Sri Krsna's form glistens with the black mascara of the sweetness of His nectarean handsomeness. His complexion is the color of a blue lotus flower or a sapphire.
His complexion is as enchanting as an emerald, a tamala tree, or a group of beautiful dark clouds. He is an ocean of nectarean handsomeness. He wears yellow garments and a garland of forest flowers. He is decorated with various jewels and He is a great reservoir of the nectar of many transcendental pastimes.
He has long, curling hair and He is anointed with many fragrant scents. His handsome crown is decorated with many different flowers. His handsome forehead is splendidly decorated with tilaka markings and curling locks of hair. The playful movements of His raised, dark eyebrows enchant the hearts of the gopis.
His rolling eyes are as splendid as red and blue lotus flowers. The tip of His nose is as handsome as the beak of Garuda, the king of birds. His charming ears and cheeks are decorated with earrings made of various jewels. His handsome lotus face is as splendid as millions of moons. He speaks many charming jokes and His chin is exquisitely handsome.
His handsome, smooth and charming neck bends in three places. Decorated with a necklace of pearls, the beauty of His neck enchants the residents of the three planetary systems. Decorated with a necklace of pearls and with the Kaustubha gem, which shines like lightning, Krsna's handsome chest longs to enjoy the company of the beautiful gopis.
Decorated with bracelets and armlets, Krsna's arms hang down to His knees. His reddish lotus hands are decorated with various auspicious signs. Krsna's hands are beautifully decorated with the auspicious signs of a club, conchshell, barleycorn, parasol, half-moon, rod for controlling elephants, flag, lotus flower, sacrificial post, plow, pitcher and fish.
Krsna's charming abdomen is the pastime abode of handsomeness. His nectarean back seems to long for the playful touch of the beautiful gopis. The nectarean lotus flower that is Lord Krsna's hips bewilders the demigod Cupid. Krsna's thighs are like two beautiful plantain trees that charm the hearts of all women.
Krsna's knees are very splendid, charming and handsome. His charming lotus feet are decorated with jeweled ankle-bells. Krsna's feet have the luster of roses, and they are decorated with various auspicious markings, such as the markings of the disc, half-moon, octagon, triangle, barleycorn, sky, parasol, waterpot, conchshell, cow's footprint, svastika, rod for controlling elephants, lotus flower, bow and jambu fruit. Krsna's handsome lotus feet are like two oceans filled with the happiness of pure love. His reddish toes are decorated with the row of full moons that are His toenails.Although we have sometimes compared Krsna's handsomeness to various things, nothing can actually be equal to it.
Krsna's associates may be divided into two groups : gopis and gopas. The gopis may be divided into three groups : 1. Gopi friends of the same age as Krsna, 2. maidservants and 3. gopi messengers.
The vraja-lila of Sri Krsna lasts up to the age of 10 years, 6 months, and 5 days. In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said: "Along with Sri Baladeva, Sri Krsnacandra lived in Vraja up to the age of 11, all the while concealing His divine power."
Because of having too much fun being the vraja-raja-kumara, Krsna extended His lila in Vrndavana half again the number of years He already lived there (10 years, 6 months, 5 days), making His age 15 years, 9 months, 7 1/2 days. Sri Nandanandana eternally sports in Vraja (near the end of kaisora’s 16 years) as a kisora-gopa. The krsna-dhyana is as follows: In His hand He holds a flute (vamsi), He wears yellow clothing, is effulgent like a sapphire, and has the beautiful kaustubha jewel on His neck. The top of His head is adorned with a peacock feather, and jewelled and guñjåseed necklaces hang on His chest. A garland of forest flowers (such as malatî, mallika, jatî, yuthi, ketaki, campaka, nagakesara, etc.) hangs down to His lotus feet. He wears a gleaming gold ornament on His neck, and has a golden line of hair on the left side of His chest, along with the vaijayantî-mala. Dangling from His nose is a valuable pearl said to come from the head of an elephant. His ears are decorated with dolphin-shaped earrings, and He wears bangles on His hands. Tilaka made of kunkuma beautifies His forehead. He wears kinkini bells round His waist, with ankle bells on His lotus feet.
Then, when Krsna goes to herd the cows, He is decorated like this: On the left side of His abdomen, the lotus-eyed Sri Krsna has a buffalo horn stuck in His belt, and on His right side He has placed His jewelled murali flute. In His left hand He carries a straight wooden stick, and in His right He playfully twirls a yellow lotus..........
Text1
adharam madhuram vadanam madhuram
nayanam madhuram hasitam madhuram
hridayam madhuram gamanam madhuram
madhur-adipater akhilam madhuram
His lips are sweet, His face is sweet,
His eyes are sweet, His smile is sweet,
His loving heart is sweet, His gait (walk) is sweet,
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness.
Text2
vachanam madhuram charitam madhuram
vasanam madhuram valitam madhuram
chalitam madhuram bhramitam madhuram
madhur-adipater akhilam madhuram
His words are sweet, His character is sweet,
His dress (garment) is sweet, His posture is sweet,
His movements are sweet, His wandering (roaming) is sweet,
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness.
Text3
venur madhuro renur madhurah
panir madhurah padau madhurau
nrityam madhuram shakhyam madhuram
madhur-adipater akhilam madhuram
His flute-playing is sweet, His foot-dust is sweet,
His hands are sweet, His feet are sweet,
His dancing is sweet, His friendship is sweet,
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness.
Text4
gitam madhuram pitam madhuram
bhuktam madhuram suptam madhuram
rupam madhuram tilakam madhuram
madhur-adipater akhilam madhuram
His song is sweet, His drinking is sweet,
His eating is sweet, His sleeping is sweet,
His beautiful form is sweet, His Tilaka (mark on the forehead) is sweet,
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness.
Text5
karanam madhuram taranam madhuram
haranam madhuram ramanam madhuram
vamitam madhuram shamitam madhuram
madhur-adipater akhilam madhuram
His deeds (activities) are sweet, His conquest (liberating) is sweet,
His thieving (stealing) is sweet, His love-sports are sweet,
His oblations (offerings) are sweet, His countenance is sweet,
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness.
Text6
gunja madhura mala madhura
yamuna madhura vici madhura
salilam madhuram kamalam madhuram
madhur-adipater akhilam madhuram
His gunja-berry necklace is sweet, His flower garland is sweet,
sweet is the Yamuna river, and sweet are her rippling waves,
her water is sweet, and sweet are the lotus flowers also,
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness.
Text7
gopi madhura lila madhura
yuktam madhuram muktam madhuram
dhristam madhuram shistam madhuram
madhur-adipater akhilam madhuram
His gopis (cowherd girlfriends) are sweet, His pastimes (plays) are sweet,
His union (meeting him) is sweet, His deliverance (rescue) is sweet,
His sidelong glances are sweet, His courtesy (etiquette) is sweet,
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness.
Text8
gopa madhura gavo madhura
yastir madhura shristhir madhura
dalitam madhuram phalitam madhuram
madhur-adipater akhilam madhuram
His gopas (cowherd boyfriends) are sweet, His cows are sweet,
His cane (herding-stick) is sweet, His creation is sweet,
His victory (trampling) is sweet, His accomplishment (fruition) is sweet,
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness.
Krishna is the sweetest honey we could ever taste, the sweetest ladhu we could ever enjoy and the sweetest icing on the cake we’ve ever crave for. In short He is sweetness personified that we sometimes become selfish not to share Him with others. Sri Vallabhacharya thus describes in this unique stotra, the Sweetness of Lord Sri Krishna.
The Madhurasthakam uses just one adjective, "madhuram", meaning sweet or beautiful etc., to describe the lovely attributes of Lord Sri Krishna's beautiful form, who is the master of Sweetness and Sweetness personified.
It is evident from the ashtakam that the devotee is fascinated to have a look at not only the beautiful divine sweet form [sarvanga sundara rupam] of Lord Krishna but also the very existence of the Lord -- by way of His moves, plays, pastimes, etc.
Thus says the devotee: "The Lord of Mathura, Krishna, is sweet, sweet and nothing but sweet! Even ambrosia and nectar may satiate after some time, but concerning the sweetness of the Divine Lord, one cannot have enough of it. Krishna's lips are very sweet, his beautiful face is sweet, his beautiful black eyes with sidelong glances are sweet, his enchanting smile is even sweeter, his love-sports are sweet and his three-fold bend form is very sweet. O Lord of sweetness, everything about You is completely sweet, You are sweetness personified."
I worship Govinda [Krishna], the primeval Lord, who is adept at playing on His flute, whose blooming eyes are like lotus petals, whose head is bedecked with a peacock’s feather, whose figure of beauty is tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and whose unique loveliness is charming millions of Cupids.
I worship Govinda. the primeval Lord, round whose neck is swinging a garland of jeweled ornaments, who is always reveling in pastimes of love. whose graceful, threefold- bending form of Syamasundara is eternally manifest.
As Krishna’s form is “eternally manifest” so is the beauty of that form, thus fulfilling the Bhagavad-gita’s definition of reality—that which has “no cessation.” Not only is Krishna’s beauty eternal, but it is also ever fresh, like an endlessly blooming springtime. A devotee never tires of viewing that divine form, which is so magnificent that Krishna Himself cannot estimate it for in one moment He measures, and in the next moment it expands unlimitedly, eluding even His vast capacity to understand.
Since Krishna is the Absolute Truth. His beauty is also absolute and is never canceled or diminished by closer examination or change in perspective. His form is the vessel of pure spiritual energy—eternity, knowledge, and bliss—and it is therefore beautiful through and through. Indeed it has been compared to the radiant vaidurya gem, which, although appearing differently according to the play of light upon its numerous colored facets, is extraordinarily beautiful from whichever angle it is viewed. Thus Krishna’s beauty is always appreciated by the countless pure devotees who inhabit the spiritual sky, some of whom regularly descend to this material plane to turn our attention back to Him.
Krishna’s absolute nature is also such that anything connected with Him, be it His name, form, words, pastimes, or paraphernalia. also exhibits His superlative beauty. In Srila Prabhupada’s book Krishna, this remarkable feature of Krishna’s personality is apparent in the following statement by a devotee, in which the beauty of the Lord’s flute-playing is feelingly described:
My dear friends, Krishna is so beautiful that the goddess of fortune always remains on His chest and He is always adorned with a golden necklace. Beautiful Krishna plays His flute in order to enliven the hearts of many devotees. He is the only friend of the suffering living entities. When He plays His flute, all the cows and other animals of Vrindavana, although engaged in eating, simply take a morsel of food in their mouths and stop chewing. Their ears raise up and they become stunned. They do not appear alive but like painted animals. Krishna’s flute-playing is so attractive that even the animals become enchanted, and what to speak of ourselves.
All of these features combine to make Krishna’s beauty fully satisfying. While material beauty offers momentary pleasure to the senses. Krishna’s spiritual beauty touches the very soul of the living being. thrilling him with a pleasure so wonderful that once having relished it he can never give it up. Srila Rupa Gosvami has therefore advised,
My dear friend, if you still have any desire to enjoy the company of your friends within this material world, then don’t look upon the form of Krishna, who is standing on the bank of Keshi-ghata. He is known as Govinda, and His eyes are very enchanting. He is playing upon His flute, and on His head there is a peacock feather. His whole body is illuminated by the moonlight in the sky.
The more a devotee appreciates Krishna’s beauty, the less he falls for the flickering attractions of this material world. Once, Haridasa Thakura, a great devotee of the Lord, was chanting Hare Krishna alone, absorbed in the beauty of the Lord’s holy name. An alluring young prostitute appeared and tried to divert him from his vow of chanting Krishna’s names 300,000 times daily. Haridasa’s attraction to Krishna’s beauty was so deep, however, that he remained unaffected by her advances. Instead, he converted the prostitute into a virtuous devotee greatly attached to the beauty of Krishna.
Lord Krishna’s beauty is described in numerous prayers, poems, and portions of the Vedic literature. So we could provide many verses that describe this aspect of Krishna. An example of this is found when Lord Brahma relates Lord Krishna’s form in the many verses of his Brahma-samhita. He also explains the beauty of Lord Krishna in his prayers that he directly offered to the Lord in the Bhagavatam. He says that Lord Krishna’s body is dark blue like a new cloud. His garments are like brilliant lightning, and the beauty of Krishna’s face is enhanced by His earrings and the peacock feather He wears on His head. He stands beautifully while wearing garlands made from the forest flowers, carrying a herding stick, a buffalo horn, and a flute. (Bhag.10.14.1)
His personal form is so attractive that it is considered the reservoir of all beauty. In fact, all beautiful things emanate from Him. His form is so attractive that it directs one’s attention away from all other objects. Those same objects then seem devoid of attractiveness after seeing Lord Krishna. Thus, He attracts the minds of all people. His words also captivated the minds of all who remembered them. Even seeing His footsteps, people were attracted. Thus, Krishna spreads His glories which are sung everywhere throughout the universe in the most sublime and essential Vedic verses. Lord Krishna says that by hearing and chanting about His glorious pastimes, the conditioned souls within this world could cross the ocean of ignorance. (Bhag.11.1.7)
The attractive nature of God is further described in the Caitanya-caritamrita (Madhya-lila, 17.139-140): “The transcendental qualities of Sri Krishna are completely blissful and relishable. Consequently Lord Krishna’s qualities attract even the minds of self-realized persons from the bliss of self-realization. Those who are self-satisfied and unattracted by external material desires are also attracted to the loving service of Sri Krishna, whose qualities are transcendental and whose activities are wonderful. Hari, the Personality of Godhead, is called Krishna because He has such transcendentally attractive features.”
Many of the Gosvamis of Vrindavana who had personally realized the attractive features of the Supreme wrote many books about the transcendental personality of God. One of the greatest of these saints was Rupa Gosvami (1489-1564 A.D.) who wrote a list of Krishna’s characteristics in his book, Bhakti rasamrita-sindhu. This list describes 64 different qualities of God that are mentioned in the Vedic literature. This again confirms that the Lord is not merely an impersonal force, but a person who interacts in every way with the creation and the living entities that are within the creation that manifests from Him.
The list includes the following qualities: 1) beautiful features of the entire body; 2) marked with all auspicious characteristics; 3) extremely pleasing; 4) effulgent; 5) strong; 6) ever youthful; 7) wonderful linguist; 8) truthful; 9) talks pleasingly; 10) fluent; 11) highly learned; 12) highly intelligent; 13) a genius; 14) artistic; 15) extremely clever; 16) expert; 17) grateful; 18) firmly determined; 19) an expert judge of time and circumstances; 20) sees and speaks on the authority of the scriptures--the Veda; 21) pure; 22) self-controlled; 23) steadfast; 24) forbearing; 25) forgiving; 26) grave; 27) self-satisfied; 28) possessing equilibrium; 29) magnanimous; 30) religious; 31) heroic; 32) compassionate; 33) respectful; 34) gentle; 35) liberal; 36) shy; 37) protector of surrendered souls; 38) happy; 39) well-wisher of devotees; 40) controlled by love; 41) all-auspicious; 42) most powerful; 43) all-famous; 44) popular; 45) partial to devotees; 46) very attractive to all women; 47) all-worshipable; 48) all-opulent; 49) all-honorable; and 50) the Supreme controller.
These fifty qualities, however, may also be found in varying degrees in some of the jivas or common living entities in this universe. But they are found in Lord Krishna to an unlimited degree. But besides these 50 qualities, there are five more which may also be manifested at times in the forms of Lord Brahma and Shiva. These are: 51) changeless; 52) all-cognizant; 53) ever-fresh; 54) sat-cid-ananda-vigraha--possessing a transcendental form of eternity, full of knowledge and absolute bliss; and 55) possessing all mystic perfection.
Beyond the above mentioned qualities, which may be seen in other forms of Divinity such as the demigods, Lord Krishna has the following exceptional qualities which are also manifested in the form of Narayana or Vishnu, His form as the Lord of Vaikuntha. These are: 56) inconceivable potency; 57) uncountable universes are generated from His body; 58) the original source of all incarnations; 59) the giver of salvation to the enemies He kills; and 60) the attractor of liberated souls.
Besides the above-mentioned traits, Lord Krishna has four more qualities that are found only in Him, and not even in His forms of Vishnu, not to mention any of the demigods. These are: 61) the performer of wonderful pastimes (especially his childhood pastimes); 62) surrounded by devotees endowed with unsurpassed love of Godhead; 63) the attractor of all living entities in all universes through the expert playing of His flute; and 64) possessor of unexcelled beauty without rival. All of these qualities are those of someone who has a highly developed form and personality.
Even the Bible verifies that God has a most beautiful form and is not formless, as is shown in the next few verses that are very similar to the Vedic description of God’s form: “My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers; his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl; his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold; his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend.” (Song of Solomon 5.10-16)
Obviously, there is no more elevated truth or higher bliss than the personal form of the Supreme. As Sri Krishna says: “O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no truth superior to Me.” (Bg.7.7) Many great transcendental scholars have accepted this fact, including Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya, Vallabhacharya, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Baladeva, as well as Lord Brahma, who, after performing many austerities for spiritual purification, became perfectly self-realized and, getting a glimpse of the Lord’s spiritual nature, composed the Brahma-samhita many thousands of years ago and described what were his confidential realizations. One such verse is the following: “Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.” (Brahma-samhita 5.1)
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