21 / Qualities of Sri Krsna

Personal features can be divided into two: one feature is covered,
and the other feature is manifested. When Krsna is covered by dif-
ferent kinds of dress, His personal feature is covered. There is an
example of His covered personal feature in the Srimad-Bhagavatam in
connection with His Dvaraka lila (His residence in Dvarak4 as its
king). Sometimes Lord Krsna began to play by dressing Himself like
a woman. Seeing this form, Uddhava said, “How wonderful it is that
this woman is attracting my ecstatic love exactly as Lord Krsna does.
I think she must be Krsna covered by the dress of a woman!”

One devotee praised the bodily features of Krsna when he saw
the Lord in His manifested personal feature. He exclaimed, ““How
wonderful is the personal feature of Lord Krsna! How His neck is just
like a conchshell! His eyes are so beautiful, as though they themselves
are encountering the beauty of a lotus flower. His body is just like
the tamalatree, very blackish. His head is protected with a canopy of
hair. There are the marks of Srivatsa on His chest, and He is holding
His conchshell. By such beautiful bodily features, the enemy of the
demon Madhu has appeared so pleasing that He can bestow upon me
transcendental bliss simply by my seeing His transcendental qualities.”

Srila Rupa Gosvami, after consulting various scriptures, has enu-
merated 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) a wonderful linguist; 8) truthful; 9) talks pleasingly; 10)
can speak fluently in all languages; 11) highly learned; 12) highly in-
telligent; 13) a genius; 14) artistic; 15) extremely clever; 16) expert;

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