Bhagavad-Gita: Chapter 10, Verse 12, 13

Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Visnuswami

Sridhara Swami's Commentary

Wishing to know in more and more detail about Lord Krishna's vibhuti or phenomenal transcendental opulence which have briefly been stated previously, Arjuna praises the Supreme Lord Krishna in this verse and the next six specifying that He alone is param brahma the Supreme Ultimate Truth, the absolute Lord of all and param dhama the Supreme Ultimate Absolute Abode of all. The most holy, the most sacred, the most exalted, the pinnacle of attainment. Why is this so? Because the Vedas sing His glories and call Him resplendent, self-effulgent, eternal and everlasting. Without a beginning, omniscient, omnipotent and all pervading. The primeval Lord of all lords, the primordial God of all gods, the source of every and any and all conceivable divinity. Who claims this so? All the mahatmanas or great liberated sages such as Asita, Devala and Bhrgu as well as avatars or divine incarnations such as Narada and Vyasa. And now Lord Krishna is revealing this as well.

Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Madhvacarya

Madhvacarya's Commentary

The brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence is entirely complete within itself. This is why the Supreme Lord is called param brahma or the Supreme Brahma because He is even more superior. Since it assumes unlimited forms it is known as omni-present. The Varuna Purana states: All pervading, the energiser, the first before all, the Supreme Lord verily expands Himself as unlimitedly and by His will He becomes the many.

Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Ramanuja

Ramanuja's Commentary

The Supreme Lord Krishna is He whom all the Vedic scriptures proclaim as param brahma the Supreme Ultimate Truth, param dhama the Supreme Ultimate Shelter and pavitram paramam the Supreme Purifier. The Taittiriya Upanisad III.I.I beginning yato va imani bhutani jayante states: Search for Him alone from whom all existence arises, upon whom all beings exist and into whom they enter and merge. He the Supreme Lord is param brahma and the Tattiriya Upanisad II.I.I beginning brahma vid apnoti param states: The knower of param brahma attains the Supreme State. The Mundaka Upanisad III.II.IX beginning sa yo ha vai tat param brahma states: Is not one who realises param brahma infused with awareness of brahman the spiritual substratum pervading all existence. The Mundaka Upanisad III.II.I beginning sa vedaitat paramam dhama states: Param dhama equals param jyotih or supernal transcendental divine light. The Chandogya Upanisad III.XIII.VII beginning atha yad atah paro divo, jyotir dipyate states: Now above all that is perceived the supernal transcendental divine light shines forth. The Chandogya Upanisad VIII:III.IV beginning param jyotir upasampadya svena rupena states: Reaching unto the supernal, transcendental, divine light one resurrects themselves into their own essential spiritual nature. Similarly paramam pavitram the Supreme Holy sanctifier, the Supreme Lord who purifies His devotees of all sins. The sins of purvagha one committed in the past as well as the sins of uttaragha which may be committed in the future. The Chandogya Upanisad IV.XIV.III beginning yatha pushkara palasa apo naslishyanta evam states: As water is not able to wet the lotus leaf, evil is not able to influence one who has realised the Supreme. The Chandogya Upanisad V.XXIV.III beginning tad yatheshika-tulam agnau states: As the tip of a reed cast into a fire is at once burnt to ashes, so indeed are the sins of one who has realised the Supreme Being become consumed.

All the mahatmanas or great, liberated sages such as Narada and Vyasa who possess enlightened cognition of truths both eternal and temporary, declare that Lord Krishna is the Eternal, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Supreme Absolute Truth and Ultimate Attainment. Wherever the Supreme Lord Krishna has been present that world becomes highly blest and accrues eternal benedictions forever. Those who are knowledgeable about the meaning of the Vedic scriptures and who have realised the ultimate spiritual truths declare Lord Krishna to be the Supreme Absolute Truth. Of all purifiers He is the most pure and sanctifying. Of all the virtuous indeed He is the Supreme virtue and of things auspicious He is the origin and generator of all that is auspicious. Wherever the Supreme Lord Krishna is present or any of His incarnations and expansions authorised by Vedic scriptures then there all the universes, all the cosmos, all sacred places and all creation also abide. There should be no doubt whatsoever about this. The Supreme Lord Krishna is the sole origin and sole conclusion of all realities. Arjuna now exclaims that Lord Krishna Himself has also corroborated what the mahatmanas have proclaimed earlier in chapter seven, verse four that all the elements of material existence for all objects and all beings manifest from His seperated eightfold energies which are: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. Also in verse eight of this chapter Lord Krishna explains that He is original generating cause of all causes. So this points are implicitly clear.

Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Nimbaditya

Kesava Kasmiri's Commentary

Listening attentively to the Supreme Lord Krishna's unequivocal vibhuti or transcendental opulence, and unlimited supremacy in brief, Arjuna appetite for hearing more increased and he became enthusiastic to learn more and more about the infinite, divine glories of Lord Krishna and in order to assure the Lord that he was fully convinced of everything that was told to him, Arjuna first confirms Lord Krishna is the Supreme Absolute Truth with the words param brahma and then he confirms that Lord Krihsna is the shelter of all creation with the words param dhama and then he verifies these statements as being in total agreement with the mahatmanas or great liberated sages such as Narada and Vyasa who are able to perceive all truths and who can see the subtlest reality speak of Lord Krishna as the purest of the purest, the auspicious of the auspicious, self-manifest, self- effulgent, eternal, immutable, of unchangeable, divine form, the ultimate goal, residing in the highest, paramount spiritual abode as a personality with transcendental qualities, features and attributes. The prime cause of all causes, the source and origin of all that exists. omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and all pervading. The Vedic scriptures declare this to be the absolute truth, the mahatmanas proclaim this to be the absolute truth and Lord Krishna Himself also verifies that this is the absolute truth.

In Bhisma Parva of Mahabharata there is a hymn by Brahma that states: O king by brahmins, sages and demigods it was told in ancient times that the Supreme Lord Krishna is the God above all other gods such as myself and Shiva. The celestial sage Narada declared Lord Krishna as knowing the minds and hearts of all beings. The venerated sage Markandeya Rishi expressed Lord Krishna as embodying past, present and future. Venerable Bhrgu named Lord Krishna as the austerity of all austerities and the yagna or worshipful propitiation of all yagna. Vyasa proclaimed that Lord Krishna's form is sac-cid-ananda unlimited knowledge, eternal existence and unending bliss. Lord Krishna is the bestower of moksa or liberation from material existence and He appoints Indra the ruler of the demigods on his throne in the heavenly worlds. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Lord of all lords and gods and every other conception of divinity.

The sage Angiras at the time of creation declared Lord Krishna as Daksa- Prajapati the creator of all lords, gods and demigods. The sage Devala proclaimed Lord Krishna was unmanifest in the body but manifest in the heart and mind of all beings. The sage Asita expressed Lord Krishna as pervading the sky with His head and the Earth with His chest while His stomach represents the three worlds. The four Kumaras headed by Sanat eulogise Lord Krishna as param brahma the supreme, eternal personality, parama dhama the supreme shelter, the ultimate goal for those endowed with the fruits of austerities, those who are self-satisfied and content through self-realisation and for those great, royal kings who are irrevocably committed to war and battle for the sake of establishing righteousness. So in all these various ways the Supreme Lord Krishna is worshipped and glorified by realised beings.

Also in the Bhishma Parva there is a dialogue between the Brahma and Narada and the Gandharvas who are celestial singers, musicians and dancers were extremely astonished to see Brahma exhibit great reverence and were eager to know who it was that he praised so wonderfully with such eloquent hymns. Being pleased Brahma stated: O best of beings I spoke with the Supreme Lord with joy who is neti neti or transcendental to this and that and beyond becoming and coming into being. The Supreme Lord Krishna is the atma or eternal soul of all beings and the Supreme Goal of all beings. I humbly prayed to Him to bless this world and evoked Him to come with the prayer: O Supreme Lord Krishna, I beseech you to bestow your causeless mercy and come to this world of mortals and appear on this Earth for the destruction of the demoniac. The demons such as the sons of Diti and Danu and the hosts of demoniac beings that were terminated by You in previous epochs, have now taken birth on Earth with terrible forms and great might. In order to eradicate the demoniac presence on Earth the Supreme Lord Krishna in association with Nara will manifest in His avatar or incarnation as Narayana and appearing in a human form will move about the Earth establishing righteousness. Those same two ancient and great sages of infallible lustre known as Nara-Narayana who were invincible in battle against all the demoniac hosts have appeared upon Earth again as Lord Krishna in His original form along with His friend and devotee Arjuna to destroy all the demoniac forces once more. The infatuated and deluded are unable to understand and perceive Him who is my eternal liege and Lord.

The Supreme Lord Krishna, the Paramount Lord of all creation and the ultimate goal of all beings should be the sole object of all endeavours and worship. The Supreme absolute ruler of all creation should never be forgotten or neglected. He is the highest reality, the Supreme glory, the ultimate destination, imperishable, eternal, the cause and the source of all that exists. Whose nama or name, rupa or transcendental form, lila or divine pastimes and dhama or eternal abode are sung and glorified throughout the Vedic scriptures. But who at the same time is beyond the scope of worldly knowledge. So all the demigods, humans and gods should never disregard Lord Krishna's words which precisely presents the ultimate truth and one should never disrespect His activities which concisely represents the ultimate reality. Yet because His eternal, transcendental body appears in human form the foolish and deluded of wretched conception look at the infallible Supreme Lord as a mere human being and fallible like themselves.

In the Harivamsa there is a passage where Shiva instructs some brahmin sages stating: O' devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna who have realised the truth. He is the ultimate reality and propitiation unto Him is the ultimate austerity. As there is nothing higher or superior to Him one should always meditate upon Him with a controlled mind because He the best well wisher and the prime duty of human life to worship. He is eternal piety, the reward of all penance, the abode of all merit and the goal as well as the bestower of moksa or liberation from the material existence. It is to He alone that the knowers of the brahman the spiritual substratum pervading all existence and those who have achieved atma-tattva or realisation of the soul, pay homage too and eulogise proficiently. He is the sole destination prescribed in the Vedic scriptures so sought after by those even after attaining moksa. It is he whom the the scholars of Samkhya and Astanga glorify. The Vaisnavas declare him as the path and the goal for the knowers of the brahman. But there is no need O' devotees to ponder and deliberate further the purpose of existence is to realise Him only. Being amply endowed with the qualities of sattva guna the mode of goodness one should always meditate upon the Supreme Lord Krishna and His incarnations and expansions as authorised by Vedic scriptures as there is no higher god and no worthier goal.

In closing Arjuna reaffirms Lord Krishna glories by stating that He Himself also previously expressed the same in X:VIII, X.II and VII.VII confirming respectively that He is the cause of all creation, the prime source of all gods and sages and that nothing exists without Him,