Names of Krishna in BG

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The Poetics of Pretext

Krishna's Names in the Bhagavad Gita
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THE POETICS OF PRETEXTKRISHNA'S NAMES IN THE BHAGAVAD GITA

Article of the Month December 2007

Once Shri Krishna knocked at Shrimati Maharani's door and the following conversation

took place:

Radharani: Who is it?

Krishna: I am Hari.

Since the word Hari in Sanskrit also means a lion, she replied:

Radharani: There are no suitable animals of prey here, so why have you come?

Krishna: I am Madhava don't you know me?

The word Madhava, other than being a name of Krishna also means the season of spring,so came the reply:

Radharani: This is not the time for spring to come.

Krishna: I am Janardana, surely you know me?

The word Janardana holds within itself many meanings, two of which are contrary toeach other. It means both - one who causes distress to society and also one whodestroys the wicked. Obviously, Shrimati Radha chose the former meaning:

Radharani: Persons like you should stay in the forest where there are no other peopleyou can cause distress to.

Krishna: Open the door young lady, I am Madhusudana.

The word Madhusudana means both the 'killer of the demon named Madhu,' and alsomeans the honeybee, which drinks honey (madhu) from various flowers. Thus she said:

Radharani: Now I understand, you a dvirepha.

Dvirepha means both a honeybee and also an outcaste. Thus does Radharani suggest

that since Krishna has the habit of fluttering towards various gopis like the honeybee, hehas been banned from her house.

In this light banter Krishna

introduced himself with variousnames, the meanings of whichwere taken differently by

Radharani than that intended byhim. Many of these names also

occur in the sacred conversationbetween Krishna and Arjuna, theBhagavad Gita, in which contextstill other meanings are intended.

In the Bhagavad Gita there are forty different names used by Arjuna to call upon ShriKrishna. Each of these names describes an attribute or quality of god, reverberating with

Madhava Delivering the Discourse of Gita to Arjuna
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the potentiality of an inner, philosophical echo, leading to a realization of the deepermeaning of the dialogue between the two.

The different epithets used by Arjuna toaddress Krishna are not just there for the sake

of variety but meaningful to the context. This is

one of the enriching features which make thestudy of Gita a relishable exercise rather thanit being a mere pursuit of a dry philosophicaltreatise.

As the major part of the Bhagavad Gita is but a

dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna, with theformer calling upon the latter to relieve his

distress, we see a gradual shift in Arjuna'sposition as Krishna provides him relief,reflected in the tone and demeanor of hisaddress. For example, his first call to Krishnain the text is but a command given by a

warrior to his charioteer. Arjuna says:

"O Achyuta, place my chariot in between thetwo armies." (Bhagavad Gita 1.21)

Here Arjuna addresses Krishna as "Achyuta,"which means "one who never falls from his

position." This implies that Krishna, eventhough he is the supreme lord, has out ofaffection for his devotee Arjuna reducedhimself to the status of a charioteer. Howeverthis in no way compromises his supremeposition. This is akin perhaps to the situation of

a Supreme Court judge, who diligently ordersout punishments and rewards in his courtroom;

but the same person, when he comes back home, is content to play around with hisgrandson and take orders from the child.

Indeed it is the nature of the supremely compassionate Krishna to take on the slightestjob for his devotees. When Arjuna's elder brother Yudhishtra performed the greatsacrifice (yajna) known as Rajasuya, each member of the family was assigned a differentresponsibility; and what did Shri Krishna volunteer to do? The great lord took it upon

himself to wash the feet of each and every guest who came to the yajna. ThusYudhishtra says in the Bhagavata Purana:

"Just as the brilliance of the sun is neither enhanced nor diminished with the ascent ordecline of the sun, even so your actions in no way exalt or detract your glory." (10.74.4)

Obeying Arjuna's command, Krishna drove the chariot in between the two armies. We allknow what happened next. Seeing his near and dear ones arrayed opposite him, readyto lay down their lives, Arjuna was awash with a flood of sentimentality, leading toemotional exhaustion, and he found his heart sinking to never before depths of turmoil.

With his limbs shaking, Arjuna said:

"O Madhusudana, I do not wish to kill these my relatives, even though they may kill

me."(Bhagavad Gita 1.35)

Srimad Bhagavad Gita (The Scripture of

Mankind): Sanskrit Text,

Transliteration,Word-to-Word Meaning,

Translation and Detailed Notes
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The epithet Madhusudana means

the slayer of the demon named"Madhu." It refers to the

annihilation of this villain by the

lord just before the creation ofthis world. The word "madhu" inits turn means 'honey,' and thusthe demon Madhu representsattachment (raag) to this world,which seems sweet to us. Hereby,Arjuna reminds Krishna that justas he had killed the demon ofattachment before, similarly

should he do so in the presentcircumstances.

Next Arjuna queries:

"O Madhava, how can we be happy bykilling our own relatives?" (1.36)

"Ma" means Goddess Lakshmi and "dhav"

means husband. Thus the perplexedArjuna wants to point out that sinceKrishna is the lord of the goddess offortune, he should point out the waywhich would save their (Arjuna's) clan

from the impending misfortune.As the narrative proceeds, Krishnadiscourses Arjuna that the only way togain peace is through equanimity of themind, prompting the latter to say:

"The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinateand very strong. To subdue it is, O

Krishna, more difficult than controllingthe wind." (6.34)

Actually Indian Philosophy is pretty clear on the issuethat it is extremely difficult to control the mind.However, one does not need to do so, there being a

much easier way to salvation. Since the mind is notindependent, but like a prostitute goes to any object

which gains its fancy, the solution lies in wedding it toone divine husband. Truly, Krishna is the ultimate

attraction, and like a magnet drawing iron filestowards it, he too naturally attracts his devotees.Indeed, the first letter in his name is symbolic of his

'grip' over his devotees, because of the hook-likeshape in its lower half.

The Slaying of Madhu and Kaitabh

Vishnu Lakshmi - The Divine Couple
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Thus Arjuna in this verse, revealing the position of each of us, acknowledges that he isunable to divert his restless mind towards the feet of Krishna and instead imploresKrishna to do so.

Krishna gradually builds up his discourse, starting off with bold exhortations and then

gradually going on to more abstract formulations. However, the accent always is on a

partnership between man and deity. Thus Krishna says:"Those who attempt to liberate themselves from old age and death by taking refuge inme, they realize the Supreme Reality (Brahman)." (7.29)

Arjuna then questions:

"Purshottama, what is the Supreme Reality?" (8.1)

Purshottama means the "Supreme Person," obviously he is the only one who can grantthe knowledge of the Supreme Reality.

The lord then instructs Arjuna that the Supreme Reality is none other than himself, whopervades each and every aspect of the manifested existence. This prompts Arjuna tosay:

"O Keshava, I totally believe whatever you have told me as true. Neither the gods, nor

the demons, O Bhagvan, can understand you." (10.14)

Here there are two modes of addressing Krishna: Keshava and Bhagvan, both of whichare loaded with spiritual and contextual relevance. According to Shri Shankaracharya'scommentary on the Vishnu Sahasranama, the word Keshava is made up of the following:

1). "K" meaning Lord Brahma.

2). "A" meaning Lord Vishnu.

3). "Ish" meaning Lord Shiva

4). "Va" meaning form (vapu in Sanskrit).

Therefore, by calling upon god as Keshava,Arjuna communicates his realization of the fact

that it is the 'One Supreme Reality' which takesform as these three principal gods, and thus by

implication of the entire world.

The epithet Bhagvan too signifies Krishna'ssupremely abundant status, since "Bhagvan" isa technical term indicating 'One who possesses

the six kinds of splendors (shad-aishvarya)',namely:

a). Complete Prosperity

b). Dharma

c). Yasha (fame)

d). Shri (fortune)

e). Jnana (Knowledge)

f). Vairagya (Detachment)

In the next verse, Arjuna refers to Krishna withno less than five names, expressing his wonder

and reverence:

"O Supreme Person (Purushottama), Origin of

all beings (Bhuta-bhavan), Lord of all beings(Bhutesh), God of all gods (Deva-deva) and

The Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesha
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Ruler of the world (Jagatpati)." (10.15)

However, Arjuna is not satisfied with the lord's abstract formulation, and asks Krishna to

expand his discourse with easily understandable examples:

"O Janardana, my thirst for your nectar-like speech is not quenched. Therefore, kindlydescribe again your attributes in detail." (10.18)

The name Janardana is composed of two parts - 'jana' meaning the veil of ignorance

(avidya) and 'ardana' meaning the one who annihilates it.

Krishna then proceeds to explain in detail, with examples taken from the physical world,

that the whole manifested existence is but his manifestation. This forms the majority ofthe eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.

In the next chapter, Arjuna requests Krishna toshow him this Universal Form encompassing theentire world (Vishva Rupa), after seeing whichArjuna says:

"O Lord of the universe (Vishveshvara), O

Universal Form (Vishva Rupa), I see in you nobeginning, middle or end." (11.16)

Then very aptly does he call Krishna by the name

Vishnu, meaning all-pervading:

"O all-reaching Vishnu, with your gaping mouths

and glowing eyes you touch the skies." (11.24)

The sky represents the highest point the humaneyes can reach, and with his senses thusstretched to the limit, Arjuna becomes terrifiedand asks Krishna to come back to his usualsoothing form. Now at last, having understood

the true nature of Krishna does Arjunaacknowledge him as 'Hrishikesha', meaning

'master of the senses.'

"O Master of the senses, the world delights uponhearing your glory." (11.36)

Krishna as Hrishikesha is the "director" of thesenses, who now controls the reins of Arjuna'ssenses, unlike the first instance above whenArjuna "orders" Krishna to take his chariot

between the two armies.

Arjuna now apologizes for havingaddressed Krishna as a friendrather than venerating him likethe god that he truly was:

"For addressing you familiarly as'O Krishna", O Yadava, OComrade (sakha), and regardingyou merely as a friend,unknowing of this greatness ofyours, O Achyuta, OImmeasurable One, I ask for yourforgiveness." (11.41-42)

Arjuna was very fond of the name'Krishna.' He has used this epithet

The Cosmic Form of Krishna (Vishvarupa from theBhagavad Gita)

Shri Krishna's Gita Upadesha
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no less than nine times in the Gita, more than any other. The name 'Yadava' indicatesthat Krishna belonged to the Yadava clan, and Krishna and Arjuna were related to eachother as first cousins. Thus Arjuna is reminding Krishna that it was only because theywere brothers that he had taken the liberties to address him as above. However, theimmeasurable (aprameya) greatness of Krishna makes sure that Arjuna's liberties didnot at all affect his exalted status, thus is Krishna (Achyuta), "one who never falls from

his position." This name also suggests that since god is unchanging in nature, hisaffection towards Arjuna is not diminished a bit inspite of any offense committed by the

latter (or any of us).

Conclusion

The 'nameless' has a thousand names and it isthrough these names that the 'nameless' is tobe realized. Just as the forms of the divine are

unlimited, so are its attributes, excellencies,glories and the names that express them. Allthings, all persons, all phenomena, identifiableby their names, are in fact manifestations ofthe Supreme. Each name signifies an

excellence. The purpose of meditating on thegod's forms, names and lilas is to get rid of our

obsession with the name-and-form world. Theworld is too much with us. It prevents us fromrealizing the truth of the non-dual reality whichis its basis. As one thinks of the divine forms,and utters the sacred names, one's sense

faculties get sublimated.Between name and form, the former is evensuperior to and subtler than the latter. While'form' stands for the physical features of theworld of phenomena, 'name' signifies thepsychical characteristics, a much more potenttool for creative meditation.

References and Further Reading:

Bhola (tr.) Shri Vishnu Sahasranama with the Commentary of ShriShankaracharya: Gorakhpur, 2004.

Chaitanya, Krishna. The Gita for Modern Man (3rd ed.): Delhi, 1992. Chinmayananda, Swami. The Holy Geeta: Mumbai, 2002.

Dasa, Purusottama. Sri Krsna's (Krishna's) Names In Bhagavad-Gita WithCommentary by the Acaryas

Goswami, C.L. and Shastri, M.A. Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana (English

Translation in Two Volumes) Gorakhpur, 2005. Mahadevan, T.M.P. Visnu Sahasra-Nama: A Study Pati, Madhusudan. Bhagavad Gita: A Literary Elucidation

The Divine Name And Its Practice by HanumanprasadPoddar
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Ramsukhdas, Swami. Gita Gyan Praveshika: Gorakhpur, 2004. Ramsukhdas, Swami. Sadhaka Sanjivani Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita (2

vols.) Gorakhpur, 2000. Sankaranarayanan, P. (tr.) Sri Visnusahasranama Stotram (With English

Translation of the Commentary by Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada) Saraswati, Swami Akhandananda (tr). Shrimad Bhagavata Purana (2 Volumes):

Gorakhpur, 2004. Saraswati, Swami Akhandananda. Bhagawatamrit (The Elixir of the Bhagwat)

Mumbai, 2005. Saraswati, Swami Akhandananda. Shri Vishnu Sahasranama (Partial

Commentary). Vrindavan, 2007. Saraswati, Swami Akhandananda. Vibhuti Yoga (Discourses on the 10th chapter)

(2nd ed.): Varanasi, 2004.

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