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The Nectar of Devotion
was decorated with a silk turban covered with gold lace, and in His hand He carried a stick about fifty-six inches long.* Seeing this exquisitely beautiful dress of Kṛṣṇa, one devotee addressed his friend in this manner: “My dear friend, just look at Kṛṣṇa! See how He is carrying in His hand a stick which is bound up and down with golden rings, how His turban with golden lace is showing such a beautiful luster, and how His dress is giving his friends the highest transcendental pleasure!”
At the end of Krṣṇa’s  paugaṇḍa  age, Krṣṇa’s hair sometimes hangs down to His hips, and sometimes it becomes scattered. In this age His two shoulders become higher and broader, and His face is always decorated with marks of  tilaka . When His beautiful hair scatters over His shoulders, it appears to be a goddess of fortune embracing Him, and this embracing is highly relished by His friends. Subala once addressed Him in this way: “My dear Keśava, Your round turban, the lotus flower in Your hand, the vertical marks of  tilaka  on Your forehead, Your  kuṅkum -flavored musk and all of Your beautiful bodily features are defeating me today, although I am usually stronger than You or any of our friends. Since this is so, I do not know how these features of Your body can fail to defeat the pride of all the young girls of Vṛṇdāvana. When I am so defeated by this beauty, what chance is there for those who are naturally very simple and flexible?”
At this age Krṣṇa took pleasure in whispering into the ears of His friends, and the subject of His talks was the beauty of the  gopīs , who were just tarrying before them. Subala once addressed Krṣṇa thus: “My dear Krṣṇa, You are very cunning. You can understand the thoughts of others; therefore I am whispering within Your ear that all these five  gopīs , who are most beautiful, have been attracted by Your dress. And I believe that Cupid has entrusted them with the responsibility of conquering You.” In other words, the beauty of the  gopīs  was capable of conquering Krṣṇa, although Krṣṇa is the conqueror of all universes.
* The specific pastimes in this period took place in the forest known as Bhāṇḍīravana. This Bhāṇḍīravana, along with eleven other  vanas , or forests, is still existing in the Vṛndāvana area, and devotees who circumambulate the whole area of Vṛndāvana can know the beauty of these forests even today.