Çré Kåñëa

Gaura lila - Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu

Kåñëa's age:

is considered in three periods: from His appearance day to the end of His fifth year is called kaumara, from the beginning of the sixth year up to the end of the tenth year is called paugaëòa, and from the eleventh to the end of the fifteenth year is called kaiçora. After the beginning of the sixteenth year, Kåñëa is called a yauvana, or a youth, and this continues with no change.

As far as Kåñëa's transcendental pastimes are concerned, they are mostly executed during the kaumära, paugaëòa and kaiçora periods. His affectionate pastimes with His parents are executed during His kaumära age. His friendship with the cowherd boys is exhibited during the paugaëòa period. And His friendship with the gopés is exhibited during the age of kaiçora. Kåñëa's pastimes at Våndävana are finished by the end of His fifteenth year, and then He is transferred to Mathurä and Dvärakä, where all other pastimes are performed.(NoD 26)

8 Chief Sakhas:

Subala, Madhumaëgal, Ujjvala, Arjuna, Gandarva, Vidagdha, Bhrëga, Kokila, Daksa, Sanananda

8 Parama preñöha Sakhés:

Lälitä, Visakhä, Citrä, Indu-lekha, Campaka-latä, Tuìga-vidya, Raìga Devé, Sudevé

Pets:

• Cows Maëgala, Piëgala, Pisaëgi, Manika-ñöhani, Hamsi, Vamarpriya.
• peacock named Tandavik
• parrots Daksa and Vicaksana
• dogs Vyaghra and Bhramaraka
• deer named Suraëga
• swan named Kala-svana
• monkey named Dadhi-lobha
• bulls named Padmagandha and Pisangaksa ( Kåñëa: Friend, on the right, look! Look! There is My pet bull Padmägandha among the surabhi cows. He is very tall and he has great red horns. His hooves and his beautiful and handsome eyes are also red, a bell hangs from his neck, his long tail moves on the ground, he is very tall, he possesses an incomparable hump, and he is the same white color as Mount Kailasa. (RG SVM 6,8)

Flutes:

• veëu is 12 finger-widths long with a circumference the size of a thumb, and it has six holes
• The muralé is two hand spans in length with a hole at its month and four other holes for scales
• The vaàçé is 17 finger-widths long. Of this, there is a clear space of three finger-widths at the tail end. In the middle is a space containing eight finger-holes separated from each other by a gap of half a finger's width. the last, or bottom hole is three finger-width from the end. At the head end of the flute is another space of four finger-widths, which is also clear, except for the hole for blowing, which is half a finger's width from the end. The vaàçé therefore has a total of nine holes. (Jaiva Dharma, Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura)
  

  "Kåñëa has a loëger vamsi, which is called Mahänandä, or Sammohini. When it is still loëger and made of gold it is called Akarsini. When it is even loëger it is called Anandini. The änandini flute is very pleasiëg to the cowherd boys and is technically named Vamsuli. These flutes were sometimes bedecked with jewels. Sometimes they were made of marble and sometimes of hollow bamboo. When the flute is made of jewels it is called sammohini" (NoD 26).

Buffalo horn:

• "Kåñëa used a buffalo horn as a bugling instrument. This instrument was always highly polished and circled with gold bands, and on the middle there was a hole. Regarding these instruments, there is a metaphorical statement about a gopé named Tärävalé. It is said that Tärävalé was bitten by the most venomous snake of Kåñëa’s flute. Then, in order to neutralize the poisonous effect, she drank the milk produced by the buffalo horn in the hand of Kåñëa. But instead of decreasing the poisonous effect, it increased it a thousand times. The gopé was thus put into the most miserable poisoned condition." (NoD 26)

The original Supreme Lord, Svayam Bhagavän. He is avatäré the source of all other avatäras. His partial manifestation is the Paramätmä and His bodily effulgence is the all-pervading brahma. His body is composed of sat cid änanda - eternality, knowledge, and bliss. He is the personification of all spiritual mellows, raso vai sa. He is a charming young cowherd boy with a complexion like that of a fresh monsoon raincloud. His wears a brilliant yellow dhoté, a peacock feather on His crown and a garland of fresh forest flowers. He possesses sixty four primary transcendental qualities, out of which four are unique to Him alone: venu-mädhurya, He attracts the entire world and especially the gopés with the melodious sound of His flute; rüpa-mädhurya, He possesses extraordinary beauty which captivates the minds of all; prema-mädhurya, He is surrounded by intimate loving associates whose prema is completely unbounded by reverence or formality; and lélä-mädhurya, He performs beautiful and enchanting pastimes, amongst which räsa-lélä is the summit.

Krsna's Lotus Feet (19 signs)
Krsna's 64 Qualities

Lifeline of Sri Krishna

Historically, Lord Krishna appeared in the Dvapara yuga, on the midnight of the 8th day of the dark half of the month of Sravan. This corresponds to July 19th in the year 3228 BC. He exhibited His pastimes for a little over 125 years and disappeared on February 18th 3102 BC on the new moon night of Phalgun. His departure marks the beginning of the current age of corruption known as Kali.

The great scholar Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti neatly outlines Lord Krishna's activities in this way. He was born in Mathura in the prison cell of Kamsa and carried to Gokul. The first three years and four months were spent in Gokula, then equal lengths of time in Vrindavan and Nandagram. At the age of eleven He left Vrindavan for Mathura where He lived for eighteen years and four months, and finally ninety-six years and eight months in Dvaraka totalling about 126 years of manifest pastimes. At the time of Mahabharata, when Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita, He was about ninety years of age.

What is Krishna avatar? In Chaitanya-charitamrita (2.20.263-264) it is stated that the "avatar, or incarnation of Godhead, descends from the kingdom of God for creating and maintaining the material manifestation. And the particular form of the Personality of Godhead who so descends is called an incarnation, or avatar. Such incarnations are situated in the spiritual world, the kingdom of God. When They descend to the material creation, They assume the name avatar."

The Srimad Bhagavatam states that there are countless incarnations just like the waves of the oceans. They fall in various categories like lila (pastime), yuga (period of yuga), manavantara (period of Manu), purusa (Vishnu expansions) and shaktivesa (empowered). These avatars perform various pastimes based on the time, place and circumstances, but their purpose is always the same - "to attract the conditioned souls back to their eternal spiritual abode".

The incarnations emanate from Vishnu. Maha-Vishnu is the original cause of all material creation and from Him Garbhodakashai-Vishnu expands and then Ksirodakasayi-Vishnu. Generally all incarnations appearing within the material world are plenary portions of Ksirodakasayi-Vishnu (also known as Hari).

However only once in a day of Lord Brahma (which lasts for 4.32 billion of our years), does Krishna descend in His original form, as the avataree, the cause of all avatars. When Krishna appears all the incarnations join with Him. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the complete whole and all the plenary portions and incarnations always live with Him. So when Krishna appeared, Lord Vishnu was always with Him, and while Krishna enjoyed His pastimes in Vrindavan, the killing of the demons was actually carried out by the His Vishnu portion. Since Krishna eternally resides in Vrindavan, when He left Vrindavan at the age of ten, it was His Vasudeva expansion that actually left.

Srila Prabhupada's vani about Krsna