Qualities of Sri Krsna

[leyh]

Srila Rupa Goswami,after consulting various scriptures,has enumerated the transcendental qualities of the Lord as follows 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 pleasantly;(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 Vedas,or scriptures;(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)the protector of surrendered souls;(38)happy;(39)the 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;(50)the supreme controller.The Supreme Personality of Godhead has all these fifty transcendental qualities in fullness as deep as the ocean.In other words,the extent of His qualities is inconceivable.

As parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, the individual living entities can also possess all of these qualities in minute quantities,provided they become pure devotees of the Lord.In other words,all of the above transcendental qualities can be present in the devotees in minute quantity,whereas the qualities in fullness are always present in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Besides these,there are other transcendental qualities which are described by Lord Siva to Parvati in the Padma Purana and in the First Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam in connection with a conversation between the deity of the earth and the King of religion,Yamaraja,it is said therin,"Persons who are desirous of becoming great personalities must be decorated with the following qualities:truthfulness,cleanliness,mercy,perseverance,renunciation,peacefulness,simplicity,control of the senses,equilibrium of the mind,austerity,equality,forbearance,placidity,learning,knowledge,detachment,opulence,chivarly,influence,strength,memory,independence,tactfulness,lster,patience,kind-heartedness,ing enuity,gentility,mannerliness,determination,perfection in all knowledge,proper execution,possession of all objects of enjoyment,gravity,steadiness,faithfulness,fame,respectfulness and lack of false egotism." Persons who are desiring to become great souls cannot be without any of the above qualities,so we can know for certain that these qualities are found in Lord Krsna,the supreme soul.

Besides all of the above mentioned fifty qualities,Lord Krsna possess five more,which are sometimes partially manifested in the persons of Lord Brahma or Lord Siva.These transcendental qualities are as follows: (51)changeless;(52)all cognizant;(53)ever fresh;(54)sac-cid-ananda (possessing an eternal blissful body);(55)possessing all mystic perfections.

Krsna also possesses five other qualities,which are manifest in the body of Narayana,and theya re listed as follows.(56)He has inconceivable potency.(57)Uncountable universes generate from His body.(58)He is the original source of all incarnations.(59)He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills.(60)He is the atttractor of liberated souls.All these transcendental qualities are manifest wonderfully in the personal feature of Lord Krsna.

Besides these sixty transcendental qualities,Krsna has four more,which are not manifest not even in the Narayana form of Godhead,what to speak of the demigods or living entities.They are as follows.(61)He is the performer of wonderful varities of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes).

(62)He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead.(63)He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute. (64)He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivalled anywhere in creation.

Adding to the list these four exceptional qualities of Krsna,it is to be understood that the aggregate number of qualities of Krsna is sixty-four.Srila Rupa Goswami has attempted to give evidences from various scriptures about all the sixty-four qualities present in the person of the Supreme Lord. (From The Nectar of Devotion by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Chapter Twenty One: Qualities of Sri Krsna)

 

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by leyh (edited 09-22-2001).]

[leyh]

1.Beautiful Bodily Features

Any comparison of the different parts of the Lord's body to different material objects cannot factually be a complete comparison.Ordinary persons,who cannot understand how exalted are the bodily features of the Lord,are simply given a chance to understand by a material comparison.It is said that Krsna's face is as beautiful as the moon,His thighs are powerful just like the trunks of elephants,His arms are just like two pillars,His palms are expnaded like lotus flowers,His chest is just like a doorway,His hips are dens,and the middle of His body is a terrace.(From The Nectar of Devotion by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Chapter Twenty One: Qualities of Sri Krsna)

[leyh]

2.Auspicious Characteristics

There are certain characteristics of different limbs which are considered to be very auspicious and are fully present in the body of the Lord.In this connection,one friend of Nanda Maharaja,speaking about Lord Krsna's auspicious bodily symptoms said,"My dear King of the cowherds,I can find thirty-two auspicious symptoms on the body of your son!I am wondering how this boy could have taken His birth in a family of cowherd men."Generally,when Lord Krsna appears He does so in a family of ksatriyas (kings)as did Lord Ramacandra,and sometimes in a family of brahmanas.But Krsna accepted the role of son to Maharaja Nanda,despite the fact that that Nanda belonged to the vaisya community.The business of the vaisya community is trade,commerce and the protection of cows.Therefore his friend,who may have been born into a brahmana family,expressed his wonder at how such an exalted child could take birth in a family of vaisyas.Anyway,he pointed out the auspicious signs on the body of Krsna to the boy's foster father.

He continued,"This boy has a reddish luster in seven places --- His eyes,the ends of His hands,the ends of His legs,His palate,His lips,His tongue and His nails.A reddish luster in these seven places are considered to be auspicious.Three parts of His body are very broad:His waist,forehead and chest.Three parts of His body are short:His neck,thighs and genitals.Three parts of His body are very deep:His voice,His intelligence and navel.There is highness in five parts of His body:His nose,arms,ears,forehead and thighs.In five parts of His body there is fineness:His skin,the hairs on His head and on the other parts of His body,His teeth and His fingertips.The aggregate of all these bodily features is manifest only in the bodies of great personalities.

The fate lines on the palm are also considered to be auspicious bodily symptoms.In this connection,one old gopi informed King Nanda,"Your son possesses various wonderful fate lines on His palms.There are the signs of lotus flowers and wheels on His palms,and on His soles there are the signs of a flag,a thunderbolt,a fish,a rod for controlling elephants,and a lotus flower.Please observe how auspicious these signs are!"(From The Nectar of Devotion by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Chapter Twenty One: Qualities of Sri Krsna)

[leyh]

3.Pleasing

Beautiful bodily features which automatically attract the eyes are called rucira (pleasing).Krsna possesses this attractive feature of rucira in His personal features.In the Third Canto,Second Chapter,verse 13,of Srimad Bhagavatam,there is a statement about this."The Supreme Personality of Godhead,in His pleasing dress,appeared at the scene of the sacrificial arena when King Yudhisthira was performing the Rajasuya sacrifice.All important personalities from different parts of the universe had been invited to the sacrificial arena,and all of them,upon beholding Krsna there,considered that the Creator had ended all of His craftsmanship in the creation of this particular body of Krsna."

It is said that the transcendental body of Krsna resembles the lotus flower in eight parts --- namely His face,His two eyes,His two hands,His navel and His two feet.The gopis and inhabitants of Vrndavana used to see the luster of lotus flowers everywhere,and they could hardly draw their eyes from such a vision.(From The Nectar of Devotion by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Chapter Twenty One: Qualities of Sri Krsna)

[leyh]

4.Effulgent

The effulgence pervading the universe is considered to be the rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.The supreme abode of Krsna is always throwing off the effulgence known as brahmajyoti,and that effulgence is emanating from His body.

The luster of the hosts of jewels fixed on the chest of the Lord can defeat even the luster of the sun,and still,when compared with the bodily luster of the Lord,that crest of jewels appears only as bright as one of the stars in the sky.Therefore the transcendental influence of Krsna is so great that it can defeat anyone.When Krsna was present in the sacrificial arena of His enemy King Kamsa,the wrestlers present,appreciating the softness of the body of Sri Krsna,were afraid and perturbed when they thought of engaging with Him in battle.(From The Nectar of Devotion by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Chapter Twenty One: Qualities of Sri Krsna)

[leyh]

5.Strong

A person who has extraordinary bodily strength is called baliyan.When Krsna killed Aristasura,some of the gopis said,"My dear friends,just see how Krsna has killed Aristasura!Although he was stronger than a mountain,Krsna plucked him up just like a piece of cotton and threw him away without any difficulty!" There is another passage wherein it is said, "O my dear devotees of Lord Krsna,may the left hand of Lord Krsna,which has lifted Govardhana Hill like a ball,save you from all dangers."(From The Nectar of Devotion by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Chapter Twenty One: Qualities of Sri Krsna)

 

 

[This message has been edited by leyh (edited 09-25-2001).]

[dasanudas]

A soothing read Leyh.

Appreciations and gratitude.

Only thing is the thread is wide can that be fixed?

[leyh]

Originally posted by dasanudas:

A soothing read Leyh.

Appreciations and gratitude.

Only thing is the thread is wide can that be fixed?

Dasanudas:

Glad you enjoyed reading.I shall post more,but I don't think there's anything I can do about the wide thread...

 

 

[Gauracandra]

Leyh,

 

You can change the wide length. Basically notice in your first posting, how you have a listing of various qualities. Well I'm thinking it starts with quality (21) basically you have one long line with no spaces in betweeen. As such it tries to extend the page to fit the entire line (like it is 1 word). My advice is to edit some of the postings and add spaces in between some of these qualities.

 

Gauracandra

[leyh]

6.Ever Youthful

Krsna is beautiful at His different ages ---namely His childhood,His boyhood and His youth.Out of these three,His youth is

the reservoir of all pleasures and is the time when the highest varieties of devotional service are acceptable.At that

age,Krsna is full with all transcendental qualities and is engaged in His transcendental pastimes.Therefore,devotees have accepted the beginning of His youth as the most attractive feature in ecstatic love.

At this age Krsna is described as follows:

"The force of Krsna's youth was combined with His beautiful smile,which defeated even the beauty of the full moon.He was always attracting the minds of the gopis,who were

thereby always feeling pleasure."(From The Nectar of Devotion by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Chapter Twenty One: Qualities of Sri Krsna)

 

 

[Caitanyachandra]

There are millions of infinite qualities to The Lord however there are 2 that set him apart from everything.

[Tarun]

Lord NArAyaN has 60. Lord KRSNa has 64. How many does Lord Baladev have?

According to ZrIla Zridhardev: .....?