352 The Nectar of Devotion
child’s head and would inform his beloved wife how the child was
pleasing his eyes.

Mother Yagoda then addressed Nanda Maharaj, “‘See my dear son,
whose eyes are white, who has a turban on His head, a wrapper on
His body and leg bells which tinkle very sweetly on His feet. He is
coming near, along with His surabhi calves, and just see how He is
wandering upon the sacred land of Vrndavana!”’

Similarly, Maharaj Nanda addressed his wife, ““My dear Yasoda,
just look at your offspring, Krsna! See His blackish bodily luster, His
eyes tinged with red color, His broad chest and His nice golden neck-
lace! How wonderful He looks, and how He is increasing my tran-
scendental bliss more and more!”

When Krsna, the beloved son of Nanda Maharaj, steps into His
kaisora age, although He becomes more beautiful, His parents still
consider Him as being in the pauganda age—even though He is be-
tween the ages of ten and fifteen. When Krsna is in His pauganda age,
some of His servants also accept Him as being in the kaisora age.
When Krsna performs His childish pastimes, His general practice is to
break the milk and yogurt pots, throw the yogurt in the courtyard
and steal the cream from the milk. Sometimes He breaks the churning
rod, and sometimes He throws butter on the fire. In this way, he in-
creases the transcendental pleasure of His Mother Yasoda.

In this connection Mother Yasoda once told Mukhara, her maid-
servant, “Just look at Krsna looking stealthily toward all sides and
slowly stepping forward from the bushes. It appears that He is coming
just to steal the butter. Don’t expose yourself or He may understand
that we are looking towards Him. I want to enjoy the sight of His
eyebrows moving in this cunning way, and I want to see His fearful
eyes and beautiful face.”

In enjoying Krsna’s attitude of stealing butter very stealthily,
Mother Yasoda experienced the ecstasy of maternal love by smelling
His head, sometimes patting His body with her hand, sometimes
offering blessings, sometimes ordering Him, sometimes gazing at Him,
sometimes maintaining and sometimes giving Him good instructions
not to become a thief. Such activities are in maternal ecstatic love.
An important point to be observed in this connection is that the
