇu. He is the original creator of the total material energy. The innumerable universes emanate from the pores of His body.

“These universes are understood to be floating in the air that Mahā-Viṣṇu exhales. They are like atomic particles that float in sunshine and pass through the holes of a screen. All these universes are thus created by the exhalation of Mahā-Viṣṇu, and when Mahā-Viṣṇu inhales, they re-enter His body. The unlimited opulences of Mahā-Viṣṇu are completely beyond material conception.

“ ‘The Brahmās and other lords of the mundane worlds appear from the pores of Mahā-Viṣṇu and remain alive for the duration of His one exhalation. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, of whom Mahā-Viṣṇu is a portion of a plenary portion.’

“Mahā-Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of all the universes. Lying on the Causal Ocean, He is the master of all material worlds.

“I have thus explained the truth of the first Personality of Godhead, Mahā-Viṣṇu. I shall now explain the glories of the second Personality of Godhead.

“After creating the total number of universes, which are unlimited, Mahā-Viṣṇu expanded Himself into unlimited forms and entered into each of them.

“When Mahā-Viṣṇu entered each of the limitless universes, He saw that there was darkness all around and that there was no place to stay. He therefore began to consider the situation.

“With the perspiration produced from His own body, the Lord filled half the universe with water. He then lay down on that water, on the bed of Lord Śeṣa.

“A lotus flower then sprouted from the lotus navel of that Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. That lotus flower became Lord Brahmā’s birthplace.

“In the stem of that lotus flower, the fourteen worlds were generated. Then He became Lord Brahmā and manifested the entire universe.

“In this way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of Viṣṇu maintains the entire material world. Since He is always beyond the material qualities, the material nature cannot touch Him.

“The Supreme Lord in His form of Rudra [Lord Śiva] brings about the dissolution of this material creation. In other words, only by His will are there creation, maintenance and dissolution of the whole cosmic manifestation.

“Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva are His three incarnations of the material qualities. Creation, maintenance and destruction respectively are under the charge of these three personalities.

“Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, known within the universe as Hiraṇyagarbha and the antaryāmī, or Supersoul, is glorified in the Vedic hymns, beginning with the hymn that starts with the word ‘sahasra-śīrṣā.’

“This second Personality of Godhead, known as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is the master of each and every universe and the shelter of the external energy. Nonetheless, He remains beyond the touch of the external energy.

“The third expansion of Viṣṇu is Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who is the incarnation of the quality of goodness. He is to be counted within both types of incarnations [puruṣa-avatāras and guṇa-avatāras].

“Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the universal form of the Lord and is the Supersoul within every living entity. He is known as Kṣīrodakaśāyī because He is the Lord who lies on the ocean of milk. He is the maintainer and master of the universe.

“O Sanātana, I have definitively described the three puruṣa-avatāras of Viṣṇu. Now please hear from Me about the pastime incarnations.

“No one can count the innumerable pastime incarnations of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but I shall describe the principal ones.

“Some of the pastime incarnations are the fish incarnation, the tortoise incarnation, Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Nṛsiṁha, Lord Vāmana and Lord Varāha. There is no end to them.

“ ‘O Lord of the universe, best of the Yadu dynasty, we are offering our prayers unto You mainly to diminish the heavy burden of the universe. Indeed, You diminished this burden formerly by incarnating in the form of a fish, a horse [Hayagrīva], a tortoise, a lion [Lord Nṛsiṁha], a boar [Lord Varāha] and a swan. You also incarnated as Lord Rāmacandra, Paraśurāma and Vāmana, the dwarf. You have always protected us demigods and the universe in this way. Now please continue.’

“I have given a few examples of pastime incarnations. Now I will describe the guṇa-avatāras, the incarnations of the material qualities. Please listen.

“There are three functions within this material world. Everything here is created, everything is maintained for some time, and everything is finally dissolved. The Lord therefore incarnates Himself as the controllers of the three qualities — sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa [goodness, passion and ignorance]. Thus the transactions of the material world take place.

“Because of his past pious activities mixed with devotional service, the first-class living entity is influenced by the mode of passion within his mind.

“Such a devotee is empowered by Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. In this way, an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa in the form of Brahmā engineers the total creation of the universe.

“ ‘The sun manifests his brilliance in a gem, although it is stone. Similarly, the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, manifests His special power in a pious living entity. Thus the living entity becomes Brahmā and manages the affairs of the universe. Let me worship Govinda, the original Personality of Godhead.’

“If in a kalpa a suitable living entity is not available to take charge of Brahmā’s post, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself personally expands and becomes Lord Brahmā.

“ ‘What is the value of a throne to Lord Kṛṣṇa? The masters of the various planetary systems accept the dust of His lotus feet on their crowned heads. That dust makes the holy places sacred, and even Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lakṣmī and I Myself, who are all portions of His plenary portion, eternally carry that dust on our heads.’

“Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, expands a portion of His plenary portion and, accepting the association of the material mode of ignorance, assumes the form of Rudra to dissolve the cosmic manifestation.

“Rudra, Lord Śiva, has various forms, which are transformations brought about by association with māyā. Although Rudra is not on a level with the jīva-tattvas, he still cannot be considered a personal expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

“Milk is transformed into yogurt when it associates with a yogurt culture. Thus yogurt is nothing but milk, but still it is not milk.

“ ‘Milk changes into yogurt when mixed with a yogurt culture, but actually it is constitutionally nothing but milk. Similarly, Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, assumes the form of Lord Śiva [Śambhu] for the special purpose of material transactions. I offer my obeisances at His lotus feet.’

“Lord Śiva is an associate of the external energy; therefore he is absorbed in the material quality of darkness. Lord Viṣṇu is transcendental to māyā and the qualities of māyā. Therefore He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

“ ‘The truth about Lord Śiva is that he is always covered with three material coverings — vaikārika, taijasa and tāmasa. Because of these three modes of material nature, he always associates with the external energy and egotism itself.’

“ ‘Śrī Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated beyond the range of material nature; therefore He is the supreme transcendental person. He can see everything inside and outside; therefore He is the supreme overseer of all living entities. If someone takes shelter at His lotus feet and worships Him, he also attains a transcendental position.’

“For the maintenance of the universe, Lord Kṛṣṇa descends as His personal plenary expansion in the form of Viṣṇu. He is the director of the mode of goodness; therefore He is transcendental to the material energy.

“Lord Viṣṇu is in the category of svāṁśa because He has opulences almost equal to Kṛṣṇa’s. Kṛṣṇa is the original person, and Lord Viṣṇu is His personal expansion. This is the verdict of all Vedic literatures.

“ ‘When the flame of one candle is expanded to another candle and placed in a different position, it burns separately, and its illumination is as powerful as the original candle’s. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, expands Himself in different forms as Viṣṇu, who is equally luminous, powerful and opulent. Let me worship that Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda.’

“The conclusion is that Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are simply devotee incarnations who carry out orders. However, Lord Viṣṇu, the maintainer, is the personal feature of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

“[Lord Brahmā said:] ‘I am engaged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to create. Following His orders, Lord Śiva dissolves everything. The Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu maintains all the affairs of material nature. Thus the supreme controller of the three modes of material nature is Lord Viṣṇu.’

“O Sanātana, now just hear about the incarnations who appear during the reign of each Manu [manvantara-avatāras]. They are unlimited, and no one can count them. Just hear of their source.

“In one day of Brahmā, there are fourteen changes of the Manus, and during the reign of each of those fourteen Manus, an incarnation is manifested by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

“There are 14 manvantara-avatāras in one day of Brahmā, 420 in one month, and 5,040 in one year.

“During the hundred years of Brahmā’s life, there are 504,000 manvantara-avatāras.

“The number of manvantara-avatāras for only one universe has been given. One can only imagine how many manvantara-avatāras exist in the innumerable universes. And all these universes and Brahmās exist only during one exhalation of Mahā-Viṣṇu.

“There is no limit to the exhalations of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Just see how impossible it is to speak or write of only the manvantara-avatāras!

“In the Svāyambhuva-manvantara, the avatāra is named Yajña. In the Svārociṣa-manvantara, he is named Vibhu. In the Auttama-manvantara, He is named Satyasena, and in the Tāmasa-manvantara, He is named Hari.

“In the Raivata-manvantara, the avatāra is named Vaikuṇṭha, and in the Cākṣuṣa-manvantara, He is named Ajita. In the Vaivasvata-manvantara, He is named Vāmana, and in the Sāvarṇya-manvantara, He is named Sārvabhauma. In the Dakṣa-sāvarṇya-manvantara, he is named Ṛṣabha.

“In the Brahma-sāvarṇya-manvantara, the avatāra is named Viṣvaksena, and in the Dharma-sāvarṇya, he is named Dharmasetu. In the Rudra-sāvarṇya he is named Sudhāmā, and in the Deva-sāvarṇya, he is named Yogeśvara.

“In the Indra-sāvarṇya-manvantara, the avatāra is named Bṛhadbhānu. These are the names of the fourteen avatāras in the fourteen manvantaras.

“O Sanātana, now hear from Me about the yuga-avatāras, the incarnations for the millenniums. First of all, there are four yugas — Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga, Dvāpara-yuga and Kali-yuga.

“In the four yugas — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — the Lord incarnates in four colors: white, red, black and yellow respectively. These are the colors of the incarnations in different millenniums.

“ ‘This child formerly had three colors according to the prescribed color for different millenniums. Formerly He was white, red and yellow, and now He has assumed a blackish color.’

“ ‘In Satya-yuga the Lord appeared in a body colored white, with four arms and matted hair. He wore tree bark and bore a black antelope skin. He wore a sacred thread and a garland of rudrākṣa beads. He carried a rod and a waterpot, and He was a brahmacārī.’

“ ‘In Tretā-yuga, the Lord appeared in a body that had a reddish hue and four arms. There were three distinctive lines on His abdomen, and His hair was golden. His form manifested the Vedic knowledge, and He bore the symbols of a sacrificial spoon, ladle and so on.’

“As the white incarnation, the Lord taught religion and meditation. He offered benedictions to Kardama Muni, and in this way He showed His causeless mercy.

“In Satya-yuga the people were generally advanced in spiritual knowledge and could meditate upon Kṛṣṇa very easily. The people’s occupational duty in Tretā-yuga was to perform great sacrifices. This was induced by the Personality of Godhead in His reddish incarnation.

“In Dvāpara-yuga the people’s occupational duty was to worship the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa, appearing in a blackish body, personally induced people to worship Him.

“ ‘In Dvāpara-yuga the Personality of Godhead appears in a blackish hue. He is dressed in yellow, He holds His own weapons, and He is decorated with the Kaustubha jewel and the mark of Śrīvatsa. That is how His symptoms are described.’

“ ‘I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, expanded as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.’

“By this mantra, the people worship Lord Kṛṣṇa in Dvāpara-yuga. In Kali-yuga the occupational duty of the people is to chant congregationally the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.

“In the Age of Kali, Lord Kṛṣṇa assumes a golden color and, accompanied by His personal devotees, introduces hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. By this process He delivers love for Kṛṣṇa to the general populace.

“Lord Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, personally introduces the occupational duty of the Age of Kali. He personally chants and dances in ecstatic love, and thus the entire world chants congregationally.

“ ‘In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the name of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.’

“In the other three yugas — Satya, Tretā and Dvāpara — people perform different types of spiritual activities. Whatever results they achieve in that way, they can achieve in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

“ ‘My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.’

“ ‘Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can also be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.’

“ ‘Whatever is achieved by meditation in Satya-yuga, by the performance of yajña in Tretā-yuga or by the worship of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet in Dvāpara-yuga is also obtained in the Age of Kali simply by chanting the glories of Lord Keśava.’

“ ‘Those who are advanced and highly qualified and are interested in the essence of life know the good qualities of Kali-yuga. Such people worship the Age of Kali because in this age one can advance in spiritual knowledge and attain life’s goal simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.’

“As stated before when I described the incarnations of the material modes [guṇa-avatāras], one should consider that these incarnations also are unlimited and that no one can count them.

“Thus I have given a description of the incarnations of the four different yugas.” After hearing all this, Sanātana Gosvāmī gave an indirect hint to the Lord.

Sanātana Gosvāmī had been a minister under Nawab Hussain Shah, and he was undoubtedly as intelligent as Bṛhaspati, the chief priest of the heavenly kingdom. Due to the Lord’s unlimited mercy, Sanātana Gosvāmī questioned Him without hesitation.

Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “I am a very insignificant living entity. I am low and poorly behaved. How can I understand who is the incarnation for this Age of Kali?”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “As in other ages an incarnation is accepted according to the directions of the śāstras, in this Age of Kali an incarnation of God should be accepted in that way.

“The Vedic literatures composed by the omniscient Mahāmuni Vyāsadeva are evidence of all spiritual existence. Only through these revealed scriptures can all conditioned souls attain knowledge.

“An actual incarnation of God never says ‘I am God’ or ‘I am an incarnation of God.’ The great sage Vyāsadeva, knowing all, has already recorded the characteristics of the avatāras in the śāstras.

“ ‘The Lord does not have a material body, yet He descends among human beings in His transcendental body as an incarnation. Therefore it is very difficult for us to understand who is an incarnation. Only by His extraordinary prowess and uncommon activities, which are impossible for embodied living entities, can one partially understand the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’

“By two symptoms — personal characteristics and marginal characteristics — the great sages can understand an object.

“Bodily features, nature and form are the personal characteristics. Knowledge of His activities provides the marginal characteristics.

“In the auspicious invocation at the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrīla Vyāsadeva has described the Supreme Personality of Godhead by these symptoms.

“ ‘O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.’

“In this invocation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the word ‘param’ indicates Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the word ‘satyam’ indicates His personal characteristics.

“In that same verse it is stated that the Lord is the creator, maintainer and annihilator of the cosmic manifestation and that He enabled Lord Brahmā to create the universe by infusing him with the knowledge of the Vedas. It is also stated that the Lord has full knowledge, directly and indirectly, that He knows past, present and future, and that His personal energy is separate from māyā, the illusory energy.

“All these activities are His marginal characteristics. Great saintly persons understand the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the indications of the two characteristics known as svarūpa and taṭastha. All the incarnations of Kṛṣṇa should be understood in this way.

“At the time of Their appearance, the incarnations of the Lord are known in the world because people can consult the śāstras to understand an incarnation’s chief characteristics, known as svarūpa and taṭastha. In this way the incarnations become known to great saintly persons.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “The color of the personality in whom the characteristics of the Lord are found is yellowish. His activities include the distribution of love of Godhead and the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.

“The incarnation of Kṛṣṇa for this age is indicated by these symptoms. Please confirm this definitely so that all my doubts will go away.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “O Sanātana, you must give up your intelligent tricks. Now just try to understand the description of the śaktyāveśa-avatāras.

“There are unlimited śaktyāveśa-avatāras of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Let Me describe the chief among them.

“Empowered incarnations are of two types — primary and secondary. The primary ones are directly empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are called incarnations. The secondary ones are indirectly empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are called vibhūti.

“Some śaktyāveśa-avatāras are the four Kumāras, Nārada, Mahārāja Pṛthu and Paraśurāma. When a living being is empowered to act as Lord Brahmā, he is also considered a śaktyāveśa-avatāra.

“Lord Śeṣa in the spiritual world of Vaikuṇṭha and, in the material world, Lord Ananta, who carries innumerable planets on His hoods, are two primary empowered incarnations. There is no need to count the others, for they are unlimited.

“The power of knowledge was invested in the four Kumāras, and the power of devotional service was invested in Nārada. The power of creation was invested in Lord Brahmā, and the power to carry innumerable planets was invested in Lord Ananta.

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead invested the power of personal service in Lord Śeṣa, and He invested the power to rule the earth in King Pṛthu. Lord Paraśurāma received the power to kill rogues and miscreants.

“ ‘Whenever the Lord is present in someone by portions of His various potencies, the living entity representing the Lord is called a śaktyāveśa-avatāra — that is, an incarnation invested with special power.’

“As explained in the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa has spread Himself all over the universe in many personalities through specific powers, known as vibhūti.

“ ‘Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.’

“ ‘But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.’

“Thus I have explained specifically empowered incarnations. Now please hear about the characteristics of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s childhood, boyhood and youth.

“As the son of Mahārāja Nanda, Lord Kṛṣṇa is by nature the paragon of kiśora [youth]. He chooses to exhibit His pastimes at that age.

“Before His personal appearance, the Lord causes some of His devotees to appear as His mother, father and intimate associates. He then appears later as if He were taking birth and growing from a baby to a child and gradually into a youth.

“ ‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally enjoying Himself, and He is the shelter of all kinds of devotional service. Although His ages are various, His age known as kiśora [pre-youth] is best of all.’

“When Lord Kṛṣṇa appears, from moment to moment He exhibits His different pastimes, beginning with the killing of Pūtanā. All these pastimes are eternally being demonstrated one after another.

“The consecutive pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are being manifested in one of the innumerable universes moment after moment. There is no possibility of counting the universes, but in any case some pastime of the Lord is being manifested at every moment in one universe or another.

“Thus the Lord’s pastimes are like the flowing Ganges water. In this way all the pastimes are manifested by the son of Nanda Mahārāja.

“Lord Kṛṣṇa exhibits His pastimes of childhood, boyhood and pre-youth. When He reaches pre-youth, He continues to exist eternally to perform His rāsa dance and other pastimes.

“Descriptions of Kṛṣṇa’s eternal pastimes are in all the revealed scriptures. But one cannot understand how they are continuing eternally.

“Let me give an example by which people may understand Lord Kṛṣṇa’s eternal pastimes. An example can be found in the zodiac.

“The sun moves across the zodiac day and night and crosses the oceans between the seven islands one after the other.

“According to Vedic astronomical calculations, the rotation of the sun consists of sixty daṇḍas, and it is divided into thirty-six hundred palas.

“The sun rises in steps consisting of sixty palas. Sixty palas equal one daṇḍa, and eight daṇḍas comprise one prahara.

“The day and the night are divided into eight praharas — four belonging to the day and four belonging to the night. After eight praharas, the sun rises again.

“Just as there is an orbit of the sun, there is an orbit of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, which are manifested one after the other. During the lifetime of fourteen Manus, this orbit expands through all the universes, and gradually it returns. Thus Kṛṣṇa moves with His pastimes through all the universes, one after another.

“Kṛṣṇa remains within a universe for 125 years, and He enjoys His pastimes both in Vṛndāvana and Dvārakā.

“The cycle of His pastimes turns like a wheel of fire. Thus Kṛṣṇa exhibits His pastimes one after the other in every universe.

“Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes — appearance, childhood, boyhood and youth — are all manifested, beginning with the killing of Pūtanā and extending to the end of the mauṣala-līlā, the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. All of these pastimes are rotating in every universe.

“Since all Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are taking place continuously, at every moment some pastime is existing in one universe or another. Consequently these pastimes are called eternal by the Vedas and Purāṇas.

“The spiritual abode known as Goloka, which is a pasturing land for surabhi cows, is as powerful and opulent as Kṛṣṇa. By the will of Kṛṣṇa, the original Goloka and Gokula dhāmas are manifested with Him in all the universes.

“The eternal pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are continuously taking place in the original Goloka Vṛndāvana planet. These same pastimes are gradually manifested within the material world, in each and every brahmāṇḍa.

“Kṛṣṇa is complete in the spiritual sky [Vaikuṇṭha], He is more complete in Mathurā and Dvārakā, and He is most complete in Vṛndāvana, Vraja, due to His manifesting all His opulences.

“ ‘This is stated in the dramatic literatures as “perfect,” “more perfect” and “most perfect.” Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself in three ways — perfect, more perfect and most perfect.

“ ‘When the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not manifest all His transcendental qualities, He is called complete. When all the qualities are manifested, but not fully, He is called more complete. When He manifests all His qualities in fullness, He is called most complete. This is the version of all learned scholars in the devotional science.

“ ‘The most complete qualities of Kṛṣṇa are manifested within Vṛndāvana, and His complete and more complete qualities are manifested in Dvārakā and Mathurā.’

“Lord Kṛṣṇa is the most complete Supreme Personality of Godhead in Vṛndāvana. Elsewhere all His expansions are either complete or more complete.

“Thus I have briefly described Kṛṣṇa’s manifestation of transcendental forms. This subject matter is so large that even Lord Ananta cannot describe it fully.

“In this way Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental forms are expanded unlimitedly. No one can count them. Whatever I have explained is simply a little glimpse. It is like showing the moon through the branches of a tree.”

Whoever hears or recites these descriptions of the expansions of Kṛṣṇa’s body is certainly a very fortunate man. Although this is very difficult to understand, one can nonetheless acquire some knowledge about the different features of Kṛṣṇa’s body.

Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.