Introduction
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etc., but beyond this there is a nonmanifested portion which is not approachable to anyone in this body. And beyond that nonmanifested matter there is the spiritual kingdom. That kingdom is described in the  Bhāgavad-gītā  as supreme and eternal. It is never annihilated. This material nature is subjected to repeated creation and annihilation. But that part, the spiritual nature, remains as it is, eternally.
The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is also described in the  Brahma-samhitā  as the abode of  cintāmaṇi . That abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa known as Goloka Vṛndāvana is full of palaces made of touch-stone. There the trees are called desire trees, and the cows are called  surabhi . The Lord is served there by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. His name is Govinda, the Primeval Lord, and He is the cause of all causes. There the Lord plays His flute, His eyes are like lotus petals, and the color of His body is like that of a beautiful cloud. On His head is a peacock feather. He is so attractive that He excels thousands of cupids. Lord Kṛṣṇa gives only a little hint in the  Gītā  of His personal abode which is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. But in the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , Kṛṣṇa actually appears with all His paraphernalia and demonstrates His activities in Vṛndāvana, then at Mathurā, and then at Dvārakā. The subject matter of this book will gradually reveal all these activities.
The family in which Kṛṣṇa appeared is called the Yadu dynasty. This Yadu dynasty belongs to the family descending from Soma, the god in the moon planet. There are two different  kṣatriya  families of the royal order, one descending from the king of the moon planet and the other descending from the king of the sun planet. Whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears, He generally appears in a  kṣatriya  family because He has to establish religious principles or the life of righteousness. The  kṣatriya  family is the protector of the human race, according to the Vedic system. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as Lord Rāmacandra, He appeared in the family descending from the sun-god, known as Raghu-vamśa; and when He appeared as Lord Kṛṣṇa, He did so in the family of Yadu-vamśa. There is a long list of the kings of the Yadu-vamśa in the Ninth Canto, 24th chapter of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . All of them were great powerful kings. Kṛṣṇa's father's name was Vasudeva, son of Śūrasena, descending from the Yadu dynasty. Actually, the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not belong to any dynasty of this material world, but the family in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears becomes famous, by His grace. For example, sandalwood is produced in the states of Malaya. Sandalwood has its own qualifications apart from Malaya, but because, accidentally, this wood is mainly produced