“Krsna Book” by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The summary pastimes of Lord Krishna from the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavat Purana). COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This is an evaluation copy of the printed version of this book, and is NOT FOR RESALE. This evaluation copy is intended for personal non-commercial use only, under the “fair use” guidelines established by international copyright laws. You may use this electronic file to evaluate the printed version of this book, for your own private use, or for short excerpts used in academic works, research, student papers, presentations, and the like. You can distribute this evaluation copy to others over the Internet, so long as you keep this copyright information intact. You may not reproduce more than ten percent (10%) of this book in any media without the express written permission from the copyright holders. Reference any excerpts in the following way: “Excerpted from “Krsna Book” by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, courtesy of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, w w w.Krishna.co m. ” This book and electronic file is Copyright 1971-2003 Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, 3764 Watseka Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034, USA. All rights reserved. For any questions, comments, correspondence, or to evaluate dozens of other books in this collection, visit the website of the publishers, w w w.Krishna.co m. Preface nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad bhavausadhac chrotramano 'bhiramat ka uttama-sloka-gunanuvadat puman virajyeta vina pasughnat (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.4) In these Western countries, when someone sees the cover of a book like Krsna, he immediately asks, "Who is Krsna? Who is the girl with Krsna?" etc. The immediate answer is that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How is that? Because He conforms in exact detail to descriptions of the Supreme Being, the Godhead. In other words, Krsna is the Godhead because He is all-attractive. Outside the principle of all- attraction, there is no meaning to the word Godhead. How is it one can be all-attractive? First of all, if one is very wealthy, if he has great riches, he becomes attractive to the people in general. Similarly, if someone is very powerful, he also becomes attractive, and if someone is very famous, he also becomes attractive, and if someone is very beautiful or wise or unattached to all kinds of possessions, he also becomes attractive. So from practical experience we can observe that one is attractive due to (1) wealth, (2) power, (3) fame, (4) beauty, (5) wisdom, and (6) renunciation. One who is in possession of all six of these opulences at the same time, who possesses them to an unlimited degree, is understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These opulences of the Godhead are delineated by Parasara Muni, a great Vedic authority. We have seen many rich persons, many powerful persons, many famous persons, many beautiful persons, many learned and scholarly persons, and persons in the renounced order of life unattached to material possessions. But we have never seen any one person who is unlimitedly and simultaneously wealthy, powerful, famous, beautiful, wise and unattached, like Krsna, in the history of humanity. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a historical person who appeared on this earth 5,000 years ago. He stayed on this earth for 125 years and played exactly like a human being, but His activities were unparalleled. From the very moment of His appearance to the moment of His disappearance, every one of His activities is unparalleled in the history of the world, and therefore anyone who knows what we mean by Godhead will accept Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one is equal to the Godhead, and no one is greater than Him. That is the import of the familiar saying "God is great." There are various classes of men in the world who speak of God in different ways, but according to Vedic literatures and according to the great acaryas, the authorized persons versed in the knowledge of God, in all ages, like acaryas Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Visnusvami, Lord Caitanya and all their followers by disciplic succession, all unanimously agree that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As far as we, the followers of Vedic civilization, are concerned, we accept the Vedic history of the whole universe, which consists of different planetary systems called Svargalokas, or the higher planetary system, Martyalokas, or the intermediary planetary system, and Patalalokas, or the lower planetary system. The modern historians of this earth cannot supply historical evidences of events that occurred before Homo sapiens had not appeared on this planet because evolution had not reached that point. But the Vedic histories, the puranas and Mahabharata, relate human histories which extend millions and billions of years into the past. For example, from these literatures we are given the histories of Krsna's appearances and disappearances millions and billions of years ago. In the Fourth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita Krsna tells Arjuna that both He and Arjuna had had many births before and that He (Krsna) could remember all of them and that Arjuna could not. This illustrates the difference between the knowledge of Krsna and that of Arjuna. Arjuna might have been a very great warrior, a well-cultured member of the Kuru dynasty, but after all, he was an ordinary human being, whereas Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the possessor of unlimited knowledge. Because He possesses unlimited knowledge, Krsna has a memory that is boundless. Krsna's knowledge is so perfect that He remembers all the incidents of His appearances some millions and billions of years in the past, but Arjuna's memory and knowledge are limited by time and space, for he is an ordinary human being. In the Fourth Chapter Krsna states that He can remember instructing the lessons of the Bhagavad-gita some millions of years ago to the sun-god, Vivasvan. Nowadays it is the fashion of the atheistic class of men to try to become God by following some mystic process. Generally the atheists claim to be God by dint of their imagination or their meditational prowess. Krsna is not that kind of God. He does not become God by manufacturing some mystic process of meditation, nor does He become God by undergoing the severe austerities of the mystic yogic exercises. Properly speaking, He never becomes God because He is the Godhead in all circumstances. Within the prison of His maternal uncle Kamsa, where His father and mother were confined, Krsna appeared outside His mother's body as the four-handed Visnu-Narayana. Then He turned Himself into a baby and told His father to carry Him to the house of Nanda Maharaja and his wife Yasoda. When Krsna was just a small baby the gigantic demoness Putana attempted to kill Him, but when He sucked her breast He pulled out her life. That is the difference between the real Godhead and a God manufactured in the mystic factory. Krsna had no chance to practice the mystic yoga process, yet He manifested Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead at every step, from infancy to childhood, from childhood to boyhood, and from boyhood to young manhood. In this book, Krsna, all of His activities as a human being are described. Although Krsna plays like a human being, He always maintains His identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since Krsna is all-attractive, one should know that all his desires should be focused on Krsna. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that the individual person is the proprietor or master of the body, but Krsna, who is the Supersoul present in everyone's heart, is the supreme proprietor and supreme master of each and every individual body. As such, if we concentrate our loving propensities upon Krsna only, then immediately universal love, unity and tranquillity will be automatically realized. When one waters the root of a tree, he automatically waters the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers; when one supplies food to the stomach through the mouth, he satisfies all the various parts of the body. The art of focusing one's attention on the Supreme and giving one's love to Him is called Krsna consciousness. We have inaugurated the Krsna consciousness movement so that everyone can satisfy his propensity for loving others simply by directing his love towards Krsna. The whole world is very much anxious to satisfy the dormant propensity of love for others, but the inventions of various methods like socialism, communism, altruism, humanitarianism, nationalism, and whatever else may be manufactured for the peace and prosperity of the world, are all useless and frustrating because of our gross ignorance of the art of loving Krsna. Generally people think that by advancing the cause of moral principles and religious rites, they will be happy. Others may think that happiness can be achieved by economic development, and yet others think that simply by sense gratification they will be happy. But the real fact is that people can only be happy by loving Krsna. Krsna can perfectly reciprocate one's loving propensities in different relationships called mellows, or rasas. Basically there are twelve loving relationships. One can love Krsna as the supreme unknown, as the supreme master, the supreme friend, the supreme child, the supreme lover. These are the five basic love rasas. One can also love Krsna indirectly in seven different relationships, which are apparently different from the five primary relationships. All in all, however, if one simply reposes his dormant loving propensity in Krsna, then his life becomes successful. This is not a fiction but is a fact that can be realized by practical application. One can directly perceive the effects that love for Krsna has on his life. In the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita this science of Krsna consciousness is called the king of all knowledge, the king of all confidential things, and the supreme science of transcendental realization. Yet we can directly experience the results of this science of Krsna consciousness because it is very easy to practice and is very pleasurable. Whatever percentage of Krsna consciousness we can perform will become an eternal asset to our life, for it is imperishable in all circumstances. It has now been actually proved that today's confused and frustrated younger generation in the Western countries can directly perceive the results of channelling the loving propensity toward Krsna alone. It is said that although one executes severe austerities, penances and sacrifices in his life, if he fails to awaken his dormant love for Krsna, then all his penances are to be considered useless. On the other hand, if one has awakened his dormant love for Krsna, then what is the use in executing austerities and penances unnecessarily? The Krsna consciousness movement is the unique gift of Lord Caitanya to the fallen souls of this age. It is a very simple method which has actually been carried out during the last four years in the Western countries, and there is no doubt that this movement can satisfy the dormant loving propensities of humanity. This book, Krsna, is another presentation to help the Krsna consciousness movement in the Western world. This transcendental literature is published in two parts with profuse illustrations. People love to read various kinds of fiction to spend their time and energy. Now this tendency can be directed to Krsna. The result will be the imperishable satisfaction of the soul, both individually and collectively. It is said in the Bhagavad-gita that even a little effort expended on the path of Krsna consciousness can save one from the greatest danger. Hundreds of thousands of examples can be cited of people who have escaped the greatest dangers of life due to a slight advancement in Krsna consciousness. We therefore request everyone to take advantage of this great transcendental literature. One will find that by reading one page after another, an immense treasure of knowledge in art, science, literature, philosophy and religion will be revealed, and ultimately, by reading this one book, Krsna, love of Godhead will fructify. My grateful acknowledgment is due to Sriman George Harrison, now chanting Hare Krsna, for his liberal contribution of $19,000 to meet the entire cost of printing this volume. May Krsna bestow upon this nice boy further advancement in Krsna consciousness. And at last my ever-willing blessings are bestowed upon Sriman Syamasundara dasa adhikari, Sriman Brahmananda dasa brahmacari, Sriman Hayagriva dasa adhikari, Sriman Satsvarupa dasa adhikari, Srimati Devahuti-devi, Srimati Jadurani dasi, Sriman Muralidhara dasa brahmacari, Sriman Bharadvaja dasa adhikari, and Sriman Pradyumna dasa adhikari, etc., for their hard labor in different ways to make this publication a great success. Hare Krsna. Advent Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati ISKCON Headquarters Los Angeles, California Introduction krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! he krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! he krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! raksa mam krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! krsna! pahi mam rama! raghava! rama! raghava! rama! raghava! raksa mam krsna! kesava! krsna! kesava! krsna! kesava! pahi mam Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 7.96) While attempting to write this book, Krsna, let me first offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, Om Visnupada 108 Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja Prabhupada. Then let me offer my respectful obeisances to the ocean of mercy, Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna Himself, appearing in the role of a devotee just to distribute the highest principles of devotional service. Lord Caitanya began His preaching from the country known as Gaudadesa (West Bengal). And as I belong to the Madhva-Gaudiya-sampradaya, I must therefore offer my respectful obeisances to our disciplic succession. This Madhva-Gaudiya- sampradaya is also known as the Brahma-sampradaya because the disciplic succession originally began from Brahma. Brahma instructed the sage Narada, Narada instructed Vyasadeva, and Vyasadeva instructed Madhva Muni, or Madhvacarya. Madhavendra Puri, the originator of the Madhva- Gaudiya-sampradaya, belonged to the Madhvacarya disciplic succession; he had many renowned disciples both in the sannyasa (renounced) and household orders of life, disciples such as Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu and Isvara Puri. Isvara Puri happened to be the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So let us offer our respectful obeisances to Isvara Puri, Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Acarya Prabhu, Srivasa Pandita and Sri Gadadhara Pandita. Next, let us offer our respectful obeisances to Svarupa-Damodara, who acted as the private secretary to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; and let us offer our respectful obeisances to Sri Vasudeva Datta and the constant attendant of Lord Caitanya, Sri Govinda, and the constant friend of Lord Caitanya, Mukunda, and also to Murari Gupta. And let us offer our respectful obeisances to the six Gosvamis of Vrndavana, Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami and Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Krsna Himself has explained in the Bhagavad-gita that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whenever there are discrepancies in the regulative principles of man's religious life and a prominence of irreligious activities, He appears on this earthly planet. In other words, when Lord Sri Krsna appeared, there was a necessity of minimizing the load of sinful activities accumulated on this planet, or in this universe. For affairs of the material creation, Lord Maha-Visnu, the plenary portion of Krsna, is in charge. When the Lord descends, the incarnation emanates from Visnu. Maha- Visnu is the original cause of material creation, and from Him Garbhodakasayi-Visnu expands, and then Ksirodakasayi- Visnu. Generally, all the incarnations appearing within this material universe are plenary expansions from Ksirodakasayi-Visnu. Therefore, the business of minimizing the overload of sinful activities on this earth does not belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna Himself. But when Krsna appears, all the Visnu expansions also join with Him. Krsna's different expansions-- namely Narayana, the quadruple expansion of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, as well as the partial plenary expansion of Matsya, or the incarnation of fish, and other yuga- avataras (incarnations for the millennium), and the manvantara-avataras, the incarnations of Manus--all combine together and appear with the body of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsna is the complete whole, and all plenary expansions and incarnations always live with Him. When Krsna appeared, Lord Visnu was also with Him. Krsna actually appears to demonstrate His Vrndavana pastimes and to attract the fortunate conditioned souls and invite them back home, back to Godhead. The killing of the demons was simultaneous to His Vrndavana activities and was carried out only by the Visnu portion of Krsna. In the Bhagavad-gita, Eighth Chapter, twentieth verse, it is stated that there is another, eternal nature, the spiritual sky, which is transcendental to this manifested and nonmanifested matter. The manifested world can be seen in the form of many stars and planetary systems, such as the sun and moon, but beyond this there is a nonmanifested portion, which is not approachable to anyone in this body. And beyond that nonmanifested matter is the spiritual kingdom. That kingdom is described in the Bhagavad-gita as supreme and eternal. It is never annihilated. This material nature is subjected to repeated creation and annihilation. But that part, the spiritual nature, remains as it is, eternally. The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is also described in the Brahma-samhita as the abode of cintamani. That abode of Lord Krsna known as Goloka Vrndavana is full of palaces made of touchstone. There the trees are called desire trees, and the cows are called surabhi. The Lord is served there by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. His name is Govinda, the Primeval Lord, and He is the cause of all causes. There the Lord plays His flute, His eyes are like lotus petals, and the color of His body is like that of a beautiful cloud. On His head is a peacock feather. He is so attractive that He excels thousands of cupids. Lord Krsna gives only a little hint in the Gita of His personal abode, which is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. But in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krsna actually appears with all His paraphernalia and demonstrates His activities in Vrndavana, then at Mathura, and then at Dvaraka. The subject matter of this book will gradually reveal all these activities. The family in which Krsna appeared is called the Yadu dynasty. This Yadu dynasty belongs to the family descending from Soma, the god in the moon planet. There are two different ksatriya families of the royal order, one descending from the king of the moon planet and the other descending from the king of the sun planet. Whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears, He generally appears in a ksatriya family because He has to establish religious principles or the life of righteousness. The ksatriya family is the protector of the human race, according to the Vedic system. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as Lord Ramacandra, He appeared in the family descending from the sun-god, known as Raghu-vamsa; and when He appeared as Lord Krsna, He did so in the family of Yadu-vamsa. There is a long list of the kings of the Yadu-vamsa in the Ninth Canto, Twenty-fourth Chapter, of Srimad- Bhagavatam. All of them were great, powerful kings. Krsna's father's name was Vasudeva, son of Surasena, descending from the Yadu dynasty. Actually, the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not belong to any dynasty of this material world, but the family in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears becomes famous, by His grace. For example, sandalwood is produced in the states of Malaya. Sandalwood has its own qualifications apart from Malaya, but because, accidentally, this wood is mainly produced in the states of Malaya, it is known as Malayan sandalwood. Similarly, Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, belongs to everyone, but just as the sun rises from the east, although there are other directions from which it could rise, so, by His own choice, the Lord appears in a particular family, and that family becomes famous. When Krsna appears, all His plenary expansions also appear with Him. Krsna appeared along with Balarama (Baladeva), who is known as His elder brother. Balarama is the origin of Sankarsana, of the quadruple expansion. Balarama is also the plenary expansion of Krsna. In this book, the attempt will be made to show how Krsna appeared in the family of the Yadu dynasty and how He displayed His transcendental characteristics. This is very vividly described in the Srimad- Bhagavatam--specifically, the Tenth Canto--and the basis of this book will be Srimad-Bhagavatam. The pastimes of the Lord are generally heard and relished by liberated souls. Those who are conditioned souls are interested in reading fictional stories of the material activities of some common man. Narrations describing the transcendental activities of the Lord are found in Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Puranas. But the conditioned souls still prefer to study ordinary narrations. They are not so interested in studying the narrations of the pastimes of the Lord, Krsna. And yet the descriptions or the pastimes of Lord Krsna are so attractive that they are relishable for all classes of men. There are three classes of men in this world. One class consists of liberated souls, another consists of those who are trying to be liberated, and the third consists of materialistic men. Whether one is liberated or is trying to be liberated, or is even grossly materialistic, the pastimes of Lord Krsna are worth studying. Liberated souls have no interest in materialistic activities. The impersonalist theory that after liberation one becomes inactive and needs hear nothing does not prove that a liberated person is actually inactive. A living soul cannot be inactive. He is either active in the conditioned state or in the liberated state. A diseased person, for example, is also active, but his activities are all painful. The same person, when freed from the diseased condition, is still active, but in the healthy condition the activities are full of pleasure. Similarly, the impersonalists manage to get freed from the diseased conditional activities, but they have no information of activities in the healthy condition. Those who are actually liberated and in full knowledge take to hearing the activities of Krsna; such engagement is pure spiritual activity. It is essential for persons who are actually liberated to hear about the pastimes of Krsna. That is the supreme relishable subject matter for one in the liberated state. Also, if persons who are trying to be liberated hear such narrations as Bhagavad-gita and Srimad- Bhagavatam, then their path of liberation becomes very clear. Bhagavad- gita is the preliminary study of Srimad-Bhagavatam. By studying the Gita, one becomes fully conscious of the position of Lord Krsna; and when he is situated at the lotus feet of Krsna, he understands the narrations of Krsna as described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Lord Caitanya has therefore advised His followers that their business is to propagate krsna-katha. Krsna-katha means narrations about Krsna. There are two krsna- kathas: narrations spoken by Krsna and narrations spoken about Krsna. Bhagavad-gita is the narration or the philosophy or the science of God, spoken by Krsna Himself. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the narration about the activities and transcendental pastimes of Krsna. Both are krsna-katha. It is the order of Lord Caitanya that krsna-katha should be spread all over the world, because if the conditioned souls, suffering under the pangs of material existence, take to krsna-katha, then their path of liberation will be open and clear. The purpose of presenting this book is primarily to induce people to understand Krsna or krsna-katha, because thereby they can become freed from material bondage. This krsna-katha will also be very much appealing to the most materialistic persons because Krsna's pastimes with the gopis (cowherd girls) are exactly like the loving affairs between young girls and boys within this material world. Actually, the sex feeling found in human society is not unnatural because this same sex feeling is there in the original Personality of Godhead. The pleasure potency is called Srimati Radharani. The attraction of loving affairs on the basis of sex feeling is the original feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we, the conditioned souls, being part and parcel of the Supreme, have such feelings also, but they are experienced within a perverted, minute condition. Therefore, when those who are after sex life in this material world hear about Krsna's pastimes with the gopis, they will relish transcendental pleasure, although it appears to be materialistic. The advantage will be that they will gradually be elevated to the spiritual platform. In the Bhagavatam it is stated that if one hears the pastimes of Lord Krsna with the gopis, from authorities with submission, then he will be promoted to the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and the material disease of lust within his heart will be completely vanquished. In other words, it will counteract the material sex life. Krsna will be appealing to the liberated souls and to persons who are trying to be liberated, as well as to the gross, conditioned materialist. According to the statement of Maharaja Pariksit, who heard about Krsna from Sukadeva Gosvami, krsna-katha is equally applicable to every human being, in whatever condition of life he is in. Everyone will appreciate it to the highest magnitude. But Maharaja Pariksit also warned that persons who are simply engaged in killing animals and in killing themselves may not be very much attracted to krsna-katha. In other words, ordinary persons who are following the regulative moral principles of scriptures, no matter in what condition they are found, will certainly be attracted, but not persons who are killing themselves. The exact word used in the Srimad-Bhagavatam is pasughna, which means killing animals or killing oneself. Persons who are not self-realized and who are not interested in spiritual realization are killing themselves; they are committing suicide. Because this human form of life is especially meant for self-realization, by neglecting this important part of his activities one simply wastes his time like the animals. So he is pasughna. The other meaning of the word refers to those who are actually killing animals. This means persons who are animal eaters (even dog eaters), for they are all engaged in killing animals in so many ways, such as hunting and opening slaughterhouses. Such persons cannot be interested in krsna-katha. King Pariksit was especially interested in hearing krsna-katha because he knew that his forefathers and particularly his grandfather, Arjuna, were victorious in the great Battle of Kuruksetra only because of Krsna. We may also take this material world as a battlefield of Kuruksetra. Everyone is struggling hard for existence in this battlefield, and at every step there is danger. According to Maharaja Pariksit, the battlefield of Kuruksetra was just like a vast ocean full of dangerous animals. His grandfather Arjuna had to fight with such great heroes as Bhisma, Drona, Karna, and many others who were not ordinary fighters. Such warriors have been compared to the timingila fish in the ocean. The timingila fish can very easily swallow up big whales. The great fighters on the battlefield of Kuruksetra could swallow many, many Arjunas very easily, but simply due to Krsna's mercy, Arjuna was able to kill all of them. Just as one can cross with no exertion over the little pit of water contained in the hoofprint of a calf, so Arjuna, by the grace of Krsna, was able to very easily jump over the ocean of the Battle of Kuruksetra. Maharaja Pariksit very much appreciated Krsna's activities for many other reasons. Not only was his grandfather saved by Krsna, but he himself also was saved by Krsna. At the end of the Battle of Kuruksetra, all the members of the Kuru dynasty, both the sons and grandsons on the side of Dhrtarastra, and those on the side of the Pandavas, died in the fighting. Except the five Pandava brothers, everyone died on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. Maharaja Pariksit was at that time within the womb of his mother. His father, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, also died on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, and so Maharaja Pariksit was a posthumous child. When he was in the womb of his mother, a brahmastra weapon was released by Asvatthama to kill the child. When Pariksit Maharaja's mother, Uttara, approached Krsna, Krsna, seeing the danger of abortion, entered her womb as the Supersoul and saved Maharaja Pariksit. Maharaja Pariksit's other name is Visnurata because he was saved by Lord Visnu Himself while still within the womb. Thus everyone, in any condition of life, should be interested in hearing about Krsna and His activities because He is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. He is all-pervading; He is living within everyone's heart, and He is living as His universal form. And yet, as described in the Bhagavad-gita, He appears as He is in the human society just to invite everyone to His transcendental abode, back to home, back to Godhead. Everyone should be interested in knowing about Krsna, and this book is presented with this purpose: that people may know about Krsna and be perfectly benefited in this human form of life. In the Ninth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Baladeva is described as the son of Rohini, a wife of Vasudeva. Vasudeva, the father of Krsna, had sixteen wives, and one of them was Rohini, the mother of Balarama. But Balarama is also described as the son of Devaki, so how could He be the son of both Devaki and Rohini? This was one of the questions put by Maharaja Pariksit to Sukadeva Gosvami, and it will be answered in due course. Maharaja Pariksit also asked Sukadeva Gosvami why Sri Krsna, just after His appearance as the son of Vasudeva, was immediately carried to the house of Nanda Maharaja in Vrndavana, Gokula. He also wanted to know what the activities of Lord Krsna were while He was in Vrndavana and while He was in Mathura. Besides that, he was especially inquisitive to know why Krsna killed His maternal uncle, Kamsa. Kamsa, being the brother of His mother, was a very intimate superior to Krsna, so how was it that He killed Kamsa? Also, he asked how many years Lord Krsna remained in human society, how many years He reigned over the kingdom of Dvaraka, and how many wives He accepted there. A ksatriya king is generally accustomed to accept more than one wife; therefore Maharaja Pariksit also inquired about His number of wives. The subject matter of this book is Sukadeva Gosvami's answering of these and other questions asked by Maharaja Pariksit. The position of Maharaja Pariksit and Sukadeva Gosvami is unique. Maharaja Pariksit is the right person to hear about the transcendental pastimes of Krsna, and Sukadeva Gosvami is the right person to describe them. If such a fortunate combination is made possible, then krsna-katha immediately becomes revealed, and people may benefit to the highest possible degree from such a conversation. This narration was presented by Sukadeva Gosvami when Maharaja Pariksit was prepared to give up his body, fasting on the bank of the Ganges. In order to assure Sukadeva Gosvami that by hearing krsna-katha he would not feel tired, Maharaja Pariksit expressed himself very frankly: "Hunger and thirst may give trouble to ordinary persons or to me, but the topics of Krsna are so nice that one can continue to hear about them without feeling tired because such hearing situates one in the transcendental position." It is understood that one must be very fortunate to hear about krsna-katha seriously, like Maharaja Pariksit. He was especially intent on the subject matter because he was expecting death at any moment. Every one of us should be conscious of death at every moment. This life is not at all assured; at any time one can die. It does not matter whether one is a young man or an old man. So before death takes place, we must be fully Krsna conscious. At the point of his death, King Pariksit was hearing Srimad- Bhagavatam from Sukadeva Gosvami. When King Pariksit expressed his untiring desire to hear about Krsna, Sukadeva Gosvami was very pleased. Sukadeva was the greatest of all Bhagavata reciters, and thus he began to speak about Krsna's pastimes, which destroy all inauspiciousness in this Age of Kali. Sukadeva Gosvami thanked the King for his eagerness to hear about Krsna, and he encouraged him by saying, "My dear King, your intelligence is very keen because you are so eager to hear about the pastimes of Krsna." He informed Maharaja Pariksit that hearing and chanting of the pastimes of Krsna are so auspicious that the processes purify the three varieties of men involved: he who recites the transcendental topics of Krsna, he who hears such topics, and he who inquires about Him. These pastimes are just like the Ganges water which flows from the toe of Lord Visnu: they purify the three worlds, the upper, middle and lower planetary systems. Chapter One