In the Caitanya Caritāmṛta, there is the following authoritative statement (āmnāya vākya) concerning Kṛṣṇa:
mukhya gauṇa vṛtti kimva anvaya vyatireke
vedera pratijñā kevala kahaye kṛṣṇake
The Vedas sometimes speak directly of Kṛṣṇa, using the primary import of words, and sometimes speak indirectly of Kṛṣṇa, using the secondary import of words. Sometimes they speak of Kṛṣṇa with affirmative, logical statements and sometimes by negative or contrary expression. (C.C.Madhya 10,146)
svayam bhagavān kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa sarvāśraya
parama īśvara kṛṣṇa sarva śāstre kaya
The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original primeval Lord, the source of all other expansions. All the revealed scriptures accept Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord. (C.C.Adi, 106)
advaya jñāna tattva vastu kṛṣṇera svarūpa
brahmā ātmā, bhagavān, tin tāṅra rūpa
Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself is the one undivided Absolute Truth, the ultimate reality. He manifests Himself in three features-as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. (C.C.Adi.2. 65)
veda bhagavata upaniṣad āgama
pūrṇa tattva yāṅre, kahe, nahi yāṅra sama
bhakti yoge bhakta pāya yāṅra daraśana
sūrya tena savigraha dekhe deva gaṇa
jñāna yoga mārge tāṅre bhaje yei saba
brahmā ātmā rupe tāṅre kare anubhāva
The Personality of Godhead is He who is described as the Absolute Whole in the Vedas, Bhāgavatam, Upaniṣads and other transcendental literatures. No one is equal to Him. Through their service, devotees see that Personality of Godhead, just as the denizens of heaven see the personality of the sun. Those who walk the paths of knowledge and yoga worship only Him, for it is Him they perceive as the impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā. (C.C.Adi2.24-26)
The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad says:
eko devo bhagavān vareṇyo yoni svabhāvān adhitiṣṭhaty ekaḥ
Bhagavān is worshipable by all. He is the basis of all entities who take birth. (S.U. 5.4)
In the Bhāgavatam, bhagavān is identified as Kṛṣṇa:
ete cāṁśa kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
All the above mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. (S.B. 1.3.28)
In the Bhagavat Gītā, Kṛṣṇa says:
mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya
O conqueror of wealth, there is no Truth superior to Me. (B.G.7.7)
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ
By all the Vedas am I to be known. (B.G.15.15)
In the Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad it is said:
tasmāt kṛṣṇa eva paro devas taṁ dhyāyet
taṁ raset taṁ bhajet taṁ yajet
eko vaśī sarvagaḥ kṛṣṇa īḍya
ekopi san bahudhā yo vibhāti
taṁ pīṭhastham ye tu bhajanti dhīrās
teṣām sukhaṁ śāśvataṁ netareṣam
Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the supreme Lord. One should meditate on Him, chant His name, worship Him and make offerings to Him. All pervading and controlling all, he is to be worshipped. Though he is one, he appears in many forms such as Kurma, Matsya, Vāsudeva and Saṇkarṣaṇa. Those wise persons who worship this form situated on his piṭha attain eternal happiness. Others, worshipping Brahman or Paramātmā, cannot attain happiness. (G.T. Pūrva Tāpanī, 21)
There is a kārikā in this regard:
kṛṣṇāṁṣaḥ paramātmā vai brahma taj jyotir eva ca
paravyomadhipas tasyaiśvarya mūrtir na saṁśayaḥ
Kṛṣṇa is the only Lord. Paramātmā is his part and Brahman is his light. Nārāyaṇa in Vaikuṇṭha is a lordly manifestation of Kṛṣṇa.
There is no doubt about this, since the Vedas and other scriptures clearly show this. Taittirīya Upaniṣad says:
satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahmā
yo veda nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ parame vyoman
so'śnute sarvān kāmān saha brahmaṇā vipaścitā
Brahman is eternal, conscious, and infinite. He is situated in the heart as paramātmā and in Vaikuṇṭha as Nārāyaṇa. Whoever knows the vipaścit brahman attains auspicious qualities similar to the Lord's. (Taittirīya Upaniṣad. 2.1)
Here, the expression vipaścit brahman means Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam also uses the world "brahman" to indicate Kṛṣṇa, as in the following words:
gūḍham paraṁ brahma manuṣya liṅgaṁ yaṁ mitram
paramānandaṁ pūrṇam brahmā sanātanam
Viṣṇu Purāṇa also uses the word Brahman to mean Kṛṣṇa:
yatrāvatīrṇaṁ kṛṣṇākhyaṁ paraṁ brahmā narākṛtim
Where the supreme brahman called Kṛṣṇa appeared in human-like form Gītā says brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham, I am the basis of brahman.
By these authoritative statements and many thousands more, para brahmā or vipaścit brahman is equated with Kṛṣṇa. The meaning of vipaścit is "wise" (indicating brahman with quality). It ranks important among the sixty-four qualities of Kṛṣṇa.
The qualities of Kṛṣṇa are as follows:
- soft-limbed
- endowed with all auspicious bodily characteristics
- beautiful
- very effulgent
- strong
- in the prime of youth
- able to speak all sorts of languages
- truthful
- speaks in a pleasing manner
- eloquent
- learned
- intelligent
- genius
- clever in rasa
- cunning
- skillful
- grateful
- determined in vows
- acts according to time, place and person
- sees through the eyes of scripture
- clean
- sense controlled
- steady
- mild
- forgiving
- grave
- patient
- equal to all
- generous
- righteous
- brave
- merciful
- respectful
- straightforward
- courteous
- bashful
- protector of those surrendered to him
- happy
- friend of his devotee
- controlled by prema
- makes everyone happy
- dignified
- famous
- attractive to all
- refuge of the devotee
- attractive to women
- worshipable by all
- prosperous
- the best
- endowed with opulences
- always situated in his own form
- omniscient
- ever youthful
- form of concentrated eternity, knowledge and bliss
- endowed with all mystic powers
- endowed with inconceivable energies
- shelter of unlimited universes
- the origin of all avataras
- giver of liberation to even his enemies
- attractive to those enjoying the self
- ocean of pastimes amazing to all
- surrounded by gopis resplendent with unequaled love in srngara rasa
- plays the flute which attracts the whole universe
- unequaled beauty which astounds all creatures
Among the sixty-four qualities, the first fifty are present in the jīvas to a small degree. All of them are present in Kṛṣṇa to the fullest extent. The first fifty qualities and the next five qualities are partially present in Lord Śiva and others. The next five qualities along with the previous fifty-five qualities are present in Nārāyaṇa, Lord of Vaikuṇṭha. Nārāyaṇa has these sixty qualities in full. However, these sixty qualities appear in Kṛṣṇa in a more wonderful manner. In addition, Kṛṣṇa possesses four exceptional qualities: the sweetness of his pastimes, the sweetness of his love, the sweetness of his form and the sweetness of his flute. No one except Kṛṣṇa has these four qualities. Therefore the para brahman or vipaścit brahman, the highest manifestation of truth, should be understood to be Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
When Kṛṣṇa's innumerable qualities are diffused like light rays, that is termed brahman. Therefore the Vedas, in describing the supreme as satyam jñānam anantam are indicating the effulgent brahman. The form of the absolute truth in the heart or in the universe is Paramātmā. The Lord creates all the universes and then enters them by his expansions. The form of the Lord who enters the universes and the hearts of the jīvas is an expansion of Kṛṣṇa, called Paramātmā. This form is also known by many other names, such as lord, controller, creator, lord of the universe, maintainer, and protector. He also protects the souls in the material world by taking the avatāra forms such as Rāma and Nṛsiṁha. In the spiritual sky, parame vyoma, one of Kṛṣṇa's expansions known as Nārāyaṇa is present eternally.
After understanding brahman, paramātmā and the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, a truly learned person surrenders to the supreme shelter, fully expert in the affairs of rasa-vipaścit brahman, Kṛṣṇa-and enjoys eternally with the Lord, fulfilling his desires in dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, and madhura rasa.
The Paramātmā expansion of Kṛṣṇa is described in the Bhagavad Gītā.
athavā bahunaitena kiṁ jñātena bhavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekaṁsena sthito jagat
What need is there Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself, I pervade and support this entire universe. (B.G.10.42)
The brahmajyoti as the bodily effulgence of Kṛṣṇa is described in the Brahmā Samhita.
yasya prabhā prabhāvato jagadaṇḍa koṭi
koṭiṣv aśeṣa vasudhādi vibhūti bhinnam
tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aṣeṣabhūtaṁ
govindam adipuruṣaṁ tam aham bhajāmi
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes. (BS.5.40)
There is a kārikā (to define the form of the Lord):
deha-dehi-bhidā nāsti dharma-dharmi-bhidā tathā
śrī kṛṣṇa svarūpe pūrṇo' dvaya-jñānātmāke kila
Unlike the jīva, in Kṛṣṇa there is no difference between himself and his body, between himself and his qualities. In his spiritual form, his body is his self and his qualities are himself. Though Kṛṣṇa is situated as one form of medium size, he is also situated everywhere.
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad says:
pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the complete whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the complete whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance. (Br Ar 5)
Nārada Pañcarātra says:
nirdoṣa pūrṇa guṇa grahātmā tantre
niścetanātmāka-śarīra-guṇais ca hīnaḥ
ānanda-mātra-kara-pāda-mukhodarādiḥ
sarvatra ca svagata-bheda-vivarjitātmā
The Supreme Lord is endowed with all qualities in perfect, without birth, maintenance and destruction common to material bodies. His body is conscious, devoid of material qualities, composed of bliss. His form is devoid of distinctions between of body and possessor of the body, quality and possessor of the quality, devoid of internal difference.
It has been shown above that Kṛṣṇa, bhagavān, full of eternity knowledge and bliss is the shelter of paramātmā and brahman, and is the Supreme Lord. Now it is necessary to show how the Vedas indicate Kṛṣṇa by secondary and primary reference (gauṇa and mukhya), and by negative and positive statement (vyatireka and anvaya).
Kṛṣṇa is described by direct abhidhā use of words in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad:
śyāmāc chavalaṁ prapadye
śavalāc chyāmaṁ pradadye
In surrendering to śyāma, Kṛṣṇa I take shelter of the essence of the pleasure potency. In taking shelter of the pleasure potency, I surrender to Kṛṣṇa. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.13.1)
Śavala means the variegated svarūpa śakti of Kṛṣṇa. The abhidhā vṛtti or primary meaning of the word Śyāma is Kṛṣṇa.
In the Ṛg-veda Samhita and Āraṇyopaniṣad 5th mantra it is said:
tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ
divīva cakṣur ātataṁ viṣṇor yat paramaṁ padam
The wise continuously see the highest form of Viṣṇu. This supreme form, perceived with spiritual eyes, is Kṛṣṇa. (Ṛg Veda 1.22.23)
Again in the Ṛg Veda it is said:
apaśyaṁ gopām anipadyamāna mā ca parā ca pathibhiś carantam
sa sadhrīcīḥ sa viṣucīr vasāna avarīrvati bhuvaneṣv antaḥ
I saw a cowherd. He never falls from his position; sometimes he is near, and some times far, wandering on various paths. He is a friend, decorated with a variety of clothes. He comes again and again to the material world. (Ṛg Veda 1.22.164 sūkta 31)
In this Vedic statement Kṛṣṇa's eternal pastimes are directly described.
It is also said:
tā vāṁ vāstuny uśmasi gamadhyai yatra gavo bhūri sṛṅga ayāsaḥ
atrāha tad urugāyasya viṣṇoḥ parama-padam avabhāti bhuri
I desire to go to the houses of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, where the cows have big horns and fulfill the desires of the devotees. This supreme abode of Kṛṣṇa reveals itself completely. (Ṛg Veda 1.54 sukta 6)
In this Vedic mantra, Kṛṣṇa in Gokula is described very nicely. There are many more direct descriptions of Kṛṣṇa in the Vedas.
The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad describes the Lord by figures of speech (lakṣaṇā vṛtti).
yasmāt paraṁ nāparam asti kiñcid
yasmān nāṇīyo na jyāyo'sti kaścit
vṛkṣa iva stabho divi tiṣṭhaty ekas
tenedaṁ pūrṇam puruṣeṇa sarvam
There is no one greater than Him. There is no one smaller or lager than Him. By this person everything becomes complete. He is situated firmly like a tree, surrounded by effulgence. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.9)
Kaṭha Upaniṣad says:
agnir yathāiko bhūvanaṁ praviṣṭo
rūpaṁ rūpaṁ pratirupo babhūva
ekas tathā sarva-bhūtāntarātmā
rūpaṁ rūpaṁ prati rūpo bahiś ca
Just as the element fire enters the world and takes the form of many similar fires, the Supreme Lord, the soul of all souls, enters the material world, as many jīvas. (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.9)
That which is like the original but dependent is called counter- image or pratibimba. Though the jīva is an expansion of paramātmā and thus similar, it can never become the original, being situated at a distance from the original. As the sun has particles situated in its external rays, so paramātmā has the jīvas as his expansions.
Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad says:
hiranmayena pātreṇa satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham
tattvaṁ pusan apāvṛṇu satya dharmāya dṛṣṭaye
O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face (form) is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to your pure devotee. (Īśopaniṣad 15)
One cannot see the Lord without pure bhakti. Pure bhakti does not arise without the mercy of the Lord. In this verse the devotee pleads for the Lord's mercy.
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad says:
ayam ātmā sarveṣāṁ bhūtānām madhu ayam ātmā sarveṣām
bhūtānām adhipatiḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ rājā
This soul is the honey for all living entities. He is the Lord of all living entities, the king of all living entities. (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.5.14-15)
Here the scriptures are hinting at Kṛṣṇa by describing his quality. Kṛṣṇa is described as the sweetness of all living beings, the lord and king. ātmā here refers to Kṛṣṇa. This is the usage in the Bhāgavatam as well.
kṛṣṇam enam avehi tvam ātmānaṁ jagad ātmānam
O King, understand that Kṛṣṇa is the soul of all souls of the universe. (S.B.10.14.52)
Chāndogya Upaniṣad makes statements of agreement (anvaya) with the above conclusions:
idam asmin brahma-pure daharaṁ puṇḍarīkaṁ veśma
There is a small, lotus-like dwelling place in Brahmā pura.
This statement directly explains that there is a spiritual realm shaped like a lotus in brahmapura. This place is also described in the Brahmā Samhita:
sahasra-patraṁ kamalaṁ gokulākhyaṁ mahat-padam
tat karṇikāraṁ tad-dhāma tad-anantāṁśa sambhāvam
The superexcellant station of Kṛṣṇa, which is known as Gokula, has thousands of petals and a corolla like that of a lotus sprouted from a part of His infinitary aspect. (B.S. 2)
eṣa ātmā 'pahata-pāpā vijaro vimṛtyu viśoko
vijaghatso'pipāsaḥ satya-kāmah satya-saṅkalpaḥ
That soul is without sin, without old age, without death, without lamentation, without hunger, without thirst, fully truthful and whose wish is always fulfilled. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.1.5.)
sa yadi sakhiloka kāmo bhāvati saṅkalpād evāsya sakhayaḥ
samuttiṣṭanti tena sakhilokena sampanno mahīyate
If he desires friendship, by his wish, friends appear and with them he can obtain satisfaction. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.2.9.)
śyāmāc chavalaṁ prapadye śavalāc chyāmaṁ prapadye
I surrender to the energy of Shyama through śyāma and I surrender to śyāma through his energy. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.13.1)
That supreme place, Gokula, is the shelter of immortality. The jīvas residing there are free of sin, without old age, without death, without lamentation, without hunger or thirst. Their desires are pure. All their desires are fulfilled. The pure soul is endowed with these eight qualities. There they enjoy the rasas such as fraternity, from which they derive satisfaction and bliss. They eternally worship śyāma, who is united with his pleasure potency.
In the above verses the Vedas show by positive statements the eternal abode and pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.
The Vedas indicate Kṛṣṇa by negative or contrary statements (vyatireka) in many places. Kaṭha Upaniṣad says:
na tatra sūryo bhāti na candra-tārakam
nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto'yam agniḥ
tam eva bhāntam anubhāti sarvas
tasya bhāsā sarvam idam vibhāti
Neither sun, moon, stars, lightning, what to speak of fire, can reveal the Supreme. Rather all the luminary objects, in accordance with the Lord, receive their own existence. Everything rests on the existence of the Lord. (Kaṭha Upaniṣad. 2.2.15)
vedāham etaṁ puruṣaṁ mahāntam
āditya varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt
tam eva viditvātimṛtyum eti
nānya-panthā vidyate'yanāya
sarvataḥ pāṇi pādaṁ tat sarvato'kṣi śiro mukhaṁ
sarvataḥ śrutima†loke sarvam avṛty atitiṣṭhati
I know that great person as transcendental to the material world, self illuminating like the sun. The jīva, knowing Him, surpasses death. There is no other path for crossing death. His hands and feet are spread everywhere. His eyes, head, mouth and ears are everywhere. He exists spreading himself in all things. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8.16)
na sandṛśe tiṣṭhati rūpam asya
na cakṣuṣā paśyati kaścanainam
hṛdā hṛdi sthaṁ manasā ya enam
evaṁ vidur amṛtas te bhāvanti
His form is beyond material sense perception. No one can see Him with material eyes. Those who, by meditation, know him who is situated in the heart, attain liberation. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.20)
In this manner, the Vedas give abundant descriptions of Kṛṣṇa by figurative (gauṇa) and contrary (vyatireka) statements. The literal (mukhya) and supporting (anvaya statements can be recognized as such only by the power of Kṛṣṇa's spiritual energy, or cit śakti. In the prayers of the personified Vedas in the Bhāgavatam, it is said:
jaya jaya jahy ajām ajita doṣa-gṛbhīta-guṇāṁ
tvam asi yad ātmanā samavaruddha- samasta-bhagaḥ
agajagad-okasām akhila-śakty avabodhaka te
kvacit ajayātmanā ca carato'nucaren nigamaḥ
O Kṛṣṇa, you destroy the energy of māyā called ajā, which gives rise to the three modes of nature, full of fault. Through your own energy you are the Lord of all powers. You awaken all the energy of the moving and non-moving entities. The Vedas describe you in two ways. When you operate with māyā śakti you are described in one way, and when you use your internal energy or ātmā śakti in performing Vraja līlā, you are described in another way. (SB 10.87.14)
This kārikā summarizes the point:
brahma-rudra-mahendrādi damane rāsa- maṇḍale
guru-putra-pradānādāv aiśvaryaṁ yat prakāśitam
nānya-prakāśa-bāhulye tad-dṛṣṭaṁ śāstra- varṇane
ataḥ kṛṣṇa-pāratamyaṁ svataḥ siddham satāṁ mate
One cannot see anywhere in the scriptures acts as glorious as Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, such as his conquest of Brahmā, Śiva and Indra, the rasa dance, or the bringing together of his guru with his lost sons. Therefore the devotees say that Kṛṣṇa's supremacy is self-evident.
Or as Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad says:
tam īśvarāṇāṁ paramaṁ maheśvaraṁ
taṁ daivatānāṁ paramaṁ ca daivatam
patiṁ patīnāṁ paramaṁ parastād
vidāma devaṁ bhuvaneṣam īḍyam
You are the Lord of all other controllers such as Brahmā and Śiva. You are the Lord of all the devatās such as Indra. You are the Lord of all the prajāpatis. You are superior to the supreme. We know you as the worshipable Lord, master of all the worlds, and absorbed (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.7)