Why Krishn is Called Poorn Avataar?
Taken from a
Web Site
Lord Krishn was not a
human but was God Himself. He is the Purush at the center of the lunar orbit
known as Purush. His elder brother is Shesh Naag or the Adhik-maas, which makes
way for the Shuddh lunar months. We cannot have Shuddh lunar months if we do not
have Adhik-maas. Thus Adhik-maas which comes first is the elder brother of
Krishn (Purush of Shuddh Maas). Total, there are about 33 lunar months from one
Adhik-maas to another one. When we multiply this by 30 days in each month we
have, about 990 days or say, about 1000 days. This one thousand days is
represented by 1000 arms of His Vishwa Roop, which was shown to Arjun before the
MBH war started. Raamaayan is the story of one year (Bhaarat Varsh) and MBH is
the story of about 3 years from one Adhik-maas to another Adhik-maas. Thus both
these epics are legends to illustrate certain spiritual facts and are never the
history as many people are prone to believe. Mahaatmaa Gandhi also thought them
both to be allegorical legends. There is a difference of one day between one
solar and the one lunar month. This remainder 1 day adds to 11 days in one year
and to 30 days in about three years. Remainder is known as 'Shesh'. Thus the
33rd month which is the Adhik-maas or extra month becomes like a sleeping Naag
Konas the Shesh Naag of the Sun or Vishnu. This Shesh Naag representing the
difference of the solar and the lunar months is Balaraam.
People say that
Krishn was Poorn Avataar : an absolute incarnation. What is the meaning of Poorn
Avataar? In fact Poorn Avataar is not an Avataar in real meaning, but The Lord
Himself; hence it should possess all the characteristics of The Lord. Some
special features and missions of Lord Krishn are enumerated below.
1. Implied meaning of some members of the family and relatives :
1.1 The brother : Balaraam was Krishn’s brother. He carries a plough shaped like
‘ ८ ’ (8) the number eight in Sanskrit in His hand. This implies that He has
control over Prakriti consisting of the eight principles. The eight principles
of Prakriti are the five basic cosmic elements, the mind, the subconscious mind
and the intellect.
1.2 The maternal uncle : Kans was the brother of Krishn’s mother Devakee. Once
when King Ugrasen had gone on a battle, a demon expressed the desire to have
intercourse with his queen, Pavankumari. In response she said, “I am willing
provided the child born from this union will become an emperor.” The demon
agreed to this and so Kansa was born. Kansa thus had a demoniacal rather than a
Saatwik attitude unlike King Ugrasen. Later Krishn slew Kans. Literally in
arithmetic Kans means a bracket ( ) which symbolizes limitation. Since Kans’s
prowess was limited, he could not withstand Krishn.
1.3 The wives : Rukminee was Krishn’s chief queen. His seven other main queens
were Satyabhaamaa, Jaambavatee, Kaalindee, Mitravindaa, Satyaa, Bhadraa and
Lakshmanaa. These eight queens represent the eightfold Prakriti. The implied
meaning is that the eight principles are within the control of Krishn. Krishn
married the 16,000 princesses imprisoned by Narakaasur after freeing them, so
that they acquired social status. The 16,000 princesses represent the 16,000
spiritual energy flow channels (Naadees) in the body. Marrying them means
activating them.
2. Special features and mission :
2.1 Childhood : From birth till the naming : Devakee and Vasudev were the parents
of Krishn. On the command of Lord Vishnu, the Great Illusion (Yog Maayaa) placed
the seventh child of Devakee in the womb of Vasudev’s second wife, Rohinee and
Herself entered the womb of Devakee. After birth when Kans came to kill Her, She
escaped from his clutches and left for Her abode. Krishn is Devakee’s eighth
child. After He was born, Vasudev took Him to the home of Nand and Yashoda in
Gokul. Vasudev also sent Rohinee along with her son to Gokul. The priest of the
Yadu dynasty, Sage Garg at the request of Vasudev, secretly performed the naming
ceremony of both the children, Rohinee’s son as Raam and Devakee’s as Krishn.
Later Raam came to be known as Balaraam because of the tremendous strength that
He possessed.
2.2. Childhood only for 11 years : Krishn went to Mathura to slay Kans at the age
of 11 years. It was then that His childhood ended.
The region on the outskirts of Mathura is called Vrij (व्रज). ‘व्रजन्ति
गावो यस्मिन्निति
व्रज:|’
means the place where cattle graze and roam is Vrij. Since Infant Krishn’s
divine play took place here, this place is said to be sacred.
2.3 Intelligent : After the slaying of Kans and the thread ceremony, Balaraam
and Krishn went to the Aashram of Guru Saandeepan in the city of Avantee. There
within a span of sixty-four days He learnt the fourteen types of sciences (Vidyaa)
and the sixty-four arts (Kalaa).
2.4 Elders heeded His advice : He was close even to people who were much older
than Him. At the age of just seven Krishn did not allow the milkmaids to go to
Mathura because He did not want the money that was procured by selling milk to
evil Kans. Since then, the elders began to heed His advice and He proved true
to their faith.
3. Bestower of spiritual experiences :
3.1 Once the cowherds (Gop) told Yashodaa, “Krishn has swallowed mud.” So, she
asked Krishn to open His mouth. When He opened it, she got the vision of the
entire universe in it. This example illustrates how an incarnation carries out
its mission even in childhood.
3.2 On a moonlit night in autumn (Sharad) He performed the Raas dance (Raas
Kreedaa) with Gopee (wives of the cowherds) in Gokul. At that time they
experienced Bliss (Brahmaanand).
3.3 When Akroor Jee were taking Balaraam and Krishn to Mathuraa for Kans' Dhanush
Yagya, He showed him His real firm and Lok under Yamunaa waters.
4. Physical :
4.1
Krishn’s beauty was unparalleled. All would get enticed by it.
4.2
He lifted Govardhan Parvat on the little finger of His left hand for 7 days and
7 nights continuously. The then only Kans doubted 4.3 that He was not an ordinary
child, and he must be the 8th child of Devakee.
4.4
They killed Chaanoor and Mushtik like wrestler at a tender age of 12.
5. Historical :
5.1 To capture Krishn, Jarasandha’s armies surrounded Mathuraa 18 times - each
time with 20 Akshauhinee army. Nowhere in the world have so many attempts been
made to capture an individual.
5.2 Kans ferried 280 elephants on wooden rafts across the Yamunaa river. He
surrounded Mathuraa for three months, but Krishn could not be captured because
He would change His home everyday. Apart from this the thousand children living
in Mathura wore peacock feathers in their hair to resemble Krishn. Kans’ soldiers
assaulted them, yet they did not reveal ‘who the real Krishn was’.
6. Familial :
6.1 The ideal son : Krishn always behaved in such a way which pleased both His
parents Vasudev and Devakee and His guardians Nand and Yashodaa.
6.2 The ideal brother : Krishn would always respect His elder brother, Balaraam.
6.3 The ideal husband : When it is so difficult to please just one wife, Krishn
pleased 16,008 wives. Naarad’s attempts to create strife between them failed.
6.4 The ideal father : Because His sons behaved unrighteously, He Himself slew
them during the battle of the Yadus.
6.5 The ideal friend : Krishn affectionately welcomed His poverty-stricken childhood
friend Sudaamaa even when He became the ruler of Dwaarakaa. Due to His friendship
with the Paandav, He constantly rushed to their aid. The Paandav worshipped Krishn
as a friend (Sakhya Bhakti).
7. A lover of arts :
Krishn loved the arts of dance, music, etc and was an expert in them. His
playing of the flute and His performance of the Raas dance (Raas Kreedaa) are
famous. Even the animals and birds would get enticed when He played the flute.
8. Social :
8.1 The one who did not tolerate injustice (valorous) : Krishn either fought
Himself or assisted others in fighting the injustice caused by Kans, Jaraasandh,
the Kaurav, etc.
8.2 The one who was conscientious about His duties towards society : Realizing
that the 16,000 princesses released from Narakaasur’s prison would not have
any social standing which would result in several problems, Krishn married them.
8.3 The one who worked
for the welfare of others : Some people criticize Krishn’s behavior. However all
that He did was for others’ welfare. At times, He even broke norms, for instance,
when slaying Jaraasandh, during the abduction of Subhadraa so that she could marry
Arjun, abducting Rukminee so that she could use her right to choose her husband,
marrying the 16,000 women, etc. During the MBH war He had pledged that ‘He would
not wield a weapon’. Yet to fulfill Bheeshm’s vow that ‘I will make Krishn wield
a weapon’, Krishn broke His vow and attacked Bheeshm with a weapon (a wheel).
8.4 The one who guided
others for the welfare of society : ‘Protection of society was His objective and
He had realized that it was necessary to annihilate the troublemakers and evildoers
to achieve this end. Destruction of evildoers is never possible by remaining steadfast
unto truth and purity alone. Realizing this sad shortcoming in the history of mankind,
to protect truth and purity they have to be curbed in worldly interactions. If that is
not done, then in this lawless world, cruel demons triumph, society deteriorates and
the subjects are destroyed. This was the firm decision of His intellect. It is because
of this that many a time “Often the untruth seems superior to the truth”, “One has to
give up Righteousness (Dharm) and fight”, “Bheemsen will not be successful if he fights
righteously, it is essential to fight un-righteously”, was the advice that He often
preached.’
9. An expert politician
9.1 An excellent orator : With His eloquent speeches, Krishn was able to win over
several people in the camp of the Paandav.
9.2 An ideal ambassador : Krishn presented the case of the Paandav in the royal
court of the Kaurav in an excellent manner when He went there as a Peace messenger.
9.3 The one who made good use of psychology : Krishn told Karn the secret of his
birth at an appropriate moment only so that it can upset his mental composure and
he can defect himself from Kaurav's side.
9. Regarding battle :
9.1 An expert in warfare:
--A master in archery : Akin to Arjun, Krishn won over His queen Lakshmanaa by
striking the eye of a fish with His arrow.
--A master in wielding the mace : Krishn slew Vakradant in a fight using mace.
--A master wrestler : Krishn slew Chaanoor in a fist fight (Mushti Yuddh).
--A master in chariot driving : everybody knows that he was the chariot driver
of Arjun. Even Karn acknowledged His excellence when he requested Shalya to
become his charioteer, "Arjun has an expert chariot driver, but I don't. If you
will become my chariot driver, I will fight with him with confidence."
9.2 Brave and valiant : Krishn slew several evil monarchs and demons possessing illusory powers.
9.3 Brave :
Though Jaraasandh and Kaalayavan, two powerful kings attacked at the same time, Krishn
bravely protected the Yaadav and killed Kaalayavan too at the same time
9.4 An excellent charioteer :
In the MBH war Krishn skillfully steered Arjun’s chariot.
10. Selfless :
Krishn slew Kans and several other kings, established the golden city of
Dwaarakaa, yet did not ascend the throne. Despite this undoubtedly He was the
uncrowned emperor of His times.
11. Politeness :
During the Raajsooya sacrificial fire (Yagya) of the Paandav, Krishn washed the
feet of the Braahman and even cleared up the leftovers food from others’ plates.
12. A great philosopher :
The philosophy preached by Krishn is given in the Geetaa. ‘In His philosophy
Krishn has shown the appropriate admixture of attachment and detachment. He has
accepted the Path of Action (Karm Yog) according to the Ved, Path of Knowledge
according to the Saankhya philosophy, suppression of the tendencies of the
subconscious mind according to the Path of Yog and renunciation (Sanyaas)
according to the Vedaant, but has opposed the view that each one of them is the
ultimate by itself as proposed by them. He balanced the appropriate significant
part of each one harmoniously and created a new doctrine based on actions devoid
of expectations or results. In the Bhagvad Geetaa He has mainly preached how one
should carry out one’s duty. The scriptures decide what one’s duties should be,
but He has explained excellently how to execute them well. In the Bhagvad Geetaa
He has narrated to Arjun how to convert attachment to detachment and vice versa
and how man should execute his duties.’
After the war, Arjun
requests Krishn to tell him Geetaa once more as he did not remember it because
at that he was in different mood. Krishn politely said - "I cannot also repeat
it as it is, because that was a different occasion, but then he preached him
another time that is known as
Anu Geetaa.
13. The Guru :
Krishn eliminated Arjun’s doubts by narrating the Geetaa to him verbally and
imparting him with spiritual experiences which are beyond words. During the MBH
war Krishn had adopted the Gyaan Mudraa (Mudraa of knowledge).
14. The one with the attributes of God :
1. Supernatural powers and a peacock feather : Krishn had eighteen supernatural
powers in all, eight being the eight great supernatural powers (Asht Siddhi) -
His eight wives and the rest His own (God’s) 10 supernatural powers. It was with
one of these 10 supernatural powers that Krishn assuming a form of the provider
of clothes saved Droupadi’s honor by providing clothing to her when she was
being stripped in the court of the Kaurav.
The centre of minute
observation is the focus of super sensory energy. When it gets activated the
house of Vaishwaanar and the horoscope in it assume the form of a peacock feather.
The peacock feather adorned by Lord Krishn signified that this center in Him was
perpetually active.
For more information on this refer ‘Science of Spirituality : Vol. 18 - Path of
Activation of Spiritual Energy (Kundalini Yoga) and Path of Transfer of Energy
(Shaktipat Yog)’.
2. A lover of all living
beings : When the king of bears Jaambvant, requested Krishn to marry his daughter
Jaambavatee, despite opposition from others, He married her. It is difficult for one
to even conceive of such an idea.
15. Effects of His Special features :
The following examples will illustrate the effects of all His special features on others.
(1) In the MBH war,
no one ventured to attack Krishn, only the other charioteers were attacked.
(2) After the war, there was a conversation between a vulture and a fox about
the deceased. In it, they have discussed the faults of all men, including those
of Yudhishthir; but not a single one of Krishn.