Who is supreme God? Krishna or Vishnu?
Who is supreme? Krishna or Vishnu? Who is first? Krishna or Vishnu?
(Below are excerpts from various online discussions among mythology experts)
While Bhagvadgeeta states clearly that Krishna is supreme and first God, the other vedic scriptures also support that Krishna is supreme god. Krishna is the original Supreme Person. Vishnu is an expansion of Krishna, not the other way around. Krishna is Supreme perdonality of godhead because only he possesses all six facets/traits, namely Most Powerful, Beautiful, Rich, Intelligent, Renunciator and Fame. Above stated six qualities can be found only in Krishna. Brihma-Vishnu-Mahesh are the planetary ecpansion of Krishna.
(Bramhasanhita 5.1): "Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes."
(Bramhasanhita 5.39): "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who by His various plenary portions appeared in the world in different forms and incarnations, such as Lord Rama, but who personally appears in His supreme original form as Lord Krishna."
(Bramhasanhita 5.46): "Krishna being the original cause of everything, is the Supreme Person who expands Himself as Vishnu the same way a bright candle kindles another candle. Although there is no difference between the power of one candle and another, Krishna is compared to the original candle."
(Bhagvatam. 1.3.28) "All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Sri Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead."
(Brahma vaivarta purana 1.1.4): “I offer obeisances to Lord krishna,who is beyond the three modes of material nature(sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna). Lord Achyuta is the supreme Brahman. From him, have appeared lord brahma, lord vishnu, lord shiva and the entire material world.”
(Bhagavata purana 12.13.1): “I offer my obeisances unto Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahma, Rudra, Indra, Varuna and all the other demigods glorify Him by chanting transcendental hymns and reciting the Vedas and Upanisads. He is the Supreme Person of whom the chanters of the Sama Veda always sing. The perfected yogis see Him within their minds after fixing themselves in trance and absorbing themselves within him. His limit can never be found by any demigod or demon.”
(Garuda purana,Brahma Khanda 3.2.34): “You are the highest. You are the best of all the devatas. There is no one equal to you,then how can there be anyone superior to you. You alone are known as brahman. And no one else like brahma, rudra, brihaspati and not even me.”
(Vishnu purana 1.9.49) “One who is the prime cause of all the various causes, to that supreme lord Krishna, I offer my obeisances.”
In puranas assigned to Brahma, he is the Supreme Being who created the universe and Vishnu and Shiva are also part of him. In one of the puranras assigned to Vishnu, Brahma was born out of Vishnu's navel. The bhagwat purana describes about Vishnu and his incarnations where Krishna is one of them. If someone considers Bhagwat Geeta as the supreme book then Krishna is the Supreme Being and Vishnu is the incarnation of Krishna. It all depends on the interpretation and your perspective.You will choose according to you character and intelligence. You may prefer relationship with God in his majestic form, and then you will surrender to Vishnu and consider Him to be Supreme. If you prefer the sweet form of the Lord, Krishna is your choice. Regardless of your choice, Krishna remains the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
(Below are excerpts from various online discussions among mythology experts)
While Bhagvadgeeta states clearly that Krishna is supreme and first God, the other vedic scriptures also support that Krishna is supreme god. Krishna is the original Supreme Person. Vishnu is an expansion of Krishna, not the other way around. Krishna is Supreme perdonality of godhead because only he possesses all six facets/traits, namely Most Powerful, Beautiful, Rich, Intelligent, Renunciator and Fame. Above stated six qualities can be found only in Krishna. Brihma-Vishnu-Mahesh are the planetary ecpansion of Krishna.
(Bramhasanhita 5.1): "Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes."
(Bramhasanhita 5.39): "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who by His various plenary portions appeared in the world in different forms and incarnations, such as Lord Rama, but who personally appears in His supreme original form as Lord Krishna."
(Bramhasanhita 5.46): "Krishna being the original cause of everything, is the Supreme Person who expands Himself as Vishnu the same way a bright candle kindles another candle. Although there is no difference between the power of one candle and another, Krishna is compared to the original candle."
(Bhagvatam. 1.3.28) "All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Sri Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead."
(Brahma vaivarta purana 1.1.4): “I offer obeisances to Lord krishna,who is beyond the three modes of material nature(sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna). Lord Achyuta is the supreme Brahman. From him, have appeared lord brahma, lord vishnu, lord shiva and the entire material world.”
(Bhagavata purana 12.13.1): “I offer my obeisances unto Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahma, Rudra, Indra, Varuna and all the other demigods glorify Him by chanting transcendental hymns and reciting the Vedas and Upanisads. He is the Supreme Person of whom the chanters of the Sama Veda always sing. The perfected yogis see Him within their minds after fixing themselves in trance and absorbing themselves within him. His limit can never be found by any demigod or demon.”
(Garuda purana,Brahma Khanda 3.2.34): “You are the highest. You are the best of all the devatas. There is no one equal to you,then how can there be anyone superior to you. You alone are known as brahman. And no one else like brahma, rudra, brihaspati and not even me.”
(Vishnu purana 1.9.49) “One who is the prime cause of all the various causes, to that supreme lord Krishna, I offer my obeisances.”
In puranas assigned to Brahma, he is the Supreme Being who created the universe and Vishnu and Shiva are also part of him. In one of the puranras assigned to Vishnu, Brahma was born out of Vishnu's navel. The bhagwat purana describes about Vishnu and his incarnations where Krishna is one of them. If someone considers Bhagwat Geeta as the supreme book then Krishna is the Supreme Being and Vishnu is the incarnation of Krishna. It all depends on the interpretation and your perspective.You will choose according to you character and intelligence. You may prefer relationship with God in his majestic form, and then you will surrender to Vishnu and consider Him to be Supreme. If you prefer the sweet form of the Lord, Krishna is your choice. Regardless of your choice, Krishna remains the Supreme Personality of Godhead.