១15
The Nectar of Devotion
name is also Krṣṇa. Krṣṇa’s fame is also Krṣṇa. Krṣṇa’s entourage is also Krṣṇa. Krṣṇa and everything related with Krṣṇa which gives stimulation to love of Krṣṇa are all Krṣṇa, but for our understanding these items can be considered separately.
Krṣṇa is the reservoir of all transcendental pleasure. Therefore, the impetuses to love of Krṣṇa, although seemingly different, are not actually distinct from Krṣṇa Himself. In the technical Sanskrit terms, such qualities as Krṣṇa's name, fame, etc., are accepted both as reservoirs of and stimulation for love of Krsna.
Krṣṇa’s age is considered in three periods: from His appearance day to the end of His sixth year is called  kaumāra ; from the beginning of the sixth year up to the tenth year is called  paugaṇḍa ; and from the tenth to the sixteenth year is called  kaiśora ; after the beginning of the sixteenth year, Krṣṇa is called a  yauvana  or a youth, and this continues with no change.
As far as Krṣṇa’s transcendental pastimes are concerned, they are mostly executed during the  kaumāra ,  paugaṇḍa  and  kaiśora  periods. His affectionate pastimes with His parents are executed during His  kaumāra  age. His friendship with the cowherd boys is exhibited during the  paugaṇḍa  period. And His friendship with the  gopīs  is exhibited during the age of  kaiśora . Krṣṇa’s pastimes at Vrṇdāvana are finished by the end of His fifteenth year, and then He is transferred to Mathurā and Dvārakā, where all other pastimes are performed.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī gives us a vivid description of Kṛṣṇa as the reservoir of all pleasures in his  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu . Here are some parts of that description.
Krṣṇa’s  kaiśora  age can be divided into three parts. In the beginning of His  kaiśora  age—that is, at the beginning of His eleventh year, the luster of His body becomes so bright that it becomes an impetus for ecstatic love. Similarly, there are reddish borders around His eyes, and a growth of soft hairs on His body. In describing this early stage of His  kaiśora  age, Kundalatā, one of the residents of Vṛndāvana, said to her friend, “My dear friend, I have just seen an extraordinary beauty appearing in the person of Krṣṇa. His blackish bodily hue appears just like the  indranīla  jewel. There are reddish signs on His eyes, and small soft hairs are coming out on His body. The appear-