Why the name Krishna?

JAY SHREE POOJYASHREE SHREE AMMA
JAY MAHAN BRAHMASHREE GOPALAVALLIDASAR
JAY SHREE RADHEKRISHNA SATHSANG

Dear Readers,

Radhekrishna! In the first few important manifestations of His, Lord Krishna says that He is Vishnu, Shankara, the Sun, the Moon, Indra the king of Gods etc. Thus one can understand that the demi-gods, this universe, all the animals, plants, trees and so also all the non-living entities forming part of the nature, the various qualities, intangible things are nothing but manifestations of the Supreme, Lord Krishna. He is the Universal set whereas everything else and everyone else are the sub-sets of this universal set. That is the reason why Lord Krishna should be the only one to be worshipped. Because once having worshipped Him there is no need to separately worship any other demi-god. The demi-gods are given authority and responsibilities by none other than Lord Krishna. Talking in a corporate terminology, if the CEO or the managing director of a company is happy with our performance then there is no need for us to make anyone else in the company, happy.

Lets take a look at the other important manifestations of Lord Krishna in this article.

AshravattatHaha sarvavrukshanaam devarishinaam cha naaradaHa
GandHarvaanaam Chitrarathaha SiddHaanaam KapilOmunihi.

Of trees, I am Asvattha. Of celestial seers, I am Narada. Of Gandharvas, I am Chitraratha. Of the perfected I am Kapila.

Chapter 10 verse 26

Uchhaihi Shravasamshravaanaam Viddhi maamaamrutOdHbhavam
Airavatam Gajendraanaam naraanaam cha naraadhipam.

Of horses know me to be Uccaihsravas the nectar-born. Of lordly elephants, I am Airavata, and of men, I am the monarch.

Chapter 10 verse 27

AayudhanaamaHam vajram dhenunaamasmi Kamadhuk.
Prajnshravaasmi KandHarpaha Sarpaanaamasmi VasukiHi.

Of weapons, I am the Vajra (thunderbolt). Of cows, I am Kamadhuk. I am Kandarpa, the cause of progency. Of serpants, I am Vasuki.

Chapter 10 verse 28

Anantashravasmi naagaanaam varunO yaadasaamaHam
Pitrunnaamaryamaa cha-asmi yama: sanyamataamaham.

Of snakes, I am Ananta. Of aquatic beings, I am Varuna. Of manes, I am Aryama. Of subduers, I am Yama.

Chapter 10 verse 29

Meaning: Of trees, I am Asvattha which is worthy of worship. Of celestial seers, I am Narada. Kamadhuk is the divine and the most sacred cow. I am Kandarpa, the cause of progency. Sarpas are single-headed snakes while Nagas are many-headed snakes. Aquatic creatures are known as Yadamsi. Of them I am Varuna. Of subduers, I am Yama, the son of the sun-god.

Prahaladashrvasmi daityanaam kaalaha kalayataamaHam.
Mrugaanaam cha mrugendrOaHam vainateyashrava pakshinaam

Of Daityas, I am Prahlada. Of reckoners, I am Death. Of beasts, I am the lion, and of birds I am Garuda the son of Vinata.

Chapter 10 verse 30

Of those who reckon with the desire to cause evil, I am the god of death-(here an emissary of his who records the time of death of creatures is meant).

Pavanaha pavataamasmi raamaha shastrabhrutaamaHam
Zashaanaam makarashravasmi srotasaamasmi jahnavi

Of moving things, I am the wind. Of those who bear weapons, I am Rama. Of fishes, I am Makara, and of rivers, I am Ganga.

Chapter 10 verse 31

Meaning: Of moving things, namely, of those things whose nature is to move, I am the wind. Of those who bear weapons, I am Rama. Here the quality of bearing weapons is the Vibhuti, as no other sense is possible. Aditya etc., being individual selves, contitute attributes of the Lord, who is their Self as they constitute His body. Therefore they stand in the same position of the attribute as that of bearing weapons.

Sargaannamaadirantashrava madhyam chaivahaHamarjuna
Aghyatmavidya vidyanaam vaadaha pravadatamaHam

Of creatures, I am the beginning and the end, and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of sciences, I am the science of self (of the individual and Universal Self). Of those who argue, I am the fair reasoning.

Chapter 10 verse 32

Meaning: Those that undergo creation are ‘creatures’. Their beginning is the cause. The meaning is that, of the creatures which are being created at all times, I am Myself the creator. Similarly, I am the end, namely the destroyer of everyone of those who are being destroyed at all times. Similarly I am the middle, namely, the sustentation. The meaning is, I am the sustainer of those who are being sustained at all times. Of those who indulge in Jalpa ( argument) and Vitanda (perverse criticism) etc., I am the fair reasoning which determines the truth.

Aksharanaamkaaroasmi dvandvaha saamasikasya cha
Ahamevaakshayaha kaalo ghataaham vishravatomukhaha.

Of letters, I am the alphabet ‘a’. Of compound words, I am the Dvandva (copulative). I am Myself imperishable Time. I am the Creator, facing every side.

Chapter 10 verse 33

Meaning: Of letters I am the alphabet ‘a’ which is the base of all letters as established in the Sruti: ‘The letter ‘a’ itself is all speech’. Samasika means collection of compound words. In it, I am the Dvandva compound; it is eminent because the meanings of both constituent terms are important. I am Myself imperishable Time composed of (divisions like) Kala, Muhurta etc. I am the four-faced Hiranyagarbha who is the creator of all.

….to be continued

Sarvam Guruvarpanam