Back to glossary

Bhagavān

/buh-guh-VAHN/

Bhagavān is the highest, most complete aspect of the Absolute — the Supreme Person in the fullness of His personal form, qualities, activities, relationships, and divine abode. The word itself is technically precise:

Bha — bhaga meaning all opulences Ga — gam, going or possessing Vān — one who possesses

The Viṣṇu Purāṇa defines bhaga as the six complete opulences simultaneously possessed in full:

  1. Aiśvarya — complete wealth and power
  2. Vīrya — complete strength
  3. Yaśas — complete fame
  4. Śrī — complete beauty
  5. Jñāna — complete knowledge
  6. Vairāgya — complete renunciation

Only one Being possesses all six in absolute fullness simultaneously — Śrī Kṛṣṇa, declared in the Bhāgavatam (1.3.28):

"ete cāṃśa-kalāḥ puṃsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam" "All the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead."