| Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 1: The Advent of Lord Krishna: Introduction |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.1.2
tatrāmśenāvatīrnasya
SYNONYMS
yadoh — of Yadu or the Yadu dynasty; ca — also; dharma-śīlasya — who were strictly attached to religious principles; nitarām — highly qualified; muni-sattama — O best of all munis, king of the munis (Śukadeva Gosvāmī); tatra — in that dynasty; amśena — with His plenary expansion Baladeva; avatīrnasya — who appeared as an incarnation; vishnoh — of Lord Vishnu; vīryāni — the glorious activities; śamsa — kindly describe; nah — unto us.
TRANSLATION
O best of munis, you have also described the descendants of Yadu, who were very pious and strictly adherent to religious principles. Now, if you will, kindly describe the wonderful, glorious activities of Lord Vishnu, or Krishna, who appeared in that Yadu dynasty with Baladeva, His plenary expansion.
PURPORT
The Brahma-samhitā (5.1) explains that Krishna is the origin of the vishnu-tattva.
anādir ādir govindah
"Krishna, 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."
yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya
jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-anda-nāthāh
vishnur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśesho
govindam ādi-purusham tam aham bhajāmi
"The Brahmās, the heads of the innumerable universes, live only for the duration of one breath of Mahā-Vishnu. I worship Govinda, the original Lord, of whom Mahā-Vishnu is but a portion of a plenary portion." (Brahma-samhitā 5.48)
Govinda, Krishna, is the original Personality of Godhead. Krishnas tu bhagavān svayam. Even Lord Mahā-Vishnu, who by His breathing creates many millions upon millions of universes, is Lord Krishna's kalā-viśesha, or plenary portion of a plenary portion. Mahā-Vishnu is a plenary expansion of Sańkarshana, who is a plenary expansion of Nārāyana. Nārāyana is a plenary expansion of the catur-vyūha, and the catur-vyūha are plenary expansions of Baladeva, the first manifestation of Krishna. Therefore when Krishna appeared with Baladeva, all the vishnu-tattvas appeared with Him.
Mahārāja Parīkshit requested Śukadeva Gosvāmī to describe Krishna and His glorious activities. Another meaning may be derived from this verse as follows, Although Śukadeva Gosvāmī was the greatest muni, he could describe Krishna only partially (amśena), for no one can describe Krishna fully. It is said that Anantadeva has thousands of heads, but although He tries to describe Krishna with thousands of tongues, His descriptions are still incomplete.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari