Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam specifically propounds the supreme dharma of humanity, which is love for Bhagavān — our very source and refuge. To be infused with transcendental love for Bhagavān, authentic and unambiguous knowledge about Him and His essential being is of utmost importance. Since Bhagavān has innumerable forms, such as Viṣṇu, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, and Nṛsiṁha, the question must be asked, are They all equiprimordial in Their constitutional status or is there some hierarchy of being among Them? To address this question, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī wrote this book, Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha.

The conventional and for the most part unexamined point of view is that Kṛṣṇa is simply an avatāra of Viṣṇu. In Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī uproots this misconception, demonstrating that Bhagavān Viṣṇu, being ontologically related to the play of creation and hence to immanence, is Himself implicitly included within a more complete transcendent Whole (avatārī), technically known as Svayaṁ Bhagavān, who is clearly identified in the text as Śrī Kṛṣṇa.