Intro

The Supreme Personality of Godhead. First line. KRSNA in big letters. And next line, in small letters, The Supreme Personality of Godhead. Text.

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While attempting to write this book, Krsna, first of all let me offer my respectful obeisances to my spiritual master, Om Visnupada 108 Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja Prabhupada. Then let me offer my respectful obeisances to the ocean of mercy, Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna Himself, in the role of a devotee just to distribute the highest principles of devotional service, beginning from the country known as Gauḍadesa, West Bengal. As I belong to the Madhva-Gauḍiya-sampradaya, therefore I must offer my respectful obeisances to the disciplic succession, known by the above name. This Madhva-Gauḍiya-sampradaya is also known as Brahma-sampradaya because originally the disciplic succession begins from Brahma. Brahma instructed the sage Narada, Narada instructed Vyasadeva. Then Vyasadeva instructed to Madhva Muni, or Madhvacarya. Sri Madhavendra Puri, the origin of Madhva-Gauḍiya-sampradaya, belonged to the Madhvacarya disciplic succession. He was in the sannyasa order of life and had many renowned disciples, just like Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu and Īsvara Puri. Īsvara Puri happened to be the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So let us offer our respectful obeisances to Īsvara Puri, along with Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Acarya Prabhu, Srivasa Panḍita and Sri Gadadhara Panḍita.

After that, let us offer our respectful obeisances to Svarūpa-Damodara, who acted throughout as the private secretary of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; and let us offer our respectful obeisances to Sri Vasudeva Datta and the constant attendant of Lord Caitanya, Sri Govinda, and constant friend of Lord Caitanya, Mukunda, and Murari Gupta. Then let us offer our respectful obeisances to the six Gosvamis of Vrndavana, namely Sri Rūpa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami and Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami.

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Krsna has explained Himself in the Bhagavad-gita about Himself, that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and whenever there is discrepancies in the regulative principles of man's religious life and there is a prominence of irreligious activities, at that time Lord Sri Krsna appears on this earthly planet. In other words, when Lord Sri Krsna appeared, there was a necessity of minimizing the load of sinful activities accumulated on this planet, or in this universe. The affairs of the material creation, Lord Maha-Visnu, plenary portion of Krsna, is in charge. Actually, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita that the Lord appears when there is discrepancies of religious principles and prominence of irreligious activities, that incarnation of the Lord emanates from Maha-Visnu, or Visnu. Maha-Visnu is the original cause of material creation, and from Him expands Garbhodakasayi-Visnu and then Ksirodakasayi-Visnu. And generally, all the incarnations appearing within this material universe are plenary expansion from Ksirodakasayi-Visnu. Therefore the business of minimizing the overload sinful activities of this earth does not belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna Himself. But when Krsna appears, along with Him all the Visnu expansions, They also join with Him. As such, Krsna's different expansions-namely Narayana and the quadruple expansion, namely Vasudeva, Sahkarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, as well as different incarnation, just like partial plenary expansion of Matsya-avatara, incarnation of fish, and other yuga-avatara, or incarnation for the millennium, and manvantara-avatara, incarnation of Manus, all of them combine together, appear with the body of Krsna.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is a complete whole. As such, all plenary expansions and incarnations do always live with Him. Therefore the conclusion is when Krsna appeared, Lord Visnu was also with Him. Actually, in the incarnation of Krsna the business of killing the demons were done by the Visnu portion of Krsna. Krsna actually appears to demonstrate His Vrndavana pastimes to attract the fortunate conditioned souls, inviting them back to home, back to Godhead. The affairs of killing the demons was simultaneous activities only done by the Visnu portion of Krsna.

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In the Bhagavad-gita, Eighth Chapter, twentieth verse, there is a statement of the Lord's abode wherein it is stated that there is another eternal nature, spiritual sky, which is transcendental to this manifested and nonmanifested matter. The manifested world we can see so many stars and planetary systems-the sun, moon, etc. -but beyond this there is a nonmanifested portion, which is not approachable by anyone in this body. And beyond that nonmanifested matter there is spiritual kingdom. That kingdom is described in the Bhagavad-gita as the supreme and eternal, never annihilated. This material nature is subjected to repeated creation and annihilation, but that part, the spiritual nature, remains as it is, eternally.

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The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is also described in the Brahma-samhita as the abode of cintamani. That abode of Lord Krsna known as Goloka Vrndavana is full of palaces made of touchstone. There the trees are called desire trees, and the cows are called surabhi, and the Lord is being served by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune, He whose name is Govinda, the Primal Lord and the cause of all causes. There the Lord plays His flute, His eyes like lotus petals and the color of His body like a beautiful cloud, on His head a peacock feather. So attractive is He that He excels thousands of Cupids. Lord Krsna gives only a little hint in the Gita about His personal abode, which is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. But in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, actually Krsna appears with His all paraphernalia and demonstrates His activity in Vrndavana, and then at Mathura and then at Dvaraka. The subject matter of this book will comprise all such activities, gradually.

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The family in which Krsna appeared is called the Yadu dynasty. This Yadu dynasty belongs to the family descending from Soma, the god in the moon planet. There are two different families, ksatriya families of royal order: one descending from the king of the moon planet and the other descending from the king of the sun planet. So whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears, generally, because He has to establish religious principles, or life of righteousness, generally He appears in the ksatriya family. Ksatriya family is supposed to be protector of the human race. That is the Vedic system. So the Supreme Personality of Godhead, when He appeared as Lord Ramacandra, He appeared in the family descending from the sun-god, known as Raghu-vamsa. And when He appeared as Lord Krsna, He did so in the family of Yadu-vamsa.

There is a long list of these kings of this Yadu-vamsa in the Ninth Canto, Twenty-fourth Chapter, and all of them were great, powerful kings. Krsna's father's name was Vasudeva, descending from the Yadu dynasty. Actually, the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not belong to any dynasty of this material world, but the family in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears becomes famous, by His grace. The example is given just like sandalwood is produced in the states of Malaya. So sandalwood has its own qualification, but because accidentally such wood is mostly produced in the states of Malaya, sandalwood is known as "Malaya sandalwood." Similarly, Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, belongs to everyone, but as the sun rises from the eastern side, although there are so many sides, similarly, by His own choice the Lord appears in some family and that family becomes famous as sandalwood is called Malayan sandalwood.

As already explained above, that when Krsna appears, all His plenary expansions also appears with Him. So Krsna appeared along with Balarama, who is known as His elder brother, but Balarama is the origin of Sahkarsana, of the quadruple expansion. Balarama is also plenary expansion of Krsna. In this book an attempt will be made how Krsna appeared in the family of the Yadu dynasty and what was His transcendental characteristics. These things are very vividly described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, specifically Tenth Canto, and the basic principle of this book will be Srimad-Bhagavatam Tenth Canto.

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The pastimes of the Lord are generally heard and relished by liberated souls. Those who are conditioned soul, they are interested to read stories and fiction of the material activities of some common man, but the similar stories and similar narrations are found in Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Puranas, describing the transcendental activities of the Lord. But the conditioned soul, they prefer to study ordinary narrations, but they are less interested in the matter of studying the narrations of the pastimes of the Lord, Krsna. But still, the description of the pastimes of Lord Krsna is so nice that they are relishable by all classes of men.

There are three classes of men in this world. One class of men is called liberated souls, and the other class of men is called persons trying to be liberated. And the third class of men is called the materialistic men. So either one is a liberated soul or one is trying to be liberated, or even one is a grossly materialistic man, for everyone the pastimes of Lord Krsna is…, is worth studying. So far the liberated souls are concerned, they have no more any interested any…, in any materialistic activities. The impersonalist philosophy that after liberation one becomes inactive, there is no more anything to be heard, that does not mean that a liberated person is actually inactive.

A living soul cannot be inactive, either in conditioned state or in liberated state. Just like a diseased person: A diseased person in diseased condition is also active, but his activities are all painful. Similarly, the same person, when he is freed from the diseased condition, he is active. But in the healthy condition his activities are completely different. They are not painful, but they are full of pleasure. Similarly, the impersonalists only seek to get free from the diseased conditional activities, but they have no information of the activities in healthy condition. So those who are actually liberated and in full knowledge, they take to the activities of Krsna, or spiritual activities. So it is essential for the persons who are actually liberated to hear about the pastimes of Krsna. They relish it. That is the relishable subject matter in liberated condition. So far as persons who are trying to be liberated, they also, if they hear such narrations as Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, their path of liberation becomes very clear.

Bhagavad-gita is the preliminary study of Srimad-Bhagavatam. By studying this book, one becomes fully conscious about the position of Lord Krsna, and when he is fixed up in the lotus feet of Krsna, he understands the narrations of Krsna described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Lord Caitanya has therefore advised us that those who are actually following the footprints of Lord Caitanya, their business is to propagate krsna-katha. Krsna-katha means narration about Krsna.

So krsna-katha, there are two krsna-kathas. The Sanskrit meaning of krsna-katha means narrations spoken by Krsna and narrations about Krsna. So Bhagavad-gita is the narration of the philosophy, or the science, of God, spoken by Krsna Himself. So that is also krsna-katha. And Srimad-Bhagavatam is narration about the activities and transcendental pastimes of Krsna. So that is also krsna-katha. So this krsna-kathas should be spread all over the world. That is the order of Lord Caitanya. Because the conditioned souls who are suffering under the pangs of material existence, if they take to krsna-katha, then their path of liberation will be open and clear.

The purpose of presenting this book, Krsna, is primarily to induce people to understand Krsna or krsna-katha, and thereby they become freed from the material bondage. And so far the most materialistic persons are concerned, for them also this krsna-katha, or narration about Krsna, will be very much appealing, because Krsna's pastimes with the gopis are exactly like loving affairs of the young boys and girls within this material world. Actually, the sex feeling of the human society is original. It is not unnatural, because the same sex feeling is there in the original Personality of Godhead. The pleasure potency is Srimati Radharani. Actually, the attraction of sex or loving affairs on the basis of sex feeling is the original feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And we, the conditioned souls, being the part and parcel of the Supreme, we have got such feelings, but they are in a perverted minute condition. Therefore this material world who are after this sex life, they also, when they hear about Krsna's pastimes with the gopis, they will relish another, transcendental pleasure, although it appears to be materialistic. The advantage will be that such materialistic person will gradually be elevated to the spiritual platform.

In the Bhagavatam it is stated that the pastimes of Lord Krsna with the gopis, if somebody hears from authorities and submissively, then the result will be that he will be promoted to the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and his material disease and lust within the heart will be completely vanquished. Therefore, on the whole, this krsna-katha, or this book Krsna, will be equally appealing for the liberated souls, for persons who are trying to be liberated, as well as to the grossed, conditioned materialistic persons.

So according to the statement of Maharaja Pariksit, who heard about Krsna from Sukadeva Gosvami, it is concluded that every human being, never mind in whatever condition of life he is staying, this book Krsna or the subject matter of krsna-katha will be equally applicable. Surely, every one of them will appreciate to the highest magnitude.

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Sri Maharaja Pariksit has also warned that persons who are simply engaged in killing animals and killing themselves, they may not be very much attracted with this book Krsna or krsna-katha. In other words, ordinary persons who are following the regulative principles of scriptures, moral principles, generally they may be in any condition, as stated above, will be certainly attracted. But persons who are killing themselves… The exact word used in the Srimad-Bhagavatam is called pasughna; pasughna means killing the animals or killing oneself. Persons who are not self-realized, not interested in the matter of spiritual realization or self-realization, they are killing themselves; they are committing suicide. Because this human form of body is especially meant for this purpose-self-realization. But neglecting this important part of his activities, if one is simply wasting time like animal, he is also pasughna. And the other one who are actually killing animals, that means persons who are animal eaters. There are different kinds of animal eaters, even dog eaters. They are engaged in killing animals in so many ways: hunting, slaughterhouse. Such persons cannot be interested in krsna-katha.

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King Pariksit was especially interested in hearing krsna-katha, because he knew that his forefathers, his grandfather Arjuna, was victorious in the great Battle of Kuruksetra on account of Krsna only. Clearly, even if we take this material world as a Battlefield of Kuruksetra, that is, everyone is struggling hard for existence in this battlefield, and in every step there is danger, so according to Maharaja Pariksit the Battlefield of Kuruksetra was just like a vast ocean full of dangerous animals. His grandfather Arjuna had to fight with such great heroes as Bhisma, Drona, Karna and many others. They are not ordinary fighters; just like timihgala. Such personalities have been compared as timihgala fish. Timihgala fish is in the ocean which can swallow up the big whales very easily. Similarly, these great fighters in the Battle of Kuruksetra could swallow many, many Arjunas very easily. But it was simply due to Krsna's mercy that Arjuna was able to kill all of them. And the comparison is just like one can cross over the pit full water impressed by the hoof of a calf. There is no exertion in jumping over such a small pit. Similarly, Arjuna, by the grace of Krsna, was able to jump over the ocean of Battle of Kuruksetra very easily.

So Maharaja Pariksit was very much appreciative of Krsna's activities for so many reasons. Not only his grandfather was saved by Krsna, but he was also saved by Krsna. Because after finishing the Battle of Kuruksetra, actually all the members of the Kuru dynasty, namely the sons and grandsons and grandchildren on the other side of Dhrtarastra, and this side also, Panḍavas and their sons and grandsons, they were fighting, but only excepting the five brothers, everyone died in the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. And Maharaja Pariksit was at that time within the embryo of his mother. His father, Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna, also died in the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, and he was posthumous child. But when he was within the womb of his mother, there was brahmastra released by Asvatthama to kill this child in the embryo. And when Pariksit Maharaja's mother, Uttara, approached Krsna, seeing the danger of abortion, Krsna entered the womb of Uttaraand saved Maharaja Pariksit. Maharaja Pariksit's another name is Visnurata, because within the womb he was saved by Visnu, Lord Visnu Himself.

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Thus everyone, in any condition of life, should be interested to hear about Krsna and His activities, because He is the Supreme Absolute Truth, Personality of Godhead. He is all-pervading. He is living within everyone's heart, inside, and He is living outside as…, in His universal form. Still, as it is described in the Bhagavad-gita, He appears as He is in the human society just to invite them to His transcendental abode-back to home, back to Godhead. So everyone should be interested to know about Krsna, and this book is presented with this purpose, that people may know about Krsna and be perfectly benefited in his human form of life.

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In the Ninth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Baladeva is described as the son of Rohini, another wife of Vasudeva. Vasudeva, the father of Krsna, had sixteen wives. Out of them, Rohini the mother of Baladeva, is one. But Baladeva is also described as the son of Devaki, so how He could be son of both Devaki and Rohini? This was one of the questions of Maharaja Pariksit to Sukadeva Gosvami, and that will be answered in due course.

Another question of Maharaja Pariksit to Sukadeva Gosvami was why Sri Krsna, just after His appearance as the son of Vasudeva, was immediately carried to the house of Nanda Maharaja in Vrndavana, Gokula. He also wanted to know the activities of Lord Krsna while He was in Vrndavana, as well as while He was in Mathura. Besides that, he was especially inquisitive to know why Krsna killed His maternal uncle, Kamsa. Kamsa, being the brother of His mother, he was a very intimate superior to Krsna, so how is it that He killed Kamsa? His question was also how many years Lord Krsna remained in the human society, along with His activities like a human being. How many years He reigned over the kingdom of Dvaraka, and how many wives He accepted there? Ksatriya kings are generally accustomed to accept more than one wife; therefore Pariksit Maharaja inquired about Krsna also, how many wives He accepted.

Actually, the subject matter of this book, Krsna, is answering of the questions made by Maharaja Pariksit to Sukadeva Gosvami. The example of Maharaja Pariksit and Sukadeva Gosvami is unique. Maharaja Pariksit is the right person to hear about the transcendental pastimes of Krsna, and Sukadeva Gosvami is the right person to describe it. If fortunately such combination is made possible, then krsna-katha, or narration of Krsna, becomes immediately spiritualized, and people benefit out of such conversation to the highest possible degree.

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So Pariksit Maharaja was listening to Sukadeva Gosvamiat the point of his death. This narration of Krsna was presented by Sukadeva Gosvami when Pariksit Maharaja was prepared to give up his body and he was fasting on the bank of the Ganges. So in order to assure Sukadeva Gosvami that in the matter of hearing krsna-katha he won't feel tired, he expressed very frankly that "Hunger, thirst may give trouble to the ordinary persons or unto me, but the topics of Krsna is so nice that one can continue to hear about Him without any feeling of tiredness, on account of being situated in transcendental position." In other words, it is understood that if one is fortunate enough to hear about krsna-katha very seriously, as Maharaja Pariksit was hearing -namely, he was expecting death at any moment-so similarly, every one of us should be conscious of our death at any moment. This life is not assured at all. Any time we can die, it does not matter whether I am young man or old man. So before death takes place, we must be fully Krsna conscious. That is...

Krsna, tape number two. Krsna, tape number two.

King Pariksit was hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam from Sukadeva Gosvami at the point of his death, and when he expressed his untiring desire to hear about Krsna, Sukadeva Gosvami was very much pleased. Sukadeva Gosvami was the greatest of all Bhagavata reciters, and thus he began to speak about Krsna and His pastimes, which are all destroyer of inauspiciosity in this age of Kali. Sukadeva Gosvami thanked the king Pariksit for his eagerness to hear about Krsna, and he encouraged him by saying, "My dear King, your intelligence is very decisive, because you have so much eagerness to hear about the pastimes of Krsna." He informed Maharaja Pariksit that the hearing and chanting of the pastimes of Krsna is so auspicious that such a process purifies three classes of men, namely one who recites about the transcendental topics of Krsna, one who hears such topics and one who inquires about Him, just like the Ganges water which is emanated from the toe of Lord Visnu purifies the three worlds, namely the upper, the middle and the lower planetary system.