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Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

book by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Praphupada

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 6, 2026
Entity authorityQ4205088
Source-derived summary

Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also known as the KRSNA Book, is a summary and commentary on the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). It was published in 1970 by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. The publication was financed through a contribution of $19,000 from Beatle, George Harrison, who also wrote the book's foreword.

Background and publication

In 1967, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada had experienced a severe heart attack and wondered whether he would live to present the world with a translated version of the "divine pastimes" of Krishna on earth. Prabhupada had translated the Second Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, but knew that many years of work remained before he would reach the Tenth Canto, where these accounts of Krishna are contained. He therefore decided to write Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also known as KRSNA Book, before undertaking the remaining cantos.

Once Prabhupada had completed the manuscript, he requested that Shyamsundar Das, one of the founding devotees of the Radha Krishna Temple in London, ask George Harrison of the Beatles if he would finance its publication. The sum required was $19,000 for an initial print run of 5000 copies.

Harrison's support for the Hare Krishna movement had been crucial to the establishment of ISKCON's UK operation in 1969, and his production of the London devotees' hit single "Hare Krishna Mantra" had promoted ISKCON and the 5000-year-old Maha Mantra worldwide. Shyamsundar was loath to impose further on Harrison, but Prabhupada insisted, saying: "You will see.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead” as book by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Praphupada. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Krishna, Supreme and Personality.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1970, 1967, 1969—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1970-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Krishna, Supreme and Personality providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead”, the useful work is to connect “book by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Praphupada” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4205088. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1970, 1967 and 1969.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

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  • Tracing reception history
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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead primary sources, Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead archive and Krishna research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.