The topic of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy over all others, including other avatāras, is a sensitive one. Even among Caitanya Vaiṣṇavas, I have noticed resistance to Śrī Jīva Goswami’s famous analysis of the kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam verse which I discussed here. One way to approach this topic, is to see one person, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as appearing in different forms such as Śrī Rāma and others, with the understanding that He manifests aspects of His being to varying extents in different forms in accord with the desire of the corresponding devotees. This is entirely reasonable. After all, there is only one advaya tattva or non dual reality.
Śrī Viśvanātha takes a similar approach to establish Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy in the Bhagavad-Gītā. I will translate his fascinating commentary in this article which, as far as I know, is entirely original in its interpretation of three verses of the 15th chapter. I pick up the thread at verse 15.16.
(15.16)
dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca |
kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭastho’kṣara ucyate |
There are two puruṣas in the world, the jīva who is deviated from its svarūpa, and Brahman, which is undeviated from its svarūpa. The class of jīvas become the different living beings, while the akṣara [puruṣa] pervades all time, undeviated from its own svarūpa.
The above verse-translation is based on Śrī Viśvanātha’s commentary which I translate below.
viśvanāthaḥ : yasmād aham eva vedavit tasmāt sarva-vedārtha-niṣkarṣaṁ saṅkṣepeṇa bravīmi śṛṇu ity āha—dvāv imāv iti tribhiḥ | loke caturdaśa-bhuvanātmake jaḍa-prapañce imau dvau puruṣau cetanau staḥ | kau tāv ata āha—kṣaraṁ sva-svarūpāt kṣarati vicyuto bhavatīti kṣaro jīvaḥ | sva-svarūpān na kṣaratīty akṣara brahmaiva | etad vai tad akṣaraṁ gārgi brāhmaṇā vividiṣanti | iti śruteḥ | akṣaraṁ brahma paramam iti smṛteś ca akṣara-śabdo brahma-vācaka eva dṛṣṭaḥ | kṣarākṣarayor arthaṁ punar viśadayati sarvāṇi bhūtāni eko jīva eva anādy-avidyayā svarūpa-vicyutaḥ san karma-paratantraḥ samaṣṭy-ātmako brahmādi-sthāvarāntāni bhūtāni bhavatīty arthaḥ | jātyā vā ekavacanam | dvitīya-puruṣo’kṣaras tu kūṭastha ekenaiva svarūpeṇavicyutimatā sarva-kāla-vyāpī | ekarūpatayā tu yaḥ kāla-vyāpī sa kūṭasthaḥ ity amaraḥ ||16||
Because I alone am the knower of the Vedas, I will speak to you the essential meaning of all the Vedas in brief. Hear! He speaks this in three verses. In this material world composed of fourteen bhuvanas, these two puruṣas are present. Who are they? The kṣara, deviated from its own svarūpa, is the jīva. The akṣara is indeed Brahman, undeviated from its own svarūpa. The śruti says, “This Brahman is indeed that which the brāhmaṇas call as akṣara. The smṛti says, “akṣara is the Supreme Brahman”. Thus, the word akṣara is seen to be a vācaka of Brahman. He clarifies the meaning of the words kṣara and akṣara again [in the second line]. The one jīva alone, who is the samaṣṭi jīva [collective jīvas] and subdued by karma, being deviated from its svarūpa due to beginningless ignorance, becomes Brahmā and others, upto the immobile beings. Or the singular form of kṣara indicates the class [of jīvas]. In contrast, the second puruṣa is the akṣara, which is undeviated, pervading all phases of times in one svarūpa alone. Amara-koṣa states, ” that is kūṭastha which pervades all phases of time in one form”.
In his beautiful commentary, Śrī Viśvanātha embarks on a quest to prove Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy over everyone else based on the 15th chapter verses 15.16 – 15.18. Verse 15.16 refers to two puruṣas. Śrī Viśvanātha identifies them to be the class of jīvas and Brahman respectively. Here, Brahman refers to the qualityless all-pervading Brahman. He justifies his interpretation by citing both śruti and smṛti. Next, he interprets verse 15.17 as teaching about Paramātmā.
(15.17)
uttamaḥ puruṣas tv anyaḥ paramātmety udāhṛtaḥ |
yo loka-trayam āviśya bibharty avyaya īśvaraḥ ||
The superior puruṣa is another, who is called Paramātmā. Pervading the three worlds, the changeless īśvara supports and protects them.
viśvanāthaḥ : jñānibhir upāsyaṁ brahmoktvā yogibhir upāsyaṁ paramātmānam āha—uttama iti | tu-śabdaḥ pūrva-vaiśiṣṭhyād dyotakaḥ | jñānibhyaś cādhiko yogīty upāsaka-vaiśiṣṭyād evopāsya-vaiśiṣṭyaṁ ca labhyate | paramātma-tattvam eva darśayati ya īśvara īsana-śīlo’vyayo nirvikāra eva san loka-trayaṁ kṛtsnam āviśya bibharti dhārayati pālayati ca ||17||
Having spoken of Brahman, the worshippable of the jñānis, Brahman, he speaks of Paramātmā, the worshippable of the yogis. The word ‘tu’ indicates the superiority of Paramātmā compared to the previous [two]. This superiority of the worshippable is understood based on the superiority of the worshipper, which is stated in the verse jñānibhyaś cādhiko yogī – the yogi is superior to the jñāni. He explains Paramātmā-tattva – He, who has the nature of regulating others [īśvara], who being changeless [avyaya], fully pervading the three lokas, supports and protects them.
Astute readers will notice that Śrī Viśvanātha is demonstrating how these three verses reiterate the same concept which is present in the famous Bhāgavata verse, which I provide below:
vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate
All those who have realized Absolute reality refer to that Reality as non dual consciousness. This reality is named as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.
Based on the progression in the above verse, we expect that Bhagavān will be mentioned in 15.18. That is indeed what Śrī Viśvanātha presents, but with a twist! Additionally, note that Śrī Viśvanātha has expalined an important principle — the superiority of Paramātmā over Brahman is due to the superiority of the worshipper (upāsanā-bhedena upāsya-bheda). Likewise, one can infer the superiority of Bhagavān, and in turn, the superiority of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
(15.18)
yasmāt kṣaram atīto’ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ |
ato’smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||
I will first present his commentary and then translate the above verse.
viśvanāthaḥ : yogibhir upāsyaṁ paramātmānam uktvā bhaktair upāsyaṁ bhagavantaṁ vadan bhagavattve’pi svasya kṛṣṇa-svarūpasya puruṣottama iti nāma vyācakṣāṇaḥ sarvotkarṣam āha—yasmād iti | kṣaraṁ puruṣaṁ jīvātmānam atītaḥ akṣarāt puruṣāt brahmata uttamād avikārāt paramātmanaḥ puruṣād apy uttamaḥ |
Having spoken about Paramātmā, the worshippable of the yogis, [now] speaking about Bhagavān, the worshippable of the devotees, despite His own Kṛṣṇa-svarūpa being of the nature of Bhagavān, He still states its superiority over all others, by stating His name as Puruṣottama [the best among the Puruṣas] in this verse. He is beyond the kṣara puruṣa, jīvātmā, and is superior to the akṣara puruṣa, Brahman, and the changeless Paramātmā, who is superior [to Brahman].
Here, Śrī Viśvanātha interprets the single word ‘akṣara’ as inclusive of both Brahman and Paramātmā. Interestingly, he will now interpret the word ‘ca’ that follows ‘api’ as indicative of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha as we see below.
yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā |
śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ || [gītā 6.47] iti |
upāsaka-vaiśiṣṭyād evopāsya-vaiśiṣṭya-lābhāt | ca-kārād bhagavato vaikuṇṭha-nāthādeḥ sakāśād api ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam iti sūtokter aham uttamaḥ |
From the statement, “Among all the yogis, one who worships me with faith, with mind absorbed in me, is the best in my opinion”, the superiority of the worshipable is determined based on the superiority of the worshipper. The word ‘ca’ indicates that I am superior even to Bhagavān, the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, as stated by Sūta, “ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam – these are aṁśas or kalās of the puruṣa, but Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān Himself”.
Here, Śrī Viśvanātha cites the famous ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam verse to support his explanation of the verse. Now he shows how these verses highlight the key principle in the vadanti tat verse of abheda, as well as the principle of bheda —
atra yadyapy ekam eva sac-cid-ānanda-svarūpaṁ vastu brahma-paramātma-bhagavat-śabdair ucyate na tu vastutaḥ svarūpataḥ ko’pi bhedo’sti svarūpa-dvayābhāvāt (bhā.pu. 6.9.35] iti ṣaṣṭha-skandhokteḥ | tad api tat-tad-upāsakānāṁ sādhanataḥ phalataś ca bheda-darśanāt bheda iva vyavahriyate | tathā hi brahma-paramātma-bhagavad-upāsakānāṁ krameṇa tat-tat-prāpti-sādhanaṁ jñānaṁ yogo bhaktiś ca | phalaṁ ca jñāna-yogayor vastuto mokṣa eva, bhaktes tu premavat-pārṣadatvaṁ ca |
Here, even though there is only one substantive, whose essential nature is sat, cit and ānanda, called by the words Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, but in whom, there is absolutely no bheda or difference in the svarūpa, as stated in the Bhāgavata, “[in you, there is] an absence of two svarūpas”, bheda or difference is observed based on the sādhana and the sādhya of worshippers of these [three substantives]. As such, the term ‘bheda’ or ‘difference’ is used [to describe these substantives]. Accordingly, the sādhana for the worshippers of Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān for attaining these substantives are sequentially jñāna, yoga and bhakti. And the sādhya of jñāna and yoga is factually mukti alone, while for bhakti, it is the state of being a pārṣada who possesses prema.
There is bheda between Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān owing to the differences of sādhana between their worshippers. As the sādhana is different, the sādhya must be different. The ‘bheda’ or difference between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and other avatāras is likewise due to differences in sādhana of their worshippers.
He clarifies this concept further —
ataeva bhagavad-upāsanayā svargāpavarga-premādīni sarva-phalāny eva labdhuṁ śakyante | brahma-paramātmopāsanayā tu na premādīnīty ata eva brahma-paramātmābhyāṁ bhagavad-utkarṣaḥ khalu abhede’py ucyate |
Therefore, by worship of Bhagavān, the fruits of svarga, liberation, prema etc. are all possible to attain. By worship of Brahman or Paramātmā, however, prema etc. are not possible to attain. Consequently, Bhagavān is superior to Brahman and Paramātmā, despite the abheda between them.
yathā tejastvenābhede’pi jyotir dīpāgni-puñjeṣu madhye śītādy-ārti-kṣayād dhetor agni-puñja eva śreṣṭha ucyate | tatrāpi bhagavataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇasya tu parama evotkarṣaḥ yathā agni-puñjād api sūryasya, yena brahmopāsanā-paripākato labhyo nirvāṇa-mokṣaḥ sva-dveṣṭṛbhyo’py agha-bak-jarāsandhādibhyo mahā-pāpibhyo datta iti | ataeva brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham ity atra yathāvad eva vyākhyātaṁ śrī-svāmi-caraṇaiḥ |
This [superiority of Bhagavān over Brahman and Paramātmā despite the abheda between them] is similar to how despite the existence of abheda between light, a lamp and an intense fire, the fire is considered superior owing to its ability to remove the suffering caused by cold etc. Furthermore, as the sun is superior to the fire, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is pre-eminent [among the different manifestations of Bhagavān]. He gave nirvāṇa-mokṣa, that is [normally] attained when the worship of Brahman has matured, even to those great sinners who despised Him like Agha, Baka, Jarāsandha and others. Therefore Śrīdhar swami’s explanation of the verse, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham, [in the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā] is indeed appropriate.
Śrī Viśvanātha now, perhaps in a tongue-in-cheek way, points out how the great Advaitin commentator Śrī Madhusūdana Sarasvatī agrees with the conclusion above regarding Śrī Kṛṣṇa —
śrī-madhusūdana-sarasvatī-pādair api—
Śrī Madhusūdana Sarasvatī-pāda also has written —
cid-ānandākāraṁ jalada-ruci-sāraṁ śruti-giraṁ vraja-strīṇāṁ hāraṁ bhava-jaladhi-pāraṁ kṛta-dhiyām |vihantuṁ bhū-bhāraṁ vidadhad-avatāraṁ muhur aho tato vāraṁ vāraṁ bhajata kuśalārambha-kṛtinaḥ || iti |
The expert devotees should worship again and again this form of cit and ānanda, who has the beauty of a rain cloud, who is the voice of the śrutis, who is the garland of the women of Vraja, who is the other side of the ocean of the material existence for those who are determined, and who manifests avatāras to remove the burden of the earth again and again.
vaṁśī-vibhūṣita-karān nava-nīradābhāt pītāmbarād aruṇa-bimba-phalādharauṣṭhāt |pūrṇendu-sundara-mukhād aravinda-netrātkṛṣṇāt paraṁ kim api tattvam ahaṁ na jāne || iti |
I do not know any higher tattva then Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose hands are decorated with a flute, whose complexion is like a new cloud, who wears yellow cloth, whose lips are red like the bimba fruit, whose face is beautiful like a full moon, and whose eyes are like lotus petals.
pramāṇato’pi nirṇītaṁ kṛṣṇa-māhātmyam adbhutam |na śaknuvanti ye soḍhuṁ te mūḍhā nirayaṁ gatāḥ ||ity uktavadbhiḥ kṛṣṇe sarvotkarṣa eva vyavasthāpita ity ataḥ dvāv imau ity-ādi śloka-trayasyāsya vyākhyāyām asyām abhyasūyā nāviṣkartavyā | namo’stu kevala-vidbhyaḥ ||18||
The sastras have established the wondrous greatness of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Those fools who are not able to tolerate this will go to hell.
In this way, even Śrī Madhusūdana Sarasvatī-pada has established the pre-eminence of Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone. Therefore, one should not be display anger toward my commentary on these three verses. I offer pranams to the venerable knower of Advaita [Śrī Madhusūdana Sarasvatī-pāda].
I conclude with a translation of 15.18:
yasmāt kṣaram atīto’ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ |ato’smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||
Because I am beyond the the kṣara puruṣa, jīvātmā, superior to the akṣara puruṣa, Brahman, superior to the changeless Paramātmā who is superior [to Brahman], as well as Nārāyaṇa, the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, I am celebrated in this world and in the Vedas as the Supreme Person, Purusottama
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