King Kamsa not only occupied the kingdoms of the Yadu, Bhoja, and Andhaka dynasties and the kingdom of Surasena, but he also made alliances with all the other demoniac kings, as follows: the demon Pralamba, demon Baka, demon Canura, demon Trnavarta, demon Aghasura, demon Mustika, demon Arista, demon Dvivida, demon Putana, demon Kesi and demon Dhenuka. At that time, Jarasandha was the king of Magadha province (known at present as Behar state). Thus by his diplomatic policy, Kamsa consolidated the most powerful kingdom of his time, under the protection of Jarasandha. He made further alliances with such kings as Banasura and Bhaumasura, until he was the strongest. Then he began to behave most inimically towards the Yadu dynasty into which Krsna was to take His birth.

Being harassed by Kamsa, the kings of the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties began to take shelter in different states such as the state of the Kurus, the state of the Pancalas and the states known as Kekaya, Salva, Vidarbha, Nisadha, Videha and Kosala. Kamsa broke the solidarity of the Yadu Kingdom, as well as the Bhoja and Andhaka. He made his position the most solid within the vast tract of land known at that time as Bharatavarsa.

When Kamsa killed the six babies of Devaki and Vasudeva one after another, many friends and relatives of Kamsa approached him and requested him to discontinue these heinous activities. But all of them became worshipers of Kamsa.

When Devaki became pregnant for the seventh time, a plenary expansion of Krsna known as Ananta appeared within her womb. Devaki was overwhelmed both with jubilation and lamentation. She was joyful, for she could understand that Lord Visnu had taken shelter within her womb, but at the same time she was sorry that as soon as her child would come out, Kamsa would kill Him. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, being compassionate upon the fearful condition of the Yadus, due to atrocities committed by Kamsa, ordered the appearance of His Yogamaya, or His internal potency. Krsna is the Lord of the universe, but He is especially the Lord of the Yadu dynasty.

This Yogamaya is the principal potency of the Personality of Godhead. In the Vedas it is stated that the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has multipotencies. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate. All the different potencies are acting externally and internally, and Yogamaya is the chief of all potencies. He ordered the appearance of Yogamaya in the land of Vrajabhumi, in Vrndavana, which is always decorated and full with beautiful cows. In Vrndavana, Rohini, one of the wives of Vasudeva, was residing at the house of King Nanda and Queen Yasoda. Not only Rohini, but many others in the Yadu dynasty were scattered all over the country due to their fear of the atrocities of Kamsa. Some of them were even living in the caves of the mountains.

The Lord thus informed Yogamaya: "Under the imprisonment of Kamsa are Devaki and Vasudeva, and at the present moment, My plenary expansion, Sesa, is within the womb of Devaki. You can arrange the transfer of Sesa from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini. After this arrangement, I am personally going to appear in the womb of Devaki with My full potencies. Then I shall appear as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. And you shall appear as the daughter of Nanda and Yasoda in Vrndavana.

"Since you will appear as My contemporary sister, people within the world will worship you with all kinds of valuable presentations: incense, candles, flowers and offerings of sacrifice. You shall quickly satisfy their desires for sense gratificiation. People who are after materialistic affection will worship you under the different forms of your expansions, which will be named Durga, Bhadrakali, Vijaya, Vaisnavi, Kumuda, Candika, Krsna, Madhavi, Kanyaka, Maya, Narayani, Isani, Sarada and Ambika."

Krsna and Yogamaya appeared as brother and sister--the Supreme Powerful and the supreme power. Although there is no clear distinction between the Powerful and the power, power is always subordinate to the Powerful. Those who are materialistic are worshipers of the power, but those who are transcendentalists are worshipers of the Powerful. Krsna is the Supreme Powerful, and Durga is the supreme power within the material world. Actually people in the Vedic culture worship both the Powerful and the power. There are many hundreds of thousands of temples of Visnu and Devi, and sometimes they are worshiped simultaneously. The worshiper of the power, Durga, or the external energy of Krsna, may achieve all kinds of material success very easily, but anyone who wants to be elevated transcendentally must engage in worshiping the Powerful in Krsna consciousness.

The Lord also declared to Yogamaya that His plenary expansion, Ananta Sesa, was within the womb of Devaki. On account of being forcibly attracted to the womb of Rohini, He will be known as Sankarsana and would be the source of all spiritual power or bala, by which one could be able to attain the highest bliss of life which is called ramana. Therefore the plenary portion Ananta would be known after His appearance either as Sankarsana or Balarama.

In the Upanisads it is stated, Nayam atma bala hinena labhya. The purport is that one cannot attain the Supreme or any form of self-realization without being sufficiently favored by Balarama. Bala does not mean physical strength. No one can attain spiritual perfection by physical strength. One must have the spiritual strength which is infused by Balarama or Sankarsana. Ananta or Sesa is the power which sustains all the planets in their different positions. Materially this sustaining power is known as the law of gravitation, but actually it is the display of the potency of Sankarsana. Balarama or Sankarsana is spiritual power, or the original spiritual master. Therefore Lord Nityananda Prabhu, who is also the incarnation of Balarama, is the original spiritual master. And the spiritual master is the representative of Balarama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who supplies spiritual strength. In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is confirmed that the spiritual master is the manifestation of the mercy of Krsna.

When Yogamaya was thus ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, she circumambulated the Lord and then appeared within this material world according to His order. When the Supreme Powerful Personality of Godhead transferred Lord Sesa from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini, both of them were under the spell of Yogamaya, which is also called yoga-nidra. When this was done, people understood that Devaki's seventh pregnancy was a miscarriage. Thus although Balarama appeared as the son of Devaki, He was transferred to the womb of Rohini to appear as her son. After this arrangement, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, who is always ready to place His full potencies in His unalloyed devotees, entered as the Lord of the whole creation within the mind of Vasudeva. It is understood in this connection that Lord Krsna first of all situated Himself in the unalloyed heart of Devaki. He was not put into the womb of Devaki by seminal discharge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His inconceivable potency, can appear in any way. It is not necessary for Him to appear in the ordinary way by seminal injection within the womb of a woman.

When Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in the pure unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form of Krsna. The appearance of the form of Krsna anywhere, and specifically within the heart, is called dhama. Dhama does not only refer to Krsna's form, but His name, His form, His quality and His paraphernalia. Everything becomes manifest simultaneously.

Thus the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full potencies was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki, exactly as the setting sun's rays are transferred to the full moon rising in the east.

Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the body of Devaki from the body of Vasudeva. He was beyond the conditions of the ordinary living entity. When Krsna is there, it is to be understood that all His plenary expansions, such as Narayana, and incarnations like Lord Nrsimha, Varaha, etc., are with Him, and they are not subject to the conditions of material existence. In this way, Devaki became the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is one without a second and the cause of all creation. Devaki became the residence of the Absolute Truth, but because she was within the house of Kamsa, she looked just like a suppressed fire, or like misused education. When fire is covered by the walls of a pot or is kept in a jug, the illuminating rays of the fire cannot be very much appreciated. Similarly, misused knowledge, which does not benefit the people in general, is not very much appreciated. So Devaki was kept within the prison walls of Kamsa's palace, and no one could see her transcendental beauty which resulted from her conceiving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Kamsa, however, saw the transcendental beauty of his sister Devaki, and he at once concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had taken shelter in her womb. She had never before looked so wonderfully beautiful. He could distinctly understand that there was something wonderful within the womb of Devaki. In this way, Kamsa became perturbed. He was sure that the Supreme Personality of Godhead would kill him in the future and that He had now come. Kamsa began to think: "What is to be done with Devaki? Surely she has Visnu or Krsna within her womb, so it is certain that Krsna has come to execute the mission of the demigods. And even if I immediately kill Devaki, His mission cannot be frustrated." Kamsa knew very well that no one can frustrate the purpose of Visnu. Any intelligent man can understand that the laws of God cannot be violated. His purpose will be served in spite of all impediments offered by the demons. Kamsa thought: "If I kill Devaki at the present moment, Visnu will enforce His supreme will more vehemently. To kill Devaki just now would be a most abominable act. No one desires to kill his reputation, even in an awkward situation; if I kill Devaki now, my reputation will be spoiled. Devaki is a woman, and she is under my shelter; she is pregnant, and if I kill her, immediately all my reputation, the result of pious activities and duration of life, will be finished."

He also further deliberated: "A person who is too cruel, even in this lifetime is as good as dead. No one likes a cruel person during his lifetime, and after his death, people curse him. On account of his self-identification with the body, he must be degraded and pushed into the darkest region of hell." Kamsa thus meditated on all the pros and cons of killing Devaki at that time.

Kamsa finally decided not to kill Devaki right away but to wait for the inevitable future. But his mind became absorbed in animosity against the Personality of Godhead. He patiently waited for the deliverance of the child, expecting to kill Him, as he had done previously with the other babies of Devaki. Thus being merged in the ocean of animosity against the Personality of Godhead, he began to think of Krsna and Visnu while sitting, while sleeping, while walking, while eating, while working--in all the situations of his life. His mind became so much absorbed with the thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that indirectly he could see only Krsna or Visnu around him. Unfortunately, although his mind was so absorbed in the thought of Visnu, he is not recognized as a devotee because he was thinking of Krsna as an enemy. The state of mind of a great devotee is also to be always absorbed in Krsna, but a devotee thinks of Him favorably, not unfavorably. To think of Krsna favorably is Krsna consciousness, but to think of Krsna unfavorably is not Krsna consciousness.

At this time Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, accompanied by great sages like Narada and followed by many other demigods, invisibly appeared in the house of Kamsa. They began to pray for the Supreme Personality of Godhead in select prayers which are very pleasing to the devotees and which award fulfillment of their desires. The first words they spoke acclaimed that the Lord is true to His vow. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna descends in this material world just to protect the pious and destroy the impious. That is His vow. The demigods could understand that the Lord had taken His residence within the womb of Devaki in order to fulfill this vow. The demigods were very glad that the Lord was appearing to fulfill His mission, and they addressed Him as satyam param, or the Supreme Absolute Truth.

Everyone is searching after the truth. That is the philosophical way of life. The demigods give information that the Supreme Absolute Truth is Krsna. One who becomes fully Krsna conscious can attain the Absolute Truth. Krsna is the Absolute Truth. Relative truth is not truth in all the three phases of eternal time. Time is divided into past, present and future. Krsna is Truth always, past, present and future. In the material world everything is being controlled by supreme time, in the course of past, present and future. But before the creation, Krsna was existing, and when there is creation, everything is resting in Krsna, and when this creation is finished, Krsna will remain. Therefore, He is Absolute Truth in all circumstances. If there is any truth within this material world, it emanates from the Supreme Truth, Krsna. If there is any opulence within this material world, the cause of the opulence is Krsna. If there is any reputation within this material world, the cause of the reputation is Krsna. If there is any strength within this material world, the cause of such strength is Krsna. If there is any wisdom and education within this material world, the cause of such wisdom and education is Krsna. Therefore Krsna is the source of all relative truths.

This material world is composed of five principal elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether, and all such elements are emanations from Krsna. The material scientists accept these primary five elements as the cause of the material manifestation, but the elements in their gross and subtle states are produced by Krsna. The living entities who are working within this material world are also products of His marginal potency. In the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, it is clearly stated that the whole manifestation is a combination of two kinds of energies of Krsna, the superior energy and the inferior energy. The living entities are the superior energy, and the dead material elements are His inferior energy. In its dormant stage, everything remains in Krsna.

The demigods continued to offer their respectful prayers unto the supreme form of the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, by analytical study of the material manifestation. What is this material manifestation? It is just like a tree. A tree stands on the ground. Similarly, the tree of the material manifestation is standing on the ground of material nature. This material manifestation is compared with a tree because a tree is ultimately cut off in due course of time. A tree is called vrksa. Vrksa means that thing which will be ultimately cut off. Therefore, this tree of the material manifestation cannot be accepted as the Ultimate Truth. The influence of time is on the material manifestation, but Krsna's body is eternal. He existed before the material manifestation, He is existing while the material manifestation is continuing, and when it will be dissolved, He will continue to exist.

The Katha Upanisad also cites this example of the tree of material manifestation standing on the ground of material nature. This tree has two kinds of fruits, distress and happiness. Those who are living on the tree of the body are just like two birds. One bird is the localized aspect of Krsna known as the Paramatma, and the other bird is the living entity. The living entity is eating the fruits of this material manifestation. Sometimes he eats the fruit of happiness, and sometimes he eats the fruit of distress. But the other bird is not interested in eating the fruit of distress or happiness because he is self-satisfied. The Katha Upanisad states that one bird on the tree of the body is eating the fruits, and the other bird is simply witnessing. The roots of this tree extend in three directions. That means the root of the tree is the three modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Just as the tree's root expands, so, by association of the modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), one expands his duration of material existence. The taste of the fruits are of four kinds: religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and ultimately, liberation. According to the different associations in the three modes of material nature, the living entities are tasting different kinds of religiosity, different kinds of economic development, different kinds of sense gratification and different kinds of liberation. Practically all material work is performed in ignorance, but because there are three qualities, sometimes the quality of ignorance is covered with goodness or passion. The taste of these material fruits is accepted through five senses. The five sense organs through which knowledge is acquired are subjected to six kinds of whips: lamentation, illusion, infirmity, death, hunger and thirst. This material body, or the material manifestation, is covered by seven layers: skin, muscle, flesh, marrow, bone, fat and semina. The branches of the tree are eight: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego. There are nine gates in this body: the two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, one genital, one rectum. And there are ten kinds of internal air passing within the body: prana, apana, udana, vyana, samana, etc. The two birds seated in this tree, as explained above, are the living entity and the localized Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The root cause of the material manifestation described here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself and takes charge of the three qualities of the material world. Visnu takes charge of the modes of goodness, Brahma takes charge of the modes of passion, and Lord Siva takes charge of the modes of ignorance. Brahma, by the modes of passion, creates this manifestation, Lord Visnu maintains this manifestation by the modes of goodness, and Lord Siva annihilates it by the modes of ignorance. The whole creation ultimately rests in the Supreme Lord. He is the cause of creation, maintenance and dissolution. And when the whole manifestation is dissolved, in its subtle form as the energy of the Lord, it rests within the body of the Supreme Lord.

"At the present," the demigods prayed, "the Supreme Lord Krsna is appearing just for the maintenance of this manifestation." Actually the Supreme Cause is one, but, being deluded by the three modes of material nature, less intelligent persons see that the material world is manifested through different causes. Those who are intelligent can see that the cause is one, Krsna. As it is stated in the Brahma-samhita: sarva-karana-karanam. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the cause of all causes. Brahma is the deputed agent for creation, Visnu is the expansion of Krsna for maintenance, and Lord Siva is the expansion of Krsna for dissolution.

"Our dear Lord," the demigods prayed, "it is very difficult to understand Your eternal form of personality. People in general are unable to understand Your actual form; therefore You are personally descending to exhibit Your original eternal form. Somehow people can understand the different incarnations of Your Lordship, but they are puzzled to understand the eternal form of Krsna with two hands, moving among human beings exactly like one of them. This eternal form of Your Lordship is ever increasing in transcendental pleasure for the devotees. But for the nondevotees, this form is very dangerous." As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna is very pleasing to the sadhu. It is said, paritranaya sadhunam. But this form is very dangerous for the demons because Krsna also descends to kill the demons. He is, therefore, simultaneously pleasing to the devotees and dangerous to the demons.

"Our dear lotus-eyed Lord, You are the source of pure goodness. There are many great sages who simply by samadhi, or transcendentally meditating upon Your lotus feet and thus being absorbed in Your thought, have easily transformed the great ocean of nescience created by the material nature to no more than water in a calf's hoofprint." The purpose of meditation is to focus the mind upon the Personality of Godhead, beginning from His lotus feet. Simply by meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord, great sages cross over this vast ocean of material existence without difficulty.

"O self-illuminated one, the great saintly persons who have crossed over the ocean of nescience, by the help of the transcendental boat of Your lotus feet, have not taken away that boat. It is still lying on this side." The demigods are using a nice simile. If one takes a boat to cross over a river, the boat also goes with one to the other side of the river. And so when one reaches the destination, how can the same boat be available to those who are still on the other side? To answer this difficulty, the demigods say in their prayer that the boat is not taken away. The devotees still remaining on the other side are able to pass over the ocean of material nature because the pure devotees do not take the boat with them when they cross over. When one simply approaches the boat, the whole ocean of material nescience is reduced to the size of water in a calf's hoofprint. Therefore, the devotees do not need to take a boat to the other side; they simply cross the ocean immediately. Because the great saintly persons are compassionate toward all conditioned souls, the boat is still lying at the lotus feet of the Lord. One can meditate upon His feet at any time, and by so doing, one can cross over the great ocean of material existence.

Meditation means concentration upon the lotus feet of the Lord. Lotus feet indicate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who are impersonalists do not recognize the lotus feet of the Lord, and therefore their object of meditation is something impersonal. The demigods express their mature verdict that persons who are interested in meditating on something void or impersonal cannot cross over the ocean of nescience. Such persons are simply imagining that they have become liberated. "O lotus-eyed Lord! Their intelligence is contaminated because they fail to meditate upon the lotus feet of Your Lordship." As a result of this neglectful activity, the impersonalists fall down again into the material way of conditioned life, although they may temporarily rise up to the point of impersonal realization. Impersonalists, after undergoing severe austerities and penances, merge themselves into the Brahman effulgence or impersonal Brahman existence. But their minds are not free from material contamination; they have simply tried to negate the material ways of thinking. That does not mean that they have become liberated. Thus they fall down. In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that the impersonalist has to undergo great tribulation in realizing the ultimate goal. At the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is also stated that without devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot achieve liberation from the bondage of fruitive activities. The statement of Lord Krsna is there in the Bhagavad-gita, and in the Srimad-Bhagavatam the statement of the great sage Narada is there, and here also the demigods confirm it. "Persons who have not taken to devotional service are understood to have come short of the ultimate purpose of knowledge and are not favored by Your grace." The impersonalists simply think that they are liberated, but actually they have no feeling for the Personality of Godhead. They think that when Krsna comes into the material world, he accepts a material body. They therefore overlook the transcendental body of Krsna. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita: Avajananti mam mudhah. In spite of conquering material lust and rising up to the point of liberation, the impersonalists fall down. If they are engaged just in knowing things for the sake of knowledge and do not take to the devotional service of the Lord, they cannot achieve the desired result. Their achievement is the trouble they take, and that is all. It is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gita that to realize Brahman identification is not all. Brahman identification may help one become joyful without material attachment or detachment and to achieve the platform of equanimity, but after this stage, one has to take to devotional service. When one takes to devotional service after being elevated to the platform of Brahman realization, he is then admitted into the spiritual kingdom for permanent residence in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the result of devotional service. Those who are devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead never fall down like the impersonalists. Even if the devotees fall down, they remain affectionately attached to their Lordship. They can meet all kinds of obstacles on the path of devotional service, and freely, without any fear, they can surmount such obstacles. Because of their surrender, they are certain that Krsna will always protect them. As it is promised by Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita: "My devotees are never vanquished."

"Our dear Lord, You have appeared in Your original unalloyed form, the eternal form of goodness, for the welfare of all living entities within this material world. Taking advantage of Your appearance, all of them can now very easily understand the nature and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Persons who belong to the four divisions of the social order (the brahmacaris, the grhasthas, the vanaprasthas and the sannyasis) can all take advantage of Your appearance.

"Dear Lord, husband of the goddess of fortune, devotees who are dovetailed in Your service do not fall down from their high position like the impersonalists. Being protected by You, the devotees are able to traverse over the heads of many of maya's commanders-in-chief, who can always put stumbling blocks on the path of liberation. My dear Lord, You appear in Your transcendental form for the benefit of the living entities so that they can see You face to face and offer their worshipful sacrifices by ritualistic performance of the Vedas, mystic meditation and devotional service as recommended in the scriptures. Dear Lord, if You did not appear in Your eternal transcendental form, full of bliss and knowledge--which can eradicate all kinds of speculative ignorance about Your position--then all people would simply speculate about You according to their respective modes of material nature."

The appearance of Krsna is the answer to all imaginative iconography of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone imagines the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to his mode of material nature. In the Brahma-samhita it is said that the Lord is the oldest person. Therefore a section of religionists imagine that God must be very old, and therefore they depict a form of the Lord like a very old man. But in the same Brahma-samhita, that is contradicted; although He is the oldest of all living entities, He has His eternal form as a fresh youth. The exact words used in this connection in the Srimad-Bhagavatam are vijnanam ajnanabhid apamarjanam. Vijnanam means transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Personality. Vijnanam is also experienced knowledge. Transcendental knowledge has to be accepted by the descending process of disciplic succession as Brahma presents the knowledge of Krsna in the Brahma-samhita. Brahma-samhita is vijnanam as realized by Brahma's transcendental experience, and in that way he presented the form and the pastimes of Krsna in the transcendental abode. Ajnanabhid means that which can match all kinds of speculation. In ignorance, people are imagining the form of the Lord; sometimes He has no form and sometimes He has form, according to their different imaginations. But the presentation of Krsna in the Brahma-samhita is vijnanam--scientific, experienced knowledge given by Lord Brahma and accepted by Lord Caitanya. There is no doubt about it. Sri Krsna's form, Sri Krsna's flute, Krsna's color--everything is reality. Here it is said that this vijnanam is always defeating all kinds of speculative knowledge. "Therefore, without Your appearing as Krsna, as You are, neither ajnanabhid (nescience of speculative knowledge) nor vijnanam would be realized. Ajnanabhid apamarjanam--by Your appearance the speculative knowledge of ignorance will be vanquished and the real experienced knowledge of authorities like Lord Brahma will be established. Men influenced by the three modes of material nature imagine their own God according to the modes of material nature. In this way God is presented in various ways, but Your appearance will establish what the real form of God is."

The highest blunder committed by the impersonalist is to think that when the incarnation of God comes, He accepts the form of matter in the modes of goodness. Actually the form of Krsna or Narayana is transcendental to any material idea. Even the greatest impersonalist, Sankaracarya, has admitted that narayanah paro vyaktat: the material creation is caused by the avyakta impersonal manifestation of matter or the nonphenomenal total reservation of matter, and Krsna is transcendental to that material conception. That is expressed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam as suddha-sattva, or transcendental. He does not belong to the material mode of goodness, and He is above the position of material goodness. He belongs to the transcendental eternal status of bliss and knowledge.

"Dear Lord, when You appear in Your different incarnations, You take different names and forms according to different situations. Lord Krsna is Your name because You are all attractive; You are called Syamasundara because of Your transcendental beauty. Syama means blackish, yet they say that You are more beautiful than thousands of Cupids. Kandarpa-koti-kamaniya. Although You appear in a color which is compared to the blackish cloud, because You are transcendental Absolute, Your beauty is many many times more attractive than the delicate body of Cupid. Sometimes You are called Giridhari because You lifted the hill known as Govardhana. You are sometimes called Nandanandana or Vasudeva or Devakinandana because You appear as the son of Maharaja Nanda or Devaki or Vasudeva. Impersonalists think that Your many names or forms are according to a particular type of work and quality because they accept You from the position of a material observer.

"Our dear Lord, the way of understanding is not to study Your absolute nature, form and activities by mental speculation. One must engage himself in devotional service; then one can understand Your absolute nature, transcendental form, name and quality. Actually only a person who has a little taste for the service of Your lotus feet can understand Your transcendental nature or form and quality. Others may go on speculating for millions of years, but it is not possible for them to understand even a single part of Your actual position." In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, cannot be understood by the nondevotees because there is a curtain of Yogamaya which covers Krsna's actual features. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, naham prakasah sarvasya. The Lord says, "I am not exposed to anyone and everyone." When Krsna came, He was actually present on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, and everyone saw Him. But not everyone could understand that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Still, everyone who died in His presence attained complete liberation from material bondage and was transferred to the spiritual world.

"O Lord, the impersonalists or nondevotees cannot understand that Your name is identical with Your form." Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His name and His actual form. In the material world there is a difference between form and name. The mango fruit is different from the name of the mango. One cannot taste the mango fruit simply by chanting, "Mango, mango, mango." But the devotee who knows that there is no difference between the name and the form of the Lord chants Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare and realizes that he is always in Krsna's company.

For persons who are not very advanced in absolute knowledge of the Supreme, Lord Krsna exhibits His transcendental pastimes. They can simply think of the pastimes of the Lord and get the full benefit. Since there is no difference between the transcendental name and form of the Lord, there is no difference between the transcendental pastimes and the form of the Lord. For those who are less intelligent (like women, laborers or the mercantile class), the great sage Vyasadeva wrote Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata, Krsna is present in His different activities. Mahabharata is history, and simply by studying, hearing and memorizing the transcendental activities of Krsna, the less intelligent can also gradually rise to the standard of pure devotees.

The pure devotees, who are always absorbed in the thought of the transcendental lotus feet of Krsna and who are always engaged in devotional service in full Krsna consciousness, are never to be considered to be in the material world. Sri Rupa Gosvami has explained that those who are always engaged in Krsna consciousness, by body, mind and activities, are to be considered liberated even within this body. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita: those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Lord have already transcended the material position.

Krsna appears to give a chance both to the devotees and nondevotees for realization of the ultimate goal of life. The devotees get the direct chance to see Him and worship Him. Those who are not on that platform get the chance to become acquainted with His activities and thus become elevated to the same position.

"O dear Lord," the demigods continued, "You are unborn; therefore we do not find any reason for Your appearance other than for Your pleasurable pastimes." Although the reason for the appearance of the Lord is stated in the Bhagavad-gita (He descends just to give protection to the devotee and vanquish the nondevotee), actually He descends for His pleasure-meeting with the devotees, not really to vanquish the nondevotees. The nondevotees can be vanquished simply by material nature. "The action and reaction of the external enregy of material nature (creation, maintenance and annihilation) are being carried on automatically. But simply by taking shelter of Your holy name--because Your holy name and Your personality are nondifferent--the devotees are sufficiently protected." The protection of the devotees and the annihilation of the nondevotees are actually not the business of the Supreme Personality of Godhead when He descends. They are just for His transcendental pleasure. There cannot be any other reason for His appearance.

"Our dear Lord, You are appearing as the best of the Yadu dynasty, and we are offering our respectful humble obeisances unto Your lotus feet. Before this appearance, You also appeared as the fish incarnation, the horse incarnation, the tortoise incarnation, the swan incarnation, as King Ramacandra, as Parasurama, and as many other incarnations. You appeared just to protect the devotees, and we request You in Your present appearance as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself to give us similar protection all over the three worlds and remove all obstacles for the peaceful execution of our lives.

"Dear mother Devaki, within your womb is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appearing along with all His plenary extensions. He is the original Personality of Godhead appearing for our welfare. Therefore you should not be afraid of your brother, the King of Bhoja. Your son Lord Krsna, who is the original Personality of Godhead, will appear for the protection of the pious Yadu dynasty. The Lord is appearing not only alone but accompanied by His immediate plenary portion, Balarama."

Devaki was very much afraid of her brother Kamsa because he had already killed so many of her children. She used to remain very anxious about Krsna. In the Visnu Purana it is stated that in order to pacify Devaki, all the demigods, along with their wives, used to always visit her to encourage her not to be afraid that her son would be killed by Kamsa. Krsna, who was within her womb, was to appear not only to diminish the burden of the world but specifically to protect the interest of the Yadu dynasty, and certainly to protect Devaki and Vasudeva.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Chapter of Krsna, "Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb."