Introduction xix
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
Bhagavad-gita 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, Krsna, is also de-
scribed in the Brahma-samhitad as the abode of cintamani. That abode of
Lord Krsna known as Goloka Vrndavana 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 Krsna gives only a little hint in the Gita of His personal abode which
is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. But in the Srimad-
Bhagavatam, Krsna actually appears with all His paraphernalia and demon-
strates His activities in Vrndavana, then at Mathura, and then at Dvaraka.
The subject matter of this book will gradually reveal all these activities.

The family in which Krsna 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 ksatriya 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 Per-
sonality of Godhead appears, He generally appears in a ksatriya family
because He has to establish religious principles or the life of righteousness.
The ksatriya family is the protector of the human race, according to the
Vedic system. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as
Lord Ramacandra, He appeared in the family descending from the sun-
god, known as Raghu-vamésa; and when He appeared as Lord Krsna, He did
so in the family of Yadu-vaméa. There is a long list of the kings of the
Yadu-vaméa in the Ninth Canto, 24th chapter of Srimad-Bhdgavatam. All
of them were great powerful kings. Krsna’s father’s name was Vasudeva,
son of Siirasena, 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 God-
head 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, accidently, this wood is mainly produced
