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By devotional service one can understand that Krishna first of all manifests Himself as Svayamrupa, His Personal Form, then as Tadekatmarupa, and then as Avesharupa. In these three features He manifests Himself in His transcendental Form. The feature of Svayamrupa is the Form in which Krishna can be understood by one who may not understand His other features. In other words, the Form in which Krishna is directly understood is called Svayamrupa, or His Personal Form. The Tadekatmarupa is that Form which most resembles the Svayamrupa, but has some differences of bodily features. This Tadekatmarupa is divided into two manifestations, called the Personal expansion and the Pastime expansion. As far as Avesharupa is concerned, sometimes Krishna empowers some suitable living entity to represent Him. When a living entity acts as a representative of the Supreme Lord, he is called Avesharupa, or Shaktavesha Avatara.
#$p#His Personal Form is again divided into two: Svayamrupa and Svayaprakash. As far as His Svayamrupa (or Pastime Form) is concerned, it is in that Form that He remains always in Vrindaban with all the inhabitants of Vrindaban. That Personal Form is again divided into two, known categorically as the Prabhava and Baibhava Forms. For example, Krishna expanded Himself in multiple Forms in the Rasa Dance. When He danced with the Gopis, He expanded Himself in multiple Forms to dance with each and every Gopi who took part in that dance. Similarly, He expanded Himself into 16,108 Forms at Dwarka when He married 16,108 wives.
#$p#There are some instances of great mystics also expanding their bodily features in a different way, but that sort of expansion by the Yoga process is not applicable to Krishna. In the Vedic history, for example, Saubhary Rishi, a sage, expanded himself into eight forms by the Yoga process, but that expansion was simply a manifestation, for Saubhary remained one. But as far as Krishna is concerned, when He manifested Himself in different Forms, each and every one of them was a separate individual. When Narada Muni visited Krishna at different palaces at Dwarka, he was astonished at this, and yet Narada is never astonished to see the expansion of the body of a Yogi since he knows the trick himself. Yet, in a verse in the Srimad Bhagwatam, it states that Narada was astonished to see the expansions of Krishna. He wonders how the Lord was present in each and every house of the 16,108 palaces with His queens.
#$p#Krishna Himself was in a different Form with each queen, and He was acting in different ways. For example, in one Form He was talking with His wife, in another Form He was engaged with His children, and in yet another Form He was performing some household work. These different activities are called actions in the Lord's different emotions, and when He is in these "emotional" Forms, the expansions are known as Vaibhavaprakash. Similarly, there are other unlimited expansions of the Forms of Krishna, but even when they are divided or expanded without limit, they are still one and the same. There is no difference between one Form and another; that is the Absolute nature of the Personality of Godhead.
#$p#In the Srimad Bhagwatam it is stated, in the Tenth Canto, Fortieth Chapter, that at the time when Akrura was carrying both Krishna and Valaram from Gokula to Mathura, he entered into the water of the Yamuna River and could see in the waters all the spiritual planets in the Spiritual Sky. He saw there the Lord in His Vishnu Form, along with Narada and the four Kumaras, and he saw how they were worshipping. This is described in the Srimad Bhagwatam as "Form." It is stated in the Bhagavat Purana that there are many worshippers who are purified by different processes of worship, such as the Vaishnava, or the Aryans, who also worship the Supreme Lord according to their convictions and their spiritual understanding. Each process of worship involves the understanding of different Forms of the Lord, as mentioned in the Scriptures, but the ultimate idea is to worship the Supreme Lord Himself.
#$p#In the feature of His Vaibhavaprakash the Lord manifests Himself as Valaram. The feature of Valaram is as good as Krishna; the difference is that Krishna is blackish and Valaram is whitish. The Vaibhavaprakash Form was also displayed when Krishna appeared in the four-handed Form of Narayana before Devaki when He entered this world, and then at the request of His parents He transformed Himself into a two-handed Form. Therefore, sometimes He becomes four-handed and sometimes He becomes two-handed. When He is in a Form of two hands, that is actually Vaibhavaprakash, and when He is four-handed, that is Vrabhavavilasa. In His Personal Form He is just like a cowherd boy, and He thinks Himself that; but when He is in the Vasudeva Form He thinks Himself the son of a Kshatriya, and He feels Himself also to be a Kshatriya, a princely administrator.
#$p#Form, Opulence, Beauty, Wealth, Attractiveness and Pastimes are fully exhibited in His Form as the Son of Nanda. In some of the Vaishnava literature it is found that sometimes, in His Form as Vasudeva, He becomes attracted to the Form of Govinda in Vrindaban. Sometimes, as Vasudeva, He desires to enjoy as Govinda does, although the Govinda Form and the Vasudeva Form are one and the same. There is a passage in the Laleeta Madhava, Fourth Chapter, in which Krishna addresses Uddhava as follows: "My dear friend, this Govinda Form as a cowherd boy attracts Me. I wish to be like the damsels of Vraja, attracted by this Govinda Form." Similarly, in the Eighth Chapter, Krishna says: "O how wonderful It is! Who is this Personality? After seeing Him I am attracted by Him, so that now I am desiring to embrace Him just like Radhika." When this Form of Krishna becomes a little differentiated, it is called Tadekatma.
#$p#In this Tadekatmarupa Form there are two divisions also: One is called Svamsa. Both in the Vilasa and Svamsa Forms there are again many differential features, which are also divided into Prabhava and Baibhava. As far as the Vilasa Forms are concerned, there are innumerable Prabhava Vilasas: Krishna expands Himself as Vasudeva, Samkarshan, Pradyurnna, Aniruddha. Sometimes the Lord thinks Himself a cowherd boy, and sometimes He thinks Himself the son of Vasudeva, a Kshatriya—and this "thinking" of Krishna is called "Pastimes."
#$p#In His Prabhava Prakasa and Prabhava Vilasa He is in the same Form, but appears differently as Krishna and Valadeva. His expansion as Vasudeva, Samkarshan, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, mentioned above, is in the Original Chaturvuha, or four-armed Forms.
#$p#There are innumerable four-armed manifestations in different planet and different places. For instance, these four-armed manifestations are both in Dwarka and Mathura eternally. And from these four Forms originally there are the principle twenty-four Forms, named differently in terms of the different adjustments of the symbols held in the hands-and they are called Baibhava Vilasa. The same four Formal manifestations of Krishna are on each planet of the Spiritual Sky, called the Narayan Loka or Vaikuntha Loka. In the Vaikuntha Loka He is manifested in a four-handed Form, called Narayan. And from each Narayan there is a manifestation of the four Forms mentioned above (Vasudeva, Samkarshan, Pradyumna and Aniruddha). Therefore, Narayan is in the center, and the four Forms surround the Narayan Form.
#$p#Each of the four Forms again expands into three, and they all have their different Names, beginning from Kesava. They are twelve in all. Such Forms are known by different Names according to the different placements of the symbols in the hands of Narayan.
#$p#As far as the Vasudeva Form is concerned, the three expansions are Kesava, Narayana, and Madhava. The three Forms of Govinda are known as Govinda, Vishnu, and Sri Madhusudan. It should be noted, however, that this Govinda Form is not the same Govinda Form as manifested in Vrindaban (as the Son of Nanda). Similarly, Pradyumna is also divided into three Forms known as Trivikrama, Vamana, and Sridhar; and, similarly, there are three Forms of Aniruddha, known as Hrishikesha, Padmanava and Damodara.
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By devotional service one can understand that Kṛṣṇa first of all manifests Himself as #i#svayam-rūpa#/i#, His personal form, then as #i#tadekātma-rūpa#/i#, and then as #i#āveśa-rūpa#/i#. It is in these three features that He manifests Himself in His transcendental form. The feature of #i#svayam-rūpa#/i# is the form by which Kṛṣṇa can be understood by one who may not understand His other features. In other words, the form by which Kṛṣṇa is directly understood is called #i#svayam-rūpa#/i#, or His personal form. The #i#tadekātma-rūpa#/i# is that form which most resembles the #i#svayam-rūpa#/i#, but there are some differences in the bodily features. The #i#tadekātma-rūpa#/i# is divided into two manifestations—the personal expansion (#i#svāṁśa#/i#) and the pastime expansion (#i#vilāsa#/i#). As far as the #i#āveśa-rūpa#/i# is concerned, when Kṛṣṇa empowers some suitable living entity to represent Him, that living entity is called #i#āveśa-rūpa#/i#, or #i#śaktyāveśa-avatāra#/i#.
#$p#The personal form of Kṛṣṇa can be divided into two: #i#svayam-rūpa#/i# and #i#svayam-prakāśa#/i#. As far as His #i#svayam-rūpa#/i# (or pastime form) is concerned, it is in that form that He remains always in Vṛndāvana with the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. This personal form (#i#svayam-rūpa#/i#) can be further divided into the #i#prābhava#/i# and #i#vaibhava#/i# forms. For instance, Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself in multiple forms during the #i#rāsa#/i# dance in order to dance with each and every #i#gopī#/i# who took part in forms in order to accommodate His 16,108 wives. There are some instances of great mystics' also expanding their bodily features in different ways, but Kṛṣṇa did not expand Himself by any #i#yoga#/i# process. Each expansion of Kṛṣṇa was a separate individual. In Vedic history, Saubhari Ṛṣi, a sage, expanded himself into eight forms by the yoga process, but Saubhari Ṛṣi remained one. As far as Kṛṣṇa is concerned, when He manifested Himself in different forms, each and every one of them was a separate individual. When Nārada Muni visited Kṛṣṇa at different palaces at Dvārakā, he was astonished at this, and yet Nārada is never astonished to see expansions of a #i#yogī's#/i# body, since he knows the trick himself. Yet in #i#Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam#/i# it is stated that Nārada was actually astonished to see the expansions of Kṛṣṇa. He wondered how the Lord was present with His queens in each and every one of His 16,108 palaces. With each queen, Kṛṣṇa Himself was in a different form, and He was acting in different ways. In one form He was engaged in playing with His children, and in yet another form He was performing some household work. These different activities are conducted by the Lord when He is in His "emotional" forms, which are known as #i#vaibhava-prakāśa#/i# expansions. Similarly, there are other unlimited expansions of the forms of Kṛṣṇa, but even when they are divided or expanded without limit, they are still one and the same. There is no difference between one form and another. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
#$p#In #i#Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam#/i# it is stated that when Akrūra was accompanying both Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma from Gokula to Mathurā, he entered into the waters of the Yamunā River and could see in the waters all the planets in the spiritual sky. He also saw there the Lord in His Viṣṇu form as well as Nārada and the four Kumāras, who were worshiping Him. As stated in the #i#Bhāgavata Purāṇa#/i# (SB 10.40.7):
#dl##dd##i#anye ca saṁskṛtātmāno#/i##/dd#
#dd##i#vidhinābhihitena te#/i##/dd#
#dd##i#yajanti tvan-mayās tvāṁ vai#/i##/dd#
#dd##i#bahumūrty-ekamūrtikam#/i##/dd##/dl#
There are many worshipers who are purified by different processes of worship—such as the Vaiṣṇavas or the Āryans—who also worship the Supreme Lord according to their convictions and spiritual understanding. Each process of worship involves understanding different forms of the Lord, as mentioned in scriptures, but the ultimate idea is to worship the Supreme Lord Himself.
#$p#In His #i#vaibhava-prakāśa#/i# feature, the Lord manifests Himself as Balarāma. The Balarāma feature is as good as Kṛṣṇa Himself, the only difference being that the bodily hue of Kṛṣṇa is dark and that of Balarāma is fair. The #i#vaibhava-prakāśa#/i# form was also displayed when Kṛṣṇa appeared before His Mother Devakī in the four-handed form of Nārāyaṇa, just when He entered the world. At the request of His parents, however, He transformed Himself into a two-handed form. Thus He sometimes manifests four hands and sometimes two. The two-handed form is actually #i#vaibhava-prakāśa#/i#, and the four-handed form is #i#prābhava-prakāśa#/i#. In His personal form, Kṛṣṇa is just like a cowherd boy, and He thinks of Himself in that way. But when He is in the Vāsudeva form, He thinks of Himself as the son of a #i#kṣatriya#/i# and acts as a princely administrator.
#$p#In the two-handed form, as the cowherd son of Nanda Mahārāja, Kṛṣṇa fully exhibits His opulence, form, beauty, wealth, attractiveness and pastimes. Indeed, in some of the Vaiṣṇava literatures it is found that sometimes, in His form as Vāsudeva, He becomes attracted to the form of Govinda in Vṛndāvana. Thus as Vāsudeva He sometimes desires to enjoy as the cowherd boy Govinda does, although the Govinda form and the Vāsudeva form are one and the same. In this regard, there is a passage in the Fourth Chapter of the #i#Lalita-mādhava#/i# (4.19), in which Kṛṣṇa addresses Uddhava as follows: "My dear friend, the form of Govinda, the cowherd boy, attracts Me. Indeed, I wish to be like the damsels of Vraja, who are also attracted by this form of Govinda." Similarly, in the Eighth Chapter, Kṛṣṇa says: "O how wonderful it is! Who is this person? After seeing Him, I am so attracted that I am now desiring to embrace Him just like Rādhikā."
#$p#There are also forms of Kṛṣṇa which are a little different, and these are called #i#tadekātma-rūpa#/i# forms. These may be further divided into the #i#vilāsa#/i# and #i#svāṁśa#/i# forms, which in turn have many different features and can be divided into #i#prābhava#/i# and #i#vaibhava#/i# forms. As far as the #i#vilāsa#/i# forms are concerned, there are innumerable #i#prābhava-vilāsas#/i# by which Kṛṣṇa expands Himself as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha. Sometimes the Lord thinks of Himself as a cowherd boy, and sometimes He thinks of Himself as the son of Vasudeva, a #i#kṣatriya#/i# prince, and this "thinking" of Kṛṣṇa is called His "pastimes." Actually He is in the same form in His #i#vaibhava-prakāśa#/i# and #i#prābhava-vilāsa#/i#, but He appears differently as Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa. His expansions as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are in the original #i#catur-vyūha#/i#, or four-handed forms.
#$p#There are innumerable four-handed manifestations in different planets and different places, and they are manifested in Dvārakā and Mathurā eternally. From the four principal four-handed forms (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha) there are manifest the principal twenty-four forms called #i#vaibhava-vilāsa#/i#, and they are named differently according to the placement of different symbols (conch, mace, lotus and disc) in their hands. The four principal manifestations of Kṛṣṇa are found in each planet in the spiritual sky, and these planets are called Nārāyaṇaloka or Vaikuṇṭhaloka. In the Vaikuṇṭhaloka He is manifested in the four-handed form of Nārāyaṇa. From each Nārāyaṇa the forms of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are manifested. Thus Nārāyaṇa is the center, and the four forms of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha surround the Nārāyaṇa form. Each of these four forms again expand into three, and these all have different names, beginning with Keśava. These forms are twelve in all, and they are known by different names according to the placement of symbols in their hands.
#$p#As far as the Vāsudeva form is concerned, the three expansions manifested from Him are Keśava, Nārāyaṇa and Mādhava. The three forms of Saṅkarṣaṇa are known as Govinda, Viṣṇu and Śrī Madhusūdana. (It should be noted, however, that this Govinda form is not the same Govinda form that is manifested in Vṛndāvana as the son of Nanda Mahārāja.) Similarly, Pradyumna is also divided into three forms known as Trivikrama, Vāmana and Śrīdhara; and the three forms of Aniruddha are known as Hṛṣīkeśa, Padmanābha and Dāmodara.
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