Srimad Bhagavatam – 10.9.12 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | Nov 03, 2026
jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī
gopījana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana vraja-jana-rañjana
yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Jaya Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10 Chapter 9 Verse 12.
ŚB 10.9.12
त्यक्त्वा यष्टिं सुतं भीतं विज्ञायार्भकवत्सला ।
इयेष किल तं बद्धुं दाम्नातद्वीर्यकोविदा ॥ १२ ॥
tyaktvā yaṣṭiṁ sutaṁ bhītaṁ
vijñāyārbhaka-vatsalā
iyeṣa kila taṁ baddhuṁ
dāmnātad-vīrya-kovidā
Synonyms
tyaktvā — throwing away; yaṣṭim — the stick in her hand; sutam — her son; bhītam — considering her son’s great fear; vijñāya — understanding; arbhaka-vatsalā — the most affectionate mother of Kṛṣṇa; iyeṣa — desired; kila — indeed; tam — Kṛṣṇa; baddhum — to bind; dāmnā — with a rope; a-tat-vīrya-kovidā — without knowledge of the supremely powerful Personality of Godhead (because of intense love for Kṛṣṇa).
Translation
Mother Yaśodā was always overwhelmed by intense love for Kṛṣṇa, not knowing who Kṛṣṇa was or how powerful He was. Because of maternal affection for Kṛṣṇa, she never even cared to know who He was. Therefore, when she saw that her son had become excessively afraid, she threw the stick away and desired to bind Him so that He would not commit any further naughty activities.
Purport
Mother Yaśodā wanted to bind Kṛṣṇa not in order to chastise Him but because she thought that the child was so restless that He might leave the house in fear. That would be another disturbance. Therefore, because of full affection, to stop Kṛṣṇa from leaving the house, she wanted to bind Him with rope. Mother Yaśodā wanted to impress upon Kṛṣṇa that since He was afraid merely to see her stick, He should not perform such disturbing activities as breaking the container of yogurt and butter and distributing its contents to the monkeys. Mother Yaśodā did not care to understand who Kṛṣṇa was and how His power spreads everywhere. This is an example of pure love for Kṛṣṇa.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, starting in the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Krishna is described as the topmost form of Bhagavan. So, there are many forms of Bhagavan, but we should understand actually it is one person, it’s not many separate persons. So, in one sense, since they are all the same, they have the same powers. So how we can say Krishna is number one? So the answer is, in the different forms, these different avatars etc., show different amounts of qualities. Of course, because they are Bhagavan, they have all qualities, but in that particular form, they will manifest certain qualities. So when we classify the different forms as superior or inferior, actually they are all the same, but we are classifying according to how many qualities and powers etc., that they manifest in that particular form. And thus, when we say Krishna is the topmost form, He is topmost in showing the most qualities.
The nature of the Lord, of course, is that He has infinite qualities. However, that’s a little bit abstract, so therefore, in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami gives a list of 64 qualities for Krishna. And then the different forms of Vishnu avatars will show four less qualities than that. So therefore, it’s simply the amount of qualities that particular form shows when they are doing their activities.
So, we can categorize qualities into different groups. So in one group, we can put power, the Lord shows different types of powers. And thus, the Lord in different forms kills demons. Or He will create and destroy universes. So in this way, one of the aspects of the Lord is His power. Of course, another aspect would be His mercy, how much mercy the Lord is showing. Obviously, all the forms of the Lord show some mercy. But then some will show a little bit of mercy, some will show more mercy, some will show most mercy. One could also classify according to display of knowledge. And we can also classify according to sweetness. So different forms of the Lord show different amounts of these qualities.
However, Krishna shows in all categories, most. But most unique, of course, is the sweetness. So the sweetness displayed is topmost, and in other forms, it is minimal. But there is also a little bit of a contradiction. If Krishna shows sweetness, then the power is hidden [Laughs]. So some devotees will be more attracted to the powerful forms of the Lord because they like power. And they may wonder why people are attracted to Krishna. Why be attracted to someone running around the fields taking care of cows? What’s so interesting about that [Laughs]? So because different devotees have different attractions for the Supreme Lord, the Lord manifests many different forms. And because they are all one Supreme Lord, ultimately there is no problem in solely worshipping one of these forms. So if someone becomes fully devoted to worshipping Varaha Deva, no one can criticize that. Because it is one Supreme Lord ultimately.
So, in this way, each devotee is satisfied in worshipping that particular form. That devotee is attracted to certain features of the Lord in that particular form manifests those particular qualities, and the devotee is completely satisfied. And thus, in one sense, we cannot say one devotee worshipping this form is better than the other devotee worshipping another form. At the same time, we do see that scripture itself categorizes these forms and devotees according to their intensity of devotion to particular forms. This is a question that Narada Muni asks in Brhad Bhagavatamrta, who is the best devotee [Laughs]? It goes to all the devotees in the material world, the spiritual world, ultimately he gets to the devotees in Vrindavan, they are the best devotees [Laughs]. And then in Vrindavan, the Gopis are the highest. However, though in this way we can say the Gopis are the best devotees and Krishna is the ultimate form, these other forms also for those particular devotees are ultimate and best. So, this is actually a display of the Lord’s quality of mercy. And according to the principle, as you surrender to me, I respond, this illustrates that particular principle.
So, as I said, ultimately of course, if we want to classify, then we put Krishna at the top. And because the sweet qualities of Krishna are so exceptional, they are put at the very top of all the qualities. And the devotees who are attracted to Krishna are mainly attracted by that sweetness. If they become attracted to the powers still, in Krishna, then the intensity of their Prema decreases. And thus we see that the devotees in Vrindavan are considered the highest and Krishna in that form is the highest and if we go to Dwarka where they also see Krishna is very powerful, it is less. And thus if we compare the devotees, we say the devotees are best in Vrindavan and they are less in Dwaraka. So, it is less in one sense, but actually Krishna is one and we can’t separate Him [Laughs]. And those devotees desire to worship Him in that way and therefore they are completely satisfied with that.
Nevertheless, we also see a devotee like Uddhava, who belongs to Mathura and Dwaraka, when he sees the inhabitants of Vrindavan, then he understands that their Prema is much more intense. Other devotees cannot understand their Prema. So, when Devaki sees the intensity of love that Nanda and Yasoda show for Krishna and Balarama when they are in Kurukshetra, she is puzzled by it. And then she explains, how is it? I am the mother and Yasoda is showing more love. How is that [Laughs]? So she is astonished rather than appreciating [Laughs]. But Uddhava, because he was so close to Krishna, he could appreciate very nicely that sweetness of Vrindavan.
So, in Vrindavan, Krishna shows His sweetness and He hides His power. But we should not think, ok, Krishna is very sweet, but then He is not so powerful. Actually, He shows more power than all the other forms. That may look impossible because He hides His powers in Vrindavan so, how can He simultaneously show all His powers [Laughs]? Of course, we do see that when Krishna does show His powers, the people of Vrindavan don’t recognize it. Krishna killed Putana, and He killed Trnavrta, and Sakatasura, etc., when He was just a small baby and they don’t think Krishna did it [Laughs]. And when Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill, everybody saw Him lift it. But when asked about it later on, mother Yasoda said, oh, that wasn’t Krishna, He didn’t do it. All the cowherd men were holding sticks up to hold the mountain up [Laughs]. So, Krishna showed the whole universe in His stomach. And then what happened to Yasoda? She forgot it completely [Laughs]. So, Krishna shows great power even in Vrindavan but the affection that the devotees have, covers up that.
After Nanda was rescued from Varuna by Krishna, then the cowherds thought, oh, this must be Supreme Lord, let Him show the spiritual world. So then, Krishna actually showed them Aishwarya Goloka [Laughs]. And then they saw Krishna being worshipped by the personified Vedas and so many things there. But then immediately, they came back to Vrindavan and they forgot about it [Laughs]. And the reason is, they were so overjoyed by Krishna in Vrindavan, they couldn’t even think of that other form. So thus, Krishna can show and does show His powers, but the people in Vrindavan, because of their sweetness, they do not at all appreciate.
There is a story of how the Gopis were searching for Krishna. So Krishna was hiding in the bushes. And He didn’t want them to detect Him. So, they got very, very close, so, then they were opening the bushes up, so, He showed form of Vishnu. So, they looked at Vishnu and they said, where is Krishna [Laughs]? In this way, they were more attracted to the sweetness of Krishna than the power of Vishnu [Laughs]. So, therefore, even in Vrindavan, Krishna has all of His powers, but the people of Vrindavan, because of their sweetness, they do not see that. But Krishna Himself can also show His great powers to others. And thus He showed to Brahma in Brahma Vimohana Lila, that He was the source of all the Purusha avatars. He was the source of all universes and all Brahmas. And from that Krishna showing all these forms of the Purusha avatars and then merging them all into Krishna who is 5 years old, Brahma understood that this Krishna in Vrindavan is more powerful than any other form.
So, in other words, we know that the Purusha avatars are the source of all the avatars. But in that display of power to Brahma then Krishna showed He is the source of all the Purusha avatars who make all the avatars, displayed all the avatars [Laughs]. In other words He is the avatari. Or He is Svayam Bhagavan. But the way He showed it is He displayed all these different forms and then suddenly they all merged into little cowherd boy. So originally Brahma was thinking oh He’s just a little cowherd boy, what power does he have? But when his whole plan was destroyed and he saw all these forms then he understood that this small cowherd boy was actually more powerful than all the other forms of the Lord. And this was displayed in Vrindavan.
Of course, in other places like Dwaraka and Kurukshetra, He can display universal form or whatever but here in Vrindavan He’s showing Himself as the source of everything. So it is no problem for Krishna to simultaneously be the sweetest and overpower everyone’s sweetness, at the same time still holds His power. In the Nectar of Devotion there it describes Krishna has 64 qualities, jivas have 50, Shiva has 55, Vishnu forms have 60, Krishna has 64. So of course, the four outstanding is sweet qualities. So then naturally Krishna will also have these qualities of Vishnu which make him greater than Shiva. But then Rupa Goswami remarks that this is so but actually Krishna shows these extra five qualities but in a more remarkable way [Laughs].
So, one of the qualities of these five qualities that distinguish Vishnu from Shiva is that Vishnu is the seed of all avatars. But then Krishna shows Himself to be the seed of all the Vishnu forms over the seed of all the avatars [Laughs]. So, in this way Krishna is complete not only in sweetness but in powers and other qualities as well. Another quality of Vishnu is that when he kills the demon, the demon has a Shubhagati, he doesn’t go to hell, he gets some nice position in this world. When Krishna kills a demon, he gets better than that, he may get Mukti or he goes to Vaikuntha [Laughs]. So in this way, Krishna displays all qualities but in the most remarkable way. So when we say Krishna is Svayam Bhagavan, it includes all qualities.
Hare Krsna!
Q&A:
1.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Krishna’s four extra qualities that manifests with extra from others like Vishnu but we see in Mathura and Dwaraka Krishna doesn’t manifest Venu Madhuri only the three extra quality manifest that other one is missing there and how can you say that he always manifests these four extra extraordinary qualities?
Of course even in Brhad Bhagavatamrta, when Gopakumar goes to Vaikunta, then he sees Vishnu. And sometimes Vishnu takes the form of Krishna and He’s playing with the cowherd boys and playing his flute [Laughs], yeah. So of course Gopakumar kind of appreciates that but he’s not really satisfied [Laughs]. Similarly of course we see in Lalita Madhava then there is Krishna, there’s another Nava Vrindavan within Dwaraka, yeah and therefore He’s Krishna in a like a Vrindavan like form [Laughs]. And of course also in Vrindavan then they build like another Brhad Bhagavatamrta there for Krishna because He’s so separated from Vrindavan. But there it is all temporary whereas Krishna is permanently with his flute and everything else in Vrindavan.
2.) The four extra qualities He manifested in Dwaraka, Mathura like purna, purnatara and purnatama in that way… Can you also say that you know because krishna is purnattama in Vrindavan, purnatara in Mathura and purna in Dwaraka so that would categorize Krishna with the four extra qualities.
So though krishna is we say purna only in Dwaraka [Laughs] still he is superior to all the Vishnu forms and avatar forms [Laughs]. And of course Gopa kumar goes to Ayodhya and then he says oh this is better than the Vishnu form, He’s a little bit sweeter [Laughs]. So the slight manifestation of less formality etc and certain you know sweetness there of course Dwaraka is even better but still there’s nothing compared to Vrindavan.
3.) When Krishna is in Dwaraka. Although he’s in Dwaraka in his mind He’s always thinking of Vrindavan and although His queen started thinking why Vrindavan is so special because although Krishna is in Dwarka He’s thinking about Vrindavan but we don’t see that you know that this Dwarka vasi that queens they don’t aspire to become like a Vrindavan vasi. They think We want that love what the Vrindavan vasi has but they don’t want to become Vrindavan vasi. Normally we’re supposed to you know when we think that you know he has so much love so let me become like him so that i also can love Krishna in that way because they also know very well that you know unless until they become Vrindavan vasi they cannot have that kind of love?
Well of course it is also said Lakshmi desired to get to the rasalila but she couldn’t why she doesn’t have the form, she’s a different person with a different form. Similarly the queens of Dwaraka and all the other inhabitants they also have particular forms and particular mood which is quite different from Vrindavan. So they all have a sthayi bhava, a permanent bhava, and that cannot be changed. And so the queens have sthayi bhava of Madhurya rasa but it is svakiya, samanjasa rathi it’s not samartha rathi so therefore that cannot change [Laughs]. So not only the form but actually mood is different so therefore they cannot be part of Vrindavan. And for the same reason when the inhabitants of Vrindavan went to Kurukshetra they were invited to go to Dwaraka but they refused because it’s different [Laughs]. So the particular devotees have a particular sthayi bhava, particular forms and their particular dhama.
Devotee : But they appreciate the Vrajavasi but they don’t want to be like that?
Well because everybody is satisfied with their sthayi bhava. Just like Yasoda is in vatsalya and she doesn’t want to be a gopi in Madhurya bhava.
4.) Regarding this question Maharaj, even Krishna, Balaram and Subhadra got overwhelmed, they got melted. So how can we understand that they are they are listening the story of Vrindavana and their forms changing?
So this is similar to the descriptions in Brhad Bhagavatamrta where Krishna’s in Dwaraka but then He remembers Vrindavan and immediately He’s has dreams about it whatever [Laughs].
And ultimately of course he becomes absorbed in that and then He enters into that pastime so in that sense we could say His form changes [Laughs].
5.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj we also see that Uddhava wants to become a Gulmalata in Vrindavan if we goto Uddhava kund there is a description that Uddhava resides here as a blade of grass. So how can we understand this? If a devotee who is already have a rasa in Mathura and Vrindavan who has a sthayi bhava how can he changed into vraja bhava?
Of course we see that he never does change his form. So what he, when he sees the people of Vrindavan in particular the gopis then he can appreciate that their love is much more intense than the love that the people of Mathura or Dwaraka have for Krishna. Then thus he would like to have similar intensity in his love. So it is a recognition of the higher status of the Prema in Vrindavan. So Uddhava has a special status because he was allowed to go to Vrindavan and see, Krishna did not send other people [Laughs] and later on he sent Balarama only [Laughs] but he didn’t send anybody else.
6.) Maharaj one more thing is we see brahma is one of the living entity he’s also one of the living entity and he wants to reside in Vrindavan and he becomes Dangad, Maangad, Bangad and Vilas gad so can we consider his sthayi bhava is santa rasa in Vrindavan? Brahma has become the four mountains of Barsana, so can we consider him his bhava is santa bhava, santa ras?
Of course this is not scriptural [Laughs]. So his normal sthayi bhava is dasya [Laughs].
7.) Maharaj, we see Vrajavasis doesn’t consider Krishna as the supreme but we see in Gopi Gita the ninth verse, tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanaṁ in that verse it is mentioned that certainly those who spread the message of godhead are munificent i mean so it is mentioned i mean they understand that Krishna is god and by the people who are knowing your message their life will become happy and munificent and which means gopis know that he is god?
Well so not only the gopis but others also in praising Krishna sometimes they refer to him by his Vishnu names etc. So what this means is temporarily the gopis or others in their ecstasy can address Krishna as Supreme Lord but then quickly it is covered over again. So i think it is Baladev Vidyabhusan, that says it yes in Vrindavan generally they don’t think of Krishna as a God but temporarily they may address Him as Supreme Lord etc., but it is always covered over. So just as when Nanda reported that oh Krishna was worshipped by Varuna etc., then the cowherd men said oh he must be Supreme Lord, He should take us to Vaikuntha [Laughs] so then they understood power of God but then after that they forgot everything again [Laughs].
8.) Maharaj you have mentioned if Vishnu kills the demon gets higher higher position higher planetary position, if Krishna kills he gets liberation but we see what happens to Madhu and Kaitapa and it is not mentioned in any Vishnu purana or Bhagavatam it is only mentioned in Devi Bhagavatam. So what happened to them and we also address Krishna as Madhusudhana. So what happened to them ?
So the statement that distinguish the Vishnu from jiva and others when Vishnu kills a demon he gets an auspicious goal doesn’t say what. So that is illustrated of course in the killing of Hiranyakasipu, he was killed he didn’t go to hell, so he got birth as Ravana. Rama killed Ravana and what happened he became Sishupala so he never suffered he didn’t go to get mukti also and when Krishna kills him of course he goes to Vaikuntha. In other cases they may get mukti. So they get killed and they get some goal, somewhere, they don’t go to hell.
9.) Someone from other Sampradaya might say …It is not because of Krishna because that the curse was given for the three lifetime, it’s not because of Krishna that you know he didn’t get liberation, it’s because someone might say, I’m saying that.
In Laghu Bhagatamrta, Rupa Goswami answers by saying, yes in this particular kalpa of Brahma there was curse and thus Jaya and Vijaya came. In other days of Brahma there is no curse, there is just demons.
10.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. There is description that Madhumangal actually.. he became Narada muni … are these in the scriptures and Sridham Garuda ?
They’re both eternal and Narada muni is a Saktyavesha avatar so he’s eternally Narada muni [Laughs].
11.) Can one have different rasas with different deities like Sakhya or Vatsalya or Madhurya with Krishna and Dasya with Mahaprabhu?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Does that mean one person can have various rasas with Krishna?
Devotee: No, no. Krishna and Mahaprabhu also both.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, obviously we worship Radha Krishna and Mahaprabhu. They are non-different. So one can have a rasa with Caitanya Mahaprabhu and one can have rasa with Krishna.
Devotee: Like you say Balarama has different rasas. Balarama is in different rasas.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So with Lord Caitanya there are different rasas. We have his father and mother in Vatsalya rasa. We have Nithyananda and the cowherds, the associates of Nithyananda in Sakya rasa. We have some Dasya like Srivas pandit and whatever like that. So there are various rasas also with Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And those who are in Sakhya with Caitanya Mahaprabhu then they are Sakhya with Krishna.
12.) You said that there is no difference between Gokula and Aishwarya Goloka. Aishwarya Goloka is the Aishwarya aspect of Gokula. Is intensity of love for Krishna same in Gokula and Aishwarya Goloka? Is Mahabhava present in Aishwarya Goloka also?
So in Aishwarya Goloka the Madhurya rasa is Svakiya. So different.
13.) Maharaj, is discussing Krishna lila superior to chanting?
So anyway, all the processes of Bhakti are absolute. Now Nama Sankirtan is the Yuga Dharma and it is the principal sadhana. But we also say that all the angas of Bhakti are ultimately to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. So through Nama Sankirtan you should remember Krishna. And hearing the pastimes of Krishna are the main way in which we can remember Him.
14.) Maharaj, you have mentioned if the devotee who has the same rasa towards Mahaprabhu has the same rasa towards Krishna. But we see Gadadhar Pandit is friend with Mahaprabhu, Sakhya rasa with Mahaprabhu. But he has Madhurya with Krishna. How can he have Madhurya rasa in Vrindavan? It is confusing.
So actually it is Madhurya rasa. And therefore we have Gaura-Gadadhar deities. However, because Lord Caitanya is not exactly Krishna, He is playing a different role, then that rasa is covered over.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!