Fraternal Loving Affairs
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Krṣṇa’s  paugaṇḍa  age can be further divided into three periods—namely, the beginning, middle and end. In the beginning of the  paugaṇḍa  age there is a very nice reddish luster on His lips, His abdomen is very thin, and on His neck are circles like those on a conchshell. Sometimes, some outside visitors would return to Vrṇdāvana to see Krṣṇa and, upon seeing Him again, would exclaim, “My dear Mukunda, Your beauty is gradually increasing, just like the leaf on a banyan tree! My dear lotus-eyed one, Your neck is gradually manifesting circles like the conchshell. And in the shining moonlight Your teeth and cheeks are competing with the  padmarāga  jewels in their beautiful arrangement. I am sure that Your beautiful bodily development is now giving much pleasure to Your friends.”
At this age Krṣṇa was garlanded with various kinds of flowers. He used to put on a silk dress, colored with various kinds of dye. Such beautiful decorations are considered cosmetics for Krṣṇa. Krṣṇa would wear this dress when He used to go into the forest to tend the cows. Sometimes He would wrestle there with His different friends, and sometimes they would dance all together in the forest. These are some of the specific activities of the  paugaṇḍa  age.
The cowherd friends of Krṣṇa were so happy in His company that they expressed their transcendental feelings within themselves thus: “My dear Krṣṇa, You are always busy tending the cows which are scattered all over beautiful Vṛndāvana. You have a beautiful garland, a small conchshell, a peacock feather on Your turban, yellow-colored silk cloth, decorations of  karṇikāra  flowers on Your ears and a  mallīkā  flower garland on Your chest. Appearing so beautiful, when You pretend, just like an actor, to be fighting with us, You give us unlimited transcendental bliss.”
When Kṛṣṇa is more grown-up, in the middle age of  paugaṇḍa , His nails become finely sharp, and His chubby cheeks become lustrous and round. On the two sides of His waist above His belt there are three distinct lines of folded skin, called  tribali .
The cowherd boy friends of Kṛṣṇa felt very proud of their association with Him. At that time the tip of His nose defeated the beauty of the sesame flowers, the luster of His cheeks defeated the glow of pearls, and the two sides of His body were exquisitely beautiful. In this age Kṛṣṇa wore a silk dress that glittered like lightning, His head