TLC 7 (1968)
CHAPTER SEVEN
Unlimited Forms of Godhead
These twelve different Vaikuntha Forms of Lord Krishna are known as the predominating deities for the twelve months. According to the Vaishnava almanac, the months are called by the different Names of Krishna. This calendar begins from the month of Margasirsa, equivalent to late October-November. The month of November is known by the Vaishnavas as Kesava. December is called Narayan. January is called Madhab, and February is Govinda. March is Vishnu, April Vasudeva, May Trivikram and June Vamana. July is called Sridhar; August Hrishikesha, September is called Padmanava and October is Damodar.
This Damodar is different from the Damodar in Vraja. The Name Damodar was given when Krishna was bound by ropes by His mother—but the Damodar Form in the month of October is a different manifestation. Similarly, the Vaishnava community marks different parts of the body and each mark is known by one of these twelve different Names of the Supreme Lord. The mark on the forehead is called Kesava, and on the belly, the breast and on the arms there are different Names, the same as those of the months.
The four Forms, Vasudeva, Samkarshan, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, are also expanded in the Vilasa Murti. These are eight in number, and their Names are Purushottam, Achyuta, Nrishingha, Janardana, Hari, Krishna, Adhoksaja and Upendra. Out of these eight Names, two Names, Adhoksaja and Purushottam, are the Vilasa or Forms of Vasudeva. Similarly, Upendra and Achyuta are the Forms of Sanikarshan; Nrishingha and Janardana are the Vilasa Forms of Pradyumna; and Hari and Krishna are the two Vilasa Forms of Aniruddha. This Krishna is different from the original Krishna.
These twenty-four Forms are known as the Vilasa manifestation of the Pravhav (four-handed) Form, and they are differently named according to the different position of the symbolic representations, that is, the mace, the disc, the lotus flower and the conch shell. Out of these twenty-four Forms, there is also a division of Vilasa and Baibhava. Names mentioned herein, such as Pradyumna, Trivikram, Vamana, Hari and Krishna are also different in features. Then, corning to the Prahava Vilasa of Krishna, which is Vasudeva, Samkarshan, Pradyumna and Aniruddha; there are a total of twenty further variations. All of them have Vaikuntha planets in the Spiritual Sky, which are situated in eight different directions. And, although each of them is eternally in the Spiritual Sky, still, some of them manifest in the material world also.
In the Spiritual Sky all the planets dominated by the feature of Narayan are eternal. And the topmost planet in the Spiritual Sky is called Krishna Loka. That Krishna Loka is divided into three different portions: Gokula, Mathura, and Dwarka. In the Mathura portion the Form of Kesava is always situated. He is also represented on this earthly planet. In India there is a place called Mathura where Kesava Murti is worshipped and, similarly, there is a Purushottam Form in Jagannath Puri in Orissa. In Anandaranya there is the Form of Vishnu, and in Mayapur, the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya, there is the Form of Hari. Many other Forms are situated elsewhere on this earthly planet.
Not only in this Universe, but in all the other Universes such Forms are distributed everywhere. On this earthly planet also it is indicated that all the world is divided into seven islands, and it is understood that on each and every island there are similar Forms. But at the present moment they are found only in India. They are indicated to be in other parts of the world, but at present there is no information telling where they are situated. But from Vedic literature we can understand that there are Forms in other parts of the world.
These different Forms of Krishna are distributed all over the world and the Universes to give pleasure to the devotees. Not that the devotees are only born in India. Actually, in all parts of the world, there are devotees who have simply forgotten their identity. Such Forms-incarnate come not only to give pleasure to the devotee but to re-establish devotional service, and to perform other activities which vitally concern the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Some of them are incarnations as mentioned in the Scriptures, such as the Vishnu incarnation, Trivikram incarnation, Nrishingha incarnation and Vamana incarnation.
In the Siddhartha Samhita there is a description of the twentyfour Forms of Vishnu, named differently in terms of the different symbolic representations in the four hands. When describing the different positions of paraphernalia in the hands of Vishnu Murti, the counting should begin first with the lower right hand, then to the upper right hand, next to the upper left hand and, lastly, to the lower left hand. In this way Vasudeva is represented by club, conch shell, wheel and lotus flower. Sarnkarshan is represented by club, conch shell, lotus flower and wheel. Similarly, Pradyurnna is represented by wheel, conch shell, club and lotus flower. Aniruddha is represented by wheel, club, conch shell and lotus flower.
In the Spiritual Sky the representations of Narayan, twenty in number, are calculated as follows: Hrishikesha is represented by conch shell, wheel, flower and club. Narayan is represented by conch shell, lotus flower, club and wheel. Sri Madhava is represented by club, wheel, conch shell and lotus flower. Sri Govinda is represented by wheel, club, lotus flower and conch shell. Vishnu Murti is represented by club, lotus flower, conch shell and wheel. Madhusudan is represented by wheel, conch shell, lotus flower and club. Trivikram is represented by lotus flower, club, wheel and lotus flower. Sridhar is represented by lotus flower, wheel, club and conch shell. Padmanava is represented by conch shell, lotus flower, wheel and club. Damodar is represented by lotus flower, wheel, club and conch shell. Purushottam is represented by wheel, lotus flower, conch shell, and club. Sri Achyuta is represented by club, lotus flower, wheel and conch shell. Sri Nrishingha is represented by wheel, lotus flower, club and conch shell. Janardan is represented by lotus flower, wheel, conch shell and club. Sri Hari is represented by conch shell, wheel, lotus flower and club. Sri Krishna is represented by conch shell, club, lotus flower and wheel. Adhoksaja is represented by lotus flower, club, conch shell and wheel. Upendra is represented by conch shell, club, wheel and lotus flower.
According to Hayasirsha Pancharatra there are sixteen Forms, and they are all different in Name, in terms of the wheel and club being differently situated. The conclusion is that the Supreme Original Personality of Godhead is Krishna-He is called Leela Purushottam, and He is principally in Vrindaban as the Son of Nanda. It is also learned from the Hayasirsha Pancharacha that nine forms are protecting two Puris, known as the Mathura Puri and the Dwarka Puri: the four Forms of Vasudeva, Samkarshan, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, and besides these four Forms, there are Narayan Forms, Nrishingha Forms, Hayagriva Forms, Varaha Forms and Brahma. The above descriptions are different manifestations of the Prakasa and Vilasa Forms of Lord Krishna.
Now Lord Chaitanya informs Sanatan Goswami that there are different Forms of the Svamsa also: Svamsa Forms are divided into the Samkarshan division and the incarnation division. From the Samkarshan division come the three Purusha Avatars: the Karanodakshayee Vishnu, Garbhodakshayee Vishnu and Kshirodakshayee Vishnu. The other division is called Leela avatars, such as the Lord's incarnation as a Fish, as a Tortoise, etc.
There are six kinds of incarnations: 1. the Purusha Avatar incarnations, 2. the Leela Avatar incarnation, 3. the Guna Avatar, 4. the Manu Avatar, 5. the Yuga Avatar, and 6. the Saktavesh Avatar. Out of six kinds of Vilasa manifestations of Krishna there are two divisions based on His age. They are called Balya and Pauganda. The original Form of Krishna as the Son of Nanda enjoys in two Forms of childhood, namely Balya and Pauganda.
The conclusion is that there is no end to the expansions and incarnations of Krishna. Here Lord Chaitanya describes some of them to Sanatan just to give him an idea of how the Lord is expanding and how He is enjoying. This is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagwatam, in the First Canto, Third Chapter. It is said there that there is no limit to the emanations of incarnations of the Supreme Lord, just as there is no limit to the waves of the ocean.
Krishna's first incarnation is as the three Purusa Avatars, namely the Maha Vishnu (or Karanodakshayee) Avatar, Garbhodakshayee Avatar and Kshirodakshayee Avatar. This is confirmed in the Sasvata, Tantra.
Krishna's energies are also divisible into three: His energy of thinking, His energy of feeling, and His energy of acting. In His energy of thinking He is the Supreme Lord, in His energy of feeling He is Lord Vasudeva, and in His energy of acting He is Samkarshan Valaram. Without thinking, feeling, and acting there could be no possibility of the Creation. Although there is no creation of the Spiritual World, yet there is the creation of this material world. But both the Spiritual World and the material world are manifestations of the energy of acting—in the Form of Samkarshan and Valaram—of Krishna.
The Spiritual World, the Vaikuntha planets and Krishna Loka, is situated in His energy of thinking. Although there is no creation of the eternal Spiritual World, still it is to be understood that they depend on the thinking energy of the Supreme Lord. This thinking energy is described in the Brahma Samhita, Fifth Chapter, second verse. It is said there that the Supreme Abode, known as Goloka, is manifested just like a lotus flower with hundreds of petals. Everything is manifested by the Ananta or Valaram or Samkarshan Form. The material cosmic manifestation and the different Universes are manifest through the Maya, or material energy. The material Nature or material energy is not the cause of all this cosmic manifestation. It is caused by the Supreme Lord, by His different expansions through the material Nature; and without the superintendence of the Supreme Lord there is no possibility of any creation.
The Form by which the energy of the material Nature works to bring about creation is called Sarnkarshan. It is understood that under the superintendent energy of the Supreme Lord this cosmic manifestation is created. The example is given: iron becomes hot in contact with fire, and when it is red hot, it is just like fire.
In the Srimad Bhagwatam, Tenth Canto, Forty-sixth Chapter, it is said that Rama and Krishna are the Origin of all living entities. These two Personalities enter into everything. A list of the incarnations occurs in the Srimad Bhagwatam, First Canto, Third Chapter, as follows: 1. Kumaras, 2. Narada, 3. Varaha, 4. Matsya, 5. Yajna, 6. Naranarayan, 7. Kardemikapeel, 8. Duttatreya, 9. Hayasirsha, 10. Hansa, 11. Dhruvapriya Prishni Garva, 12. Rishava, 13. Prithu, 14. Nrishingha, 15. Kurma, 16. Dhanvantari, 17. Mohini, 18. Vamana, 19. Bhargava, 20. Raghavendra, 21. Vyas, 22. Pralambari Valarama, 23. Krishna, 24. Buddha, 25. Kalki. Almost all of these twenty-five Leela Avatars appear in one day of Brahma, which is called a Kalpa, and sometimes they are called Kalpa Avatars. Out of these, the incarnation of Hansa Mohini is not permanent; but Kapila, Dattatreya, Rishava, Dhanvantari and Vyas are five eternal Forms, and they are more celebrated. The incarnations of the Tortoise, the Fish, Naranarayan, Baraha, Hayagriva, Prisnigarbha, and Valadeva are considered as incarnations of Vaibhava. Similarly, there are three incarnations of the qualitative modes of Nature. They are called Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Of the Manvantara Avatars, there are fourteen: 1. Yajna, 2. Bibhu, 3. Satyasen, 4. Hari, 5. Vaikuntha, 6. Arjita, 7. Vaman, 8. Sarbabhouma, 9. Rishava, 10. Viswaksen, 11. Dharmasetu, 12. Sudhama, 13. Yogeswar, 14. Vrihatbhanu. Out of these fourteen Manvatar incarnations, Yajna and Vamana are also Leela Avatars. The balance are Pastime Manvantar Avatars. These fourteen Manvantar Avatars are also known as Bhaiva Avatars.
The four Yuga Avatars are also described in the Bhagwatam: in the Satya Yuga the incarnation of God is white, in the Treta Yuga the incarnation of God is red, in the Dvarpara Yuga the incarnation of God is blackish; and the incarnation in the Kali Yuga is also blackish, but sometimes in a special Kali Yuga the color is yellowish. So far as the Saktavesh Avatars are concerned, they include Kapila and Rishava, the Saktavesh Avatar, Ananta, Brahma (sometimes the Lord Himself becomes Brahma), Satyasen as the incarnation of knowledge, Narada as the incarnation of devotional service, King Prithu as the incarnation of administrative power and Rishava as the incarnation of subduing evil principles.