159 The Nectar of Devotion

a doorway, His hips are dens, and the middle of His body is a
terrace.

2. Auspicious Characteristics

There are certain characteristics of different limbs which are con-
sidered to be very auspicious and are fully present in the body of the
Lord. In this connection, one friend of Nanda Maharaj, speaking
about Lord Krsna’s auspicious bodily symptoms, said, “‘My dear King
of the cowherds, I can find 32 auspicious symptoms on the body of
your son! I am wondering how this boy could have taken his birth in
the 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 Maharaj Nanda, despite the fact 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 won-
der 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 is con-
sidered 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,
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 finger tips. The aggregate of all these bodily
features are 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,
