SB 1.3 - Kṛṣṇa's presence throughout the Bhāgavatam

This scripture is named Bhāgavatam because it explains Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Original Personality of Godhead (svayam bhagavān). Almost half the book is dedicated to descriptions of Kṛṣṇa. And the tenth canto especially deals exclusively with Kṛṣṇa in 90 chapters. No other incarnation is described in such detail in the book.

The many exalted hearers and speakers of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam present a single, unified conclusion: Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Original Personality of Godhead. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is repeatedly described in the 18,000 verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and He is described at great length in the First, Tenth, and Eleventh Cantos.

In the Second Canto, Lord Kṛṣṇa is described as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the account of the conversation between Brahmā and Nārada. In the Third Canto, Lord Kṛṣṇa is also described in the account of the conversation between Vidura and Uddhava. In the Fourth Canto, Lord Kṛṣṇa is elaborately described, and the following verses: "That Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, who is a partial expansion of Kṛṣṇa, has now appeared in the dynasties of Yadu and Kuru merged into the forms of Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna respectively, in order to mitigate the burden of the world." (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.1.59), and "Pṛthu Mahārāja was a powerful incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potencies; consequently any narration concerning His activities is surely very pleasing to hear, and it produces all good fortune". (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.17.6) may be presented as evidence to show that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the actual subject described in the verses of the Bhāgavatam.

In this connection we may also quote the following verse from the Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.6.18): "My dear king, the Supreme Person, Mukunda, is actually the maintainer of all the members of the Pāṇḍava and Yadu dynasties. He is your spiritual master, worshipable Deity, friend, and the director of your activities." The description of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is also found in the Sixth Canto. The following verse (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.8.20) may be quoted in this connection: "May Lord Keśava protect me with His club in the first portion of the day, and may Govinda, who is always engaged in playing His flute, protect me in the second portion of the day."

That Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also described in the conversation between Nārada Muni and Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira recorded in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The unequalled power and opulence of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is described in the Eighth Canto of the Bhāgavatam. In this Canto we find the story of Kālanemi, a demon killed by Lord Viṣṇu, who is never defeated by anyone. When killed by Lord Viṣṇu, the demon Kālanemi did not attain liberation, but again appeared in the material world as King Kaṁsa. When that same demon was again killed by Lord Kṛṣṇa, the same demon immediately became liberated. From this account we may understand that demons directly killed by Lord Kṛṣṇa immediately attain liberation, although
demons killed by Lord Viṣṇu, or other forms of the Lord, do not necessarily attain liberation. By this we may see the singular power and greatness of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa is certainly the central theme of the Ninth and Tenth Cantos of the Bhāgavatam, and even at the very end of the Bhāgavatam we find the following quote (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 12.11.26): "O Kṛṣṇa, O friend of Arjuna, O chief among the descendants of Vṛṣṇi, you are the destroyer of those political parties which are disturbing elements on this earth. Your prowess never deteriorates. You are the proprietor of the transcendental abode, and You are glorified by the gopīs of Vrajabhūmi, who have all become Your maidservants. To hear Your transcendental glories brings the supreme auspiciousness. O Lord, please protect us, who are Your dependant servants."