Lord Kṛṣṇa Fights with Bāṇāsura

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī states that the word bhagavān is used here to indicate that Lord Śiva is by nature all-knowing and thus well aware of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s greatness. Still, although Śiva knew Lord Kṛṣṇa would defeat him, he joined the battle against Him to demonstrate the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura states that Lord Śiva entered the battle for two reasons: first, to increase Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure and enthusiasm; and second, to demonstrate that the Lord’s incarnation as Kṛṣṇa, although enacting humanlike pastimes, is superior to other avatāras, such as Lord Rāmacandra. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī further states in this regard that Yoga-māyā, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency, bewildered Lord Śiva just as she had bewildered Brahmā. In support of this statement, the ācārya cites the phrase brahma-rudrādi-mohanam from Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Of course, Yoga-māyā’s job is to make fine arrangements for the Lord’s pastimes, and thus Śiva became enthusiastic to battle the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī quotes the following description of the Śiva-jvara:

“The terrible Śiva-jvara had three legs, three heads, six arms and nine eyes. Showering ashes, he resembled Yamarāja at the time of universal annihilation.”

As pointed out by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, it is significant that the Śiva-jvara had to leave the side of his master, Lord Śiva, and directly take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Previously the Śiva-jvara felt himself to be unlimitedly powerful and thus attempted to burn Śrī Kṛṣṇa. But now he himself has been burned, and understanding that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, he humbly approaches to bow down and offer praise to the Absolute Truth.

According to the ācāryas, the word sarvātmānam indicates that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supersoul, the giver of consciousness to all living beings. Kṛṣṇa confirms this in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. “From Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.”

In his commentary Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī emphasizes that the Śiva-jvara has realized in many ways Lord Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy over his own master, Lord Śiva. Thus the Śiva-jvara addresses Kṛṣṇa as ananta-śakti, “possessor of unlimited potency”; pareśa, “the supreme controller”; and sarvātmā, “the Supersoul of all beings” — even of Lord Śiva.

The words kevalaṁ jñapti-mātram indicate that Lord Kṛṣṇa possesses pure omniscience. According to our limited understanding, we act in this world, but Lord Kṛṣṇa, with His unlimited understanding, performs infinite works of creation, maintenance and annihilation. As Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī points out, even the functions of the gross elements, such as air, depend on Him. The Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.8.1) confirms this: bhīṣāsmād vātaḥ-pavate. “Out of fear of Him, the wind blows.” Thus Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate object of worship for all living beings.

The word bīja-roha-pravāha is explained as follows: The conditioned soul accepts a material body, with which he attempts to enjoy the material world. That body is the seed (bīja) of future material existence because when a person acts with that body he creates further reactions (karma), which grow (roha) into the obligation to accept another material body. In other words, material life is a chain of actions and reactions. The simple decision to surrender to the Supreme Lord releases the conditioned soul from this futile repetition of material growth and reaction.

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, the words tan-niṣedhaṁ prapadye indicate that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, is niṣedhāvadhi-bhūtam, “the limit of negation.” In other words, after all illusion is negated, the Absolute Truth remains.

The process of education may be succinctly described as a way of eradicating ignorance through the attainment of knowledge. Through inductive, deductive and intuitive means, we attempt to refute the specious, the illusory and the imperfect and elevate ourselves to a platform of full knowledge. Ultimately, when all illusion is negated, that which remains firmly in place is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In the previous text, the Śiva-jvara described the Supreme Lord as sarvātmānaṁ kevalaṁ jñapti-mātram, “pure, concentrated spiritual consciousness.” Now the Śiva-jvara concludes his philosophical description of the Lord by saying in this text that the various aspects of material existence are also potencies of the Supreme Lord.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī mentions that the Supreme Lord’s own body and senses, as implied here by the word tan-niṣedham, are nondifferent from the Lord’s pure spiritual existence. The Lord’s body and senses are not external to Him, nor do they cover Him, but rather the Lord is identical with His spiritual form and senses. The full Absolute Truth, unlimited in fascinating diversity, is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.29):

“I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend — is in Me — and I am also a friend to him.”

The demigods and sages (devān sādhūn) are dedicated to executing the will of the Supreme Lord. The demigods act as cosmic administrators, and the sages, by their teachings and their good example, illumine the path of self-realization and holiness. But those who transgress the natural law, the law of God, and live by committing violence against others are vanquished by the Supreme Lord in His various pastime incarnations. As the Lord states in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.11), ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham. He is impartial, but He responds appropriately to the actions of the living beings.

In the previous verse, the Śiva-jvara stated that those who live by violence will suffer similar violence at the hands of the Lord. But here he further states that those who do not surrender to the Supreme Lord are especially liable to punishment. Although the Śiva-jvara himself had acted violently up till now, since he has surrendered to the Lord and rectified himself, he hopes to receive the Lord’s mercy. In other words, he has now become the Lord’s devotee.

Here the Lord accepts the Śiva-jvara as His devotee and gives him his first order — that he should never frighten, by hot fever, those who faithfully hear this pastime of the Lord’s.

The Absolute Truth is the source of all light and is therefore the supreme light, self-luminous. This Absolute Truth is explained confidentially in the Vedas and is therefore difficult for an ordinary reader to understand. The following statements quoted by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī from the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad show how the Vedic sounds occasionally reveal the Absolute: Te hocur upāsanam etasya parātmano govindasyākhilādhāriṇo brūhi (Pūrva-khaṇḍa 17): “They [the four Kumāras] said [to Brahmā], ‘Please tell us how to worship Govinda, the Supreme Soul and the foundation of all that exists.’” Cetanaś cetanānām (Pūrva-khaṇḍa 21): “He is the chief of all living beings.” And taṁ ha devam ātma-vṛtti-prakāśam (Pūrva-khaṇḍa 23): “One realizes that Supreme Godhead by first realizing one’s own self.” The great ācārya Jīva Gosvāmī also quotes a verse from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.10.48) — gūḍhaṁ paraṁ brahma manuṣya-liṅgam — which refers to “the Supreme Truth concealed in a humanlike form.”

Since the Lord is pure, why do some people perceive Kṛṣṇa’s form and activities as impure? Ācārya Jīva explains that those whose own hearts are impure cannot understand the pure Lord. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī further quotes the Lord’s own instruction to Arjuna in Śrī Hari-vaṁśa:

“Superior to that [total material nature] is the Supreme Brahman, from which this entire creation expands. O descendant of Bharata, you should know that the Supreme Brahman consists of My concentrated effulgence.”

Thus, to save his devotee, Śiva now glorifies the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, his eternal worshipable master. The Lord’s bewildering potency induced Śiva to fight with Lord Kṛṣṇa, but now the fight is over, and to save his devotee Lord Śiva offers these beautiful prayers.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that just as the tiny bugs living inside a fruit cannot comprehend the fruit, so we tiny living beings cannot understand the Supreme Absolute Truth, in whom we exist. It is difficult to understand the cosmic manifestation of the Lord, what to speak of His transcendental form as Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we should surrender in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and the Lord Himself will help us understand.

As Lord Śiva glorifies Lord Kṛṣṇa doubt may arise, since, apparently, Lord Kṛṣṇa is standing before Lord Śiva as a historical personality with a humanlike body. However, it is out of the Lord’s causeless mercy that He appears to us in a form visible to our mundane eyes. If we want to understand the Absolute Truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, we must hear from recognized authorities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, such as Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā, or from Lord Śiva, a recognized Vaiṣṇava authority, who here glorifies the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The ācāryas comment as follows on this verse: Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that the term ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ, “the original puruṣa,” indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa expands Himself as Mahā-Viṣṇu, the first of the three puruṣas who take charge of cosmic manifestation. The Lord is eka advitīyaḥ, “one without a second,” because there is no one equal to the Lord or different from Him. No one is completely equal to the Supreme Godhead, and yet because all the living beings are expansions of the potency of the Godhead, no one is qualitatively different from Him. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu nicely explains this inconceivable situation by stating that the Absolute Truth and the living beings are qualitatively one but quantitatively different. The Absolute possesses infinite spiritual consciousness, whereas the living beings possess infinitesimal consciousness, which is subject to being covered by illusion.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, commenting on the term ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ, quotes from the Sātvata-tantra: viṣṇos tu trīṇi rūpāṇi. “There are three forms of Viṣṇu [for cosmic manifestation, etc.].” Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī also quotes a statement of the Lord’s from śruti: pūrvam evāham ihāsam. “In the beginning I alone existed in this world.” This statement describes the form of the Lord called the puruṣa-avatāra, who exists before the cosmic manifestation. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī also quotes the following śruti-mantra: tat-puruṣasya puruṣatvam, which means “Such constitutes the Lord’s status as puruṣa.” Actually, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the essence of the puruṣa incarnation because He is turīya, as described in the present verse. Jīva Gosvāmī explains the term turīya (literally “the fourth”) by quoting Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary to the Bhāgavatam verse 11.15.16:

“The Lord’s universal form, His Hiraṇyagarbha form and the primeval causal manifestation of material nature are all relative conceptions, but because the Lord Himself is not covered by these three, intelligent authorities call Him ‘the fourth.’”

According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, the word turīya indicates that the Lord is the fourth member of the quadruple expansion of Godhead called the Catur-vyūha. In other words, Lord Kṛṣṇa is Vāsudeva.

Lord Kṛṣṇa is sva-dṛk — that is, He alone can perceive Himself perfectly — because He is infinite spiritual existence, infinitely pure. He is hetu, the cause of everything, and yet He is ahetu, without cause. Therefore He is īśa, the supreme controller.

The last two lines of this verse are of special philosophical significance. Why is the Lord perceived differently by different persons, although He is one? A partial explanation is given here. By the agency of Māyā, the Lord’s external potency, material nature is in a constant state of transformation, vikāra. In one sense, then, material nature is “unreal,” asat. But because God is the supreme reality, and because He is present within all things and all things are His potency, material objects and energies possess a degree of reality. Therefore some people see one aspect of material energy and think, “This is reality,” while other people see a different aspect of material energy and think, “No, that is reality.” Being conditioned souls, we are covered by different configurations of material nature, and thus we describe the Supreme Truth or the Supreme Lord in terms of our corrupted vision. Yet even the covering qualities of material nature, such as our conditioned intelligence, mind and senses, are real (being the potency of the Supreme Lord), and therefore through all things we can perceive, in a more or less subjective way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is why the present verse states, pratīyase: “You are perceived.” Furthermore, without the manifestation of material nature’s covering qualities, the creation could not fulfill its purpose — namely, to allow the conditioned souls to make their best attempt to enjoy without God so that they will finally understand the futility of such an illusory notion.

Here Lord Śiva further clarifies the idea expressed in the final two lines of the previous verse. The analogy of the clouds and the sun is appropriate. With its energy the sun creates clouds, which cover our vision of the sun. Yet it is the sun that allows us to see the clouds and all other things as well. Similarly, the Lord expands His illusory potency and thus prevents us from directly seeing Him. Yet it is God alone who reveals to us His covering potency — namely, the material world — and thus the Lord is ātma-pradīpa, “self-luminous.” It is the reality of His existence that makes all things visible.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that “rising in the ocean of misery” indicates elevation to higher species, such as demigods, and that “being submerged” refers to degradation to lower species — even to immobile forms of life such as trees. As stated in the Vāyu Purāṇa, viparyayaś ca bhavati brahmatva-sthāvaratvayoḥ: “The living being rotates between the position of Brahmā and that of an unmoving creature.”

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī points out that Śiva, having glorified the Lord, now pursues his original intention of securing the Lord’s grace for Bāṇāsura. Thus in this and the following four verses, Lord Śiva instructs Bāṇa on his actual position in relation to the Lord. Śiva’s appeal to the Lord for compassion toward Bāṇa appears in text 45.

Lord Śiva here condemns those who refuse to engage in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord.

The person described above is pitiable because he rejects that which is actually dear, the Lord, and accepts that which is not dear and is ungodly: temporary sense gratification, which leads to suffering and bewilderment.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī states that the Lord is a true friend because He sets one’s proper intelligence into motion if one desires to know the truth about God and the soul. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī both emphasize that the term bhavāpavargāya indicates the highest liberation of pure love of Godhead, characterized by unalloyed devotional service unto the Lord.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī also explains that the Supreme Lord is samam, “perfectly objective and balanced,” whereas other living beings, having an incomplete grasp of reality, cannot be perfectly objective. Those who surrender unto the Lord also become fully objective by taking shelter of His supreme consciousness.

Lord Śiva feels inclined to help Bāṇāsura because the demon showed great devotion to Lord Śiva when he provided musical accompaniment for Śiva’s tāṇḍava dance. Another reason Bāṇa is an object of Lord Śiva’s favor is that he is a descendant of the great devotees Prahlāda and Bali.

We should not think it strange that the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, here addresses Lord Śiva as bhagavan, “lord.” All living beings are part and parcel of the Lord, qualitatively one with Him, and Lord Śiva is an especially powerful, pure entity who possesses many of the Supreme Lord’s qualities. Just as a father is happy to share his riches with a beloved son, so the Supreme Lord happily invests pure living beings with some of His potency and opulence. And just as a father proudly and happily observes the good qualities of his children, the Lord is most happy to glorify the pure living beings who are powerful in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thus the Supreme Lord is pleased to glorify Lord Śiva by addressing him as bhagavān.