Kṛṣṇa is Svayam Bhagavān

According to śāstra, it is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and not Lord Śiva, who is Svayam Bhagavān. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.28) states:

एते चांश-कलाः पुंसः कृष्णस् तु भगवान् स्वयम्
इन्द्रारि-व्याकुलं लोकं मृडयन्ति युगे युगे

ete cāṃśa-kalāḥ puṃsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṃ lokaṃ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge

All of the incarnations listed previously are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Supreme Person Bhagavān. However, only Śrī Kṛṣṇa is Svayam Bhagavān, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. The incarnations appear on different planets to protect those who are disturbed by the enemies of Indra.

Furthermore, Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (9.24):

अहं हि सर्व-यज्ञानां भोक्ता च प्रभुर् एव च
न तु माम् अभिजानन्ति तत्त्वेनातश् च्यवन्ति ते

ahaṃ hi sarva-yajñānāṃ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca
na tu mām abhijānanti tattvenātaś cyavanti te

I am the only enjoyer and master of all sacrifices (yajñas). Therefore, those who do not recognize my true transcendental nature fall down.

Śrīla Gurudeva writes in his Prakāśikā-vṛtti to this verse:

Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “Why is the worship of various demigods improper? What is the result of that unauthorized worship?” This is being explained in the present verse. “In the form of demigods such as Indra, I alone am the enjoyer of all sacrifices. I am the master, the maintainer, the controller and the bestower of the results of them all. Those who worship the demigods do not know that the demigods are My potencies, or vibhūtis; therefore, they worship them with faith, considering them to be independent of Me and the bestowers of the results of their activities. Because they are unaware of My tattva, they do not have faith in Me; therefore, their type of worship is unauthorized. As a result of such unauthorized worship, they fall away from the truth and remain entangled in the cycle of birth and death.

“However, by worshipping demigods such as Sūrya, considering them to be My opulence, or vibhūti, they gradually ascend the progressive path, and by the mercy of My devotees who know the tattva of Me, they come to understand the science of My svarūpa.

Thus, their intelligence becomes exclusively fixed on Me, Kṛṣṇa, whose svarūpa is eternal, all cognizant and ever blissful.”

This philosophical conclusion (siddhānta) is also verified in the Śrutis:

nārāyaṇād brahmā jāyate
nārāyaṇād indro jāyate
nārāyaṇād dvādaśādityā rudrā
sarva-devatā sarva ṛṣāyaḥ
sarvāṇi bhutāni nārāyaṇad eva
samutpadyate nārāyaṇe pratīyante

Brahmā is born from Śrī Nārāyaṇa, Indra is born from Śrī Nārāyaṇa, Śiva is born from Śrī Nārāyaṇa, all the demigods and all living entities are also born from Śrī Nārāyaṇa. When their universal duties are complete and they die, all will again merge into Śrī Nārāyaṇa.

The Smṛtis have also established the same conclusion:

brahmā śambhus tathaivārkaḥ candramāś ca śatakratuḥ
evam ādyās tathaivānye yuktā vaiṣṇava-tejasā
jagat tu viyujyante ca tejasā kāryāvasāne
vitejasaś ca te sarve pañcatvam upyānti te

Brahmā and Śiva, as well as the sun-god, the moongod, the king of the demigods–Indra, and other powerful personalities empowered by Śrī Viṣṇu, are forced to give up all those powers when they die.

This conclusion is also seen in other upaniṣads. The above statements from Śruti and Smṛti indicate a difference between the demigods and the Supreme Controller, Śrī Viṣṇu. The supremacy of Śrī Viṣṇu over demigods is established in Śruti and Smṛti, yet somewhere in them it is said that a particular demigod is equal to Śrī Viṣṇu. This statement is made either because a particular demigod’s influence is under the control of Śrī Viṣṇu, or because the demigod is very dear to Him.

If one concludes from this that it is proper to worship all demigods, considering them to be Nārāyaṇa, then the following is to be understood: everyone has generated from Nārāyaṇa, by Him they exist and in Him they are annihilated, or dissolved. None of them are Nārāyaṇa, nor can they ever become Nārāyaṇa. It has been stated in the scriptures that it is a grievous offence to equate the demigods, who are living entities, with Śrī Bhagavān. Such offenders are called atheists.

yas tu nārāyaṇaṃ devaṃ
brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ
samatvenaiva vīkṣeta
sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam

Padma Purāṇa

Just as it is improper to worship the demigods with the understanding that they are independent lords, it is also atheistic to equate the demigods (jīvas) with Lord Nārāyaṇa.

Therefore, it is prescribed that the worshippers of the universal form (viśvarūpa-upāsakas) should worship the demigods as the opulence, or vibhūti, of Śrī Nārāyaṇa. In this regard, the scriptures make two types of statements. It is said in Nārada-pañcarātra, “antaryāmi-bhagavad-dṛṣṭyaiva sarvārādhanaṃ vihitam–All are to be worshipped with the vision that the all-pervading Lord is dwelling within them.”

And the Viṣṇu-yāmala states:

viṣṇu-pādodakenaiva pitṛṇāṃ tarpaṇa kriyā
viṣṇor niveditānnena yaṣṭavyaṃ
devātāntaram ādi-prakāreṇa vihitam iti

It is with the foot bath water of Śrī Viṣṇu that one should perform activities such as offering oblations to the forefathers. And it is with the remnants of Śrī Viṣṇu’s foodstuffs that one should please the demigods.^[1]

Furthermore, Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8):

अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्त्तते
इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भाव-समन्विताः

ahaṃ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṃ pravarttate
iti matvā bhajante māṃ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

I am the source of both mundane and spiritual worlds. everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this well engage in bhajana of Me, with ecstasy in their hearts.

In his Prakāśikā-vṛtti commentary to this verse, Śrīla Gurudeva writes:

Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the origin of both mundane and spiritual creations. Such knowledge of the essential Truth (tattva-jñāna) is undoubtedly attainable from the instructions and mercy of Vaiṣṇavas who are fully conversant with tattva. Only with the help of such transcendental knowledge can the thoughts of sādhus become fixed in pure devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. One cannot acquire pure tattva-jñāna if one through the instruction from modern concocted commentaries, which are devoid of bhakti, by hearing from bewildered so-called gurus, who are bereft of tattvajñāna, or by receiving the instructions of so-called devotees.

This is also confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.7.50):

ahaṃ brahmā ca śarvaś ca jagataḥ kāraṇaṃ param
ātmeśvara upadraṣṭā svayaṃ-dṛg aviśeṣaṇaḥ

Lord Viṣṇu replied: Brahmā, Śiva and I are the supreme cause of the material manifestation. I am the Supersoul and the self-sufficient witness. But in one sense we are non-different because everything rests in Me.

The Varāha Purāṇa also states:

nārāyaṇaḥ paro devas tasmāj jātaś caturmukhaḥ
tasmād rudro bhavad devaḥ sa ca sarva-jñatāṃ gataḥ

Śrī Nārāyaṇa is the Supreme Lord, and from Him alone Brahmā, rudra, etc., are born. Śrī Nārāyaṇa is omniscient.

This Nārāyaṇa is the vaibhāva-vilāsa, or Kṛṣṇa’s pastime expansion of opulence. elsewhere in the Vedas, Kṛṣṇa is also described as the son of Devakī: brahmaṇyo devakī-putrāḥ (Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad 4).^[2]

We have thus established that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is Svayam Bhagavān. Now, the question arises, “Who is Lord Śiva?”

Our ādi-guru Lord Brahmā has said in Brahma-saṃhitā, verse 45:

क्षीरं यथा दधि विकार-विशेष-योगात्
सञ्जायते न हि ततः पृथग् अस्ति हेतोः
यः शम्भुताम् अपि तथा समुपैति कार्याद्
गोविन्दम् आदि-पुरुषं तम् अहं भजामि

kṣīraṃ yathā dadhi vikāra-viśeṣa-yogāt
sañjāyate na hi tataḥ pṛthag asti hetoḥ
yaḥ śambhutām api tathā samupaiti kāryād
govindam ādi-puruṣaṃ tam ahaṃ bhajāmi

Śrī Govindadeva attains the condition of being Śambhu for the sake of performing a specific function, just as milk is transformed into yogurt by contact with a particular transforming agent, although yogurt is not a different substance, independent of its cause, namely milk. I worship that original personality, Śrī Govinda.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states in his purport to this verse:

The current verse beginning with kṣīraṃ yathā, is an analysis of the svarūpa of Śambhu, who has been previously mentioned as the presiding deity of Maheśa-dhāma. Actually, Śambhu is not a separate lord independent of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; those who think that he is are offensive to Bhagavān. Śambhu’s status as a lord, is subordinate to, and dependent on, Śrī Govinda’s overlordship. Thus, Śrī Govinda and Śambhu are factually non-different realities. The following practical example may be given of that nondifference: as milk is transformed into yogurt by contact with a specific transforming agent, similarly by union with a special transforming agent, the Supreme Lord takes on a separate form, which is dependent on Him, and this separate form has no independence.

In this case, the special transforming agent is constituted of a mixture of the following elements: māyā’s aspect of the mode of ignorance, the nonplenitude or minuteness aspect of the marginal potency, and a slight degree of the combined knowledge (saṃvit) and bliss (hlādinī) aspects of the transcendental potency. The effulgent subordinate controller in the form of Śambhu liṅga, being united with this special transforming agent, is constitutionally the semblance of an expansion of the Supreme Godhead. He is the Sadāśiva from whom rudradeva is manifest. Śrī Govinda is manifest in the form of Śambhu as guṇa-avatāra, in order to arrange the ingredient materials for creation, to annihilate certain asuras for the purpose of universal maintenance and to execute all functions of destruction. This Śambhu is a separated expansion imbued with the mood of a plenary expansion, and he is also known as kāla-puruṣa, the personified time factor. In this regard, a body of evidence has been cited in Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī’s commentary.

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.13.16) it is stated: “vaiṣṇavānāṃ yathā śambhuḥ–of all Vaiṣṇavas, Śambhu is the greatest.” The purport of such statements is that Śambhu meets together with Durgā-devī and performs his function through his own time potency in accordance with Śrī Govinda’s desire. Many śāstras headed by the tantras give instruction to follow the principles of righteous conduct in accordance with the level of eligibility of the respective jīvas. These principles are compared to a ladder with steps that eventually lead to the attainment of bhakti.

Furthermore, in accordance with Govinda’s desire, Śambhu maintains and protects pure devotional service by preaching Māyāvāda philosophy and imaginary supplementary scriptures (āgamas). The fifty qualities of the jīvas are present in abundance in Śambhu, and five more great qualities not attainable by ordinary living entities are partially manifest in him. Thus, one cannot say that Śambhu is a jīva. Although his nature is that of a separated expansion, he is still a lord and controller (īśvara).^[3]

What will Lord Śiva do if someone takes his side and worships him? When the time and need comes, he will even fight against Svayam Bhagavān Lord Kṛṣṇa–as mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.62–63. Kṛṣṇa was fighting to rescue his grandson Aniruddha from Bāṇāsura’s jail. Lord Śiva knew that Kṛṣṇa is his worshipable deity, Svayaṃ Bhagavān. Nonetheless, Śiva fought on Bāṇāsura’s side against Śrī Kṛṣṇa. So, to please his devotee, Lord Śiva will even fight with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, his name is Bholānātha.

Lord Śiva is not Bhagavān, but it is mentioned that Lord Śiva protects the dhāma. Lord Śiva protects Mathurā in the four forms of raṅgeśvara Mahādeva, Bhūteśvara Mahādeva, Pīpaleśvara Mahādeva, and Gokarṇeśvara Mahādeva. He also protects Vṛndāvana in the forms of Gopeśvara Mahādeva and Bankhaṇḍī Mahādeva. He protects Girirāja-Govardhana as Cakaleśvara Mahādeva. In Kāmyavana, he is Kāmeśvara, and in Nandagāon, he is Nandeśvara. He also manifests in Māyāpura as Vṛddha Śiva, and in Navadvīpa as Prauḍa-māyā and Kṣetra-pāla Śiva. He is even found in Bhuvaneśvara as Liṅgarāja Mahādeva.

There are also many forms of Lord Śiva in Jagannātha Purī, the main one being the form of Lokanātha Śiva. Devotees can get his darśana only during Śiva Caturdaśī, when they offer water, flowers, sandal paste, and bilva leaves to the deity. There are also other forms of Lord Śiva in Jagannātha Purī such as Mārkaṇḍeśvara and Yajñeśvara, but Lokanātha Śiva is the main form.

The evidence cited above proves then that Śiva is not Svayam Bhagavān; only Kṛṣṇa is Svayam Bhagavān.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

From Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā with the Sārārtha-varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti commentary by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja (Third english edition, CC-BY-ND. Gaudiya Vedanta Publications 2010)

[2]:

From Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā with the Sārārtha-varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti commentary by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja (Third english edition, CC-BY-ND. Gaudiya Vedanta Publications 2010)

[3]:

From the english edition of Śrī Brahma-saṃhitā by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja (CC-BY-ND. Gaudiya Vedanta Publications)