TLC 6 (1968)
His Forms are One and the Same
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.