Concept
Kṛṣṇa's Divine Forms
This side panel explains how the chart relates Kṛṣṇa's original form to many divine manifestations. It distinguishes , , and -rūpa, and it includes categories such as vilāsa, vaibhava-vilāsa, , puruṣa , avatāras, avatāras, yuga avatāras, avatāras, and śaktyāveśa avatāras.
Separate side panel; not a location in the vertical cosmology
It answers a question the vertical chart can't: if Kṛṣṇa is one person, how does the tradition also describe dozens of named forms and incarnations? The genealogy shows expansion without division — within theology, each form is understood as fully Him, not a fragment.
Source: Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20; chart side panel · Direct scriptural supportThis part answers a natural question: if Kṛṣṇa is one, why does the tradition speak about so many forms? The answer is expansion without loss or division.
svayaṁ-rūpa
The original form of Krishna as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana
svayaṁ-prakāśaHis own expansions
- prābhava-prakāśaHe expanded Himself into many forms, as at the rāsa dance or when He married 16,108 wives at Dvārakā
vaibhava-prakāśaHis form differently manifested according to different emotional features
tad-ekātma-rūpaWhen His form and transcendental emotion are differently manifested
vilāsaThe pastime expansion
prābhava-vilāsa (ādi-catur-vyūha)The original four-fold expansion
- (1) Vāsudeva
- (2) Saṅkarṣaṇa
- (3) Pradyumna
- (4) Aniruddha
vaibhava-vilāsa → Lord Nārāyaṇa (dvitīya catur-vyūha)The second four-fold expansion — 24 forms in 4 groups of 6, each descending from one of the original four
Vāsudeva group
- (5) Keśava
- (6) Nārāyaṇa
- (7) Mādhava
- (17) Adhokṣaja
- (18) Puruṣottama
Saṅkarṣaṇa group
- (8) Govinda
- (9) Viṣṇu
- (10) Madhusūdana
- (19) Upendra
- (20) Acyuta
Pradyumna group
- (11) Trivikrama
- (12) Vāmana
- (13) Śrīdhara
- (21) Nṛsiṁha
- (22) Janārdana
Aniruddha group
- (14) Hṛṣīkeśa
- (15) Padmanābha
- (16) Dāmodara
- (23) Hari
- (24) Kṛṣṇa
svāṁśa
The personal expansion — descends from vaibhava-vilāsa above
(1) The Puruṣa-avatāras
- 1. Kāraṇodakaśāyī ViṣṇuThe Paramātmā of the totality of material creation
- 2. Garbhodakaśāyī ViṣṇuThe Paramātmā of the total universe — samaṣṭi-paramātmā
- 3. Kṣīrodakaśāyī ViṣṇuThe Paramātmā accompanying each individual soul — vyaṣṭi-paramātmā
āveśaA living entity who is specifically empowered by the Lord with knowledge or strength
(2) The Līlā-avatāras
- (1) Catuḥsana (the four Kumāras)
- (2) Nārada
- (3) Varāha
- (4) Matsya
- (5) Yajñaalso counted among manvantara-avatāras
- (6) Nara-Nārāyaṇa
- (7) Kārdami Kapila
- (8) Dattātreya
- (9) Hayaśīrṣa
- (10) Haṁsa
- (11) Dhruvapriya (or Pṛśnigarbha)
- (12) Ṛṣabha
- (13) Pṛthu
- (14) Nṛsiṁha
- (15) Kūrma
- (16) Dhanvantari
- (17) Mohinī
- (18) Vāmanaalso counted among manvantara-avatāras
- (19) Bhārgava Paraśurāma
- (20) Rāghavendra (Rāma)
- (21) Vyāsa
- (22) Pralambāri Balarāma
- (23) Kṛṣṇa
- (24) Buddha
- (25) Kalki
(3) The Guṇa-avatāras
- Lord Brahmā
- Lord Viṣṇu
- Lord Śiva
(4) The Yuga-avatāras
- (1) śukla (white) in Satya-yuga
- (2) rakta (red) in Tretā-yuga
- (3) śyāma (dark blue) in Dvāpara-yuga
- (4) kṛṣṇa (black), but in special cases pīta (yellow) as Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in Kali-yuga
(5) The Manvantara-avatārasYajña and Vāmana are also counted among the līlā-avatāras
- (1) Yajña
- (2) Vibhu
- (3) Satyasena
- (4) Hari
- (5) Vaikuṇṭha
- (6) Ajita
- (7) Vāmana
- (8) Sārvabhauma
- (9) Ṛṣabha
- (10) Viṣvaksena
- (11) Dharmasetu
- (12) Sudhāmā
- (13) Yogeśvara
- (14) Bṛhadbhānu
(6) The Śaktyāveśa-avatāras
1. bhagavad-āveśa (direct)
- Kapiladeva
- Ṛṣabhadeva
2. vibhūti (indirect)
- Śeṣa Nāgasva-sevana-śakti
- Anantadevabhū-dhāraṇa-śakti
- Lord Brahmāsṛṣṭi-śakti
- Catuḥsana, the four Kumārasjñāna-śakti
- Nārada Munibhakti-śakti
- Mahārāja Pṛthupālana-śakti
- Paraśurāmaduṣṭa-damana-śakti