Krsna appears in the material world in numerous incarnations. These incarnations are compared to many rivers flowing from an unlimited source of water. Ultimately, all great powerful beings, including the ṛṣis, Manus, demigods, descendants of Manu, and so on are plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions or are empowered by the Lord. All these different incarnations manifest from Lord Kisirodakasayi Vishnu.

However, Krsna is different. Although Suta Goswami initially includes them in the list of 22 incarnations given in the third chapter of the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, in verse 28 he reveals that Krsna is in a different category:

ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
mṛḍayanti yuge yuge

“All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.”

This is a very important verse. Srila Jiva Goswami identified it as the paribhasa-sutra of Srimad Bhagavatam. According to him, each book in Vedic literature has one or a few verses that bring the conclusion of the book. That’s the paribhasa-sutra. All the other verses must be studied in the context of the paribhasa-sutra if one wants to properly understand the text.

As he wrote in the Krishna Sandarbha:

“A paribhasa-sutra explains the proper method for understanding a book. It is the key sloka to understand the actual meaning of a book or chapter and a series of apparently unrelated facts and arguments that may follow. There may be millions of verses in a book, but they are all subordinate to this one superior statement, the paribhasa sutra, the final word, which describes the conclusion and message of the whole book”.

The word “ete” means all these incarnations mentioned in the list, and the word “ca” (and) adds all the many other incarnations that were not mentioned. From these incarnations, some are “aṁśa” or plenary portions (fully powerful incarnations of the Lord) and some are “kalāḥ” (portions of the plenary portions (which are comparatively less powerful). Apart from these two types, there are other types of incarnations, like the saktyavesa-avataras, yuga-avataras, and so on. All these incarnations come from “puṁsaḥ”, referring to Ksirodakasayi Vishnu.

In this way, the first line of the verse, ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ, indicates that all the different incarnations of the list, as well as other incarnations that are not mentioned, come from Lord Ksirodakasayi Vishnu as plenary portions or parts of plenary portions.

The second line of the verse, however, marks a turn. The word “tu” in Sanskrit means “but” or “on the other hand”, but it sounds stronger than the English word. It denotes a change of category in the sentence, like if we say “There are many archers in the world, but Rama is Supreme”. Rama is in a different category than ordinary archers. Similarly, when the verse says “kṛṣṇas tu”, it says that there are many incarnations, but Krsna is different from the others. What He is? bhagavān svayam. He is the original, supreme Personality of Godhead.

Different from the other incarnations, Krsna does not come from Ksirodakasay Vishnu, rather, He is the source of all Vishnu forms, just like a candle that is used to ignite other candles. All candles emit a similar light, but still, there is one candle that is original. Also implicated in the verse is that Balaram is the direct expansion of Krsna since they are mentioned together in verse 23, and Balarama is Krsna’s constant companion. This understanding is also important.

Srila Jiva Goswami explains at length the reasons for this verse to be considered the paribhasa-sutra on his Sri Krsna Sandarbha. The argumentation is quite long, but the conclusion is that without accepting the conclusion of this verse, one will misinterpret the verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam and thus not be able to come to the right understanding even after reading the book.

Not just the Srimad Bhagavatam, but all long Sanskrit works include verses that have different meanings. They all include one or a few verses that regulate the text, giving the final conclusions by which the whole work should be interpreted. The paribhasa-sutra thus acts as a lens through which the whole book can be understood.

One example of the application of this is the discussion about Krsna and Balarama being avatars of Vishnu, which is common in India. It comes precisely from the misinterpretation of certain verses from the scripture due to the lack of the proper conclusion.

Their argument is that Lord Viṣṇu snatched two hairs, one white and one black, from His head. These two hairs entered the wombs of Rohiṇī and Devakī, leading to the births of Balarama and Krsna.

This story is based on an interpretation of three verses, from the Vishnu Purana, the Mahabharata, and Srimad Bhagavatam.

The central idea is that in the three verses, there is mention of the words Krsna and Kesah. The proponents of the idea that Krsna is an avatar of Vishnu interpret the words as meaning that Krsna appeared from the hair, but Srila Rupa Goswami in the Laghu Bhagavatamrta (Kṛṣṇāmṛta, 156-164), supported by the commentary of Srila Baladeva Vidhyabhusana, as well as Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī in the Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha (29), defeat this idea by giving the correct meaning of the words, meaning that Krsna has beautiful hair.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam 2.7.26, for example, it’s stated:

bhūmeḥ suretara-varūtha-vimarditāyāḥ
kleśa-vyayāya kalayā sita-kṛṣṇa-keśaḥ
jātaḥ kariṣyati janānupalakṣya-mārgaḥ
karmāṇi cātma-mahimopanibandhanāni

The supporters of the Krsna as an avatar of Vishnu interpret the words “sita-kṛṣṇa-keśaḥ jātaḥ” as “a portion of Viṣṇu, being born of white and black hair”, while the correct interpretation, given by Rupa Goswami is “the Lord, with beautiful black hair, descends with His plenary portion.” (the plenary portion being Lord Balarama, Kṛṣṇa’s immediate expansion).

The mistaken interpretations thus go like this: “When the world is overburdened by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, just to diminish the distress of the world, a black and white hair of the Lord incarnate on the earth. To expand His transcendental glories the Lord acts extraordinarily. No one can properly estimate how great He is.”

However, the correct meaning of the verse is:

“When the world is overburdened by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, the Lord, just to diminish the distress of the world, with beautiful black hair, descends with His plenary portion. And just to expand His transcendental glories, He acts extraordinarily. No one can properly estimate how great He is.”

Another example of a verse that can be misinterpreted is SB 10.43.23:

etau bhagavatah saksad
dharer narayanasya hi
avatirnav ihamsena
vasudevasya vesmani

This verse is usually interpreted as “Krsna and Balaram, who are both plenary expansions of the Original Personality of Godhead, Lord Narayana, have descended to this material world, appearing in the home of Vasudeva.”

In this interpretation, the word “aṁśena” is accepted as meaning “as expansions”, giving the idea that Krsna and Balarama are expansions of Lord Naraya. However, Srila Jiva Goswami explains that the word “aṁśena” in the verse actually means “accompanied by all His plenary portions”. In this way, the actual meaning of the verse is:

“The Original Personality of Godhead, Krsna, and Balarama, have descended to this material world accompanied by all Their plenary expansions. They have appeared in the home of Vasudeva.”

Similarly, other verses from the Srimad Bhagavatam and other scriptures that are often translated as meaning Krsna and Balarama are expansions of Lord Vishnu or other avataras means, in reality, the opposite, that these forms merge into the body of Krsna when He comes to this material world. The problem is just that because the interpreters accept the conclusion that Krsna is an avatar of Vishnu, they tend to interpret the verses incorrectly.

We can see that when the final conclusion of the Srimad Bhagavatam is accepted, that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the real meaning of the verses becomes clear. When however one misses it, he can interpret the verses in other ways, which will be all incorrect. One may thus conclude that Krsna is an avatar of Vishnu, that the absolute truth is ultimately impersonal, or even that there is no God, like in the atheistic Sāṅkhya.

There are other verses that are misinterpreted in similar ways. In Mahabharata 1.189.31, for example, the word “kesa” is mentioned.

When the word is interpreted as “hair”, the translAtion becomes, “Viṣṇu took two hairs, one white and black. These two hairs entered the wombs of Rohiṇī and Devakī in the Yadu family”, which is incorrect.

According to Srila Jiva Goswami, the correct in this context is “rays”, wich results in the correct interpretation: “The black and white rays of Kṣīrodakaśāyī entered Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.”

Similarly, the Vishnu Purana states:

ujjaharatmanah keshau
sita-krishnau maha-mune

Again, the incorrect interpretation of the word keshau as “hair” results in a spurious interpretation: “Lord Vishnu then plucked a white and black hair, these two hairs became Balarama and Krishna.”

The correct in this context is “blissful”, which results in the correct interpretation: “The blissful Personality of Godhead, in His splendid original forms as Balarama and Krishna, relieved the burden of the earth.”

When Krsna and Balarama, the Lords with beautiful hair come to this world to perform their activities, all the expansions merge into their bodies, including Lord Vishnu, Who merges with them in the form of white and black rays.