64 TRANSCENDENTAL QUALITIES OF LORD KRISHNA EXPLAINED!
(By Sri Rupa Gosvami)
(A) FIFTY QUALITIES EXISTING IN KRISHNA IN FULL (100%) AND IN THE DEVOTEES IN MINUTE QUANTITIES
(1) Beautiful features of the entire body: Beautiful bodily features which automatically attract the eyes, called rucira;
(2) Marked with all auspicious characteristics:
7 parts red : eyes, palate, lips, toëgue, hands, feet and His nails;
3 parts that are broad: Chest, waist, forehead;
3 parts are short: genitals, thighs, neck;
3 parts are deep: voice, intellagence, navel;
5 parts are high: nose, arms, ears, forehead, thighs;
5 parts are fine: nails, skin, teeth, head hair, skin hair;
5 parts are lotus like: eyes, face, hands, feet, navel;
9 signs on His left hand: chatri under riëg fiëger, plow under little fiëger, under plow, swastik under, dhanush under swastik, crescent moon under dhanush, fish under moon, (at the bottom of the hand), lotus on the thumb side of palm, Sky emblems on the finger tips;
9 signs on His right hand : conchshells on His finger tips, ankusa under little finger, vertical sword under right finger, diagonal sword under middle fiëger, flag under 1st finger, barley corn at the bottom joint of the thumb, cakra at the base of the thumb, creeper on the left side of the palm, horizontal arrow below creeper, club on thumb side palm;
(3) Extremely pleasing:
(4) Effulgent: His effulgence is the brahmajyoti, dark blue;
(5) Strong: Killed demons, lifted Govardhana, etc;
(6) Ever youthful: 15 yrs, 2 mos., 7.5 days, Kaumara, Pauganda, Kisora, the reservoir of all pleasure the time when the highest varieties of devotional service are acceptable;
(7) Wonderful linguist: A Person who knows laëguages of different countries, Sanskrit, to talk to the Devatas and even to the animals is called a wonderful liëguist;
(8) Truthful: A person whose word of honor is never broken;
(9) Talks pleasingly: A person who speaks pleasingly even with His enemy just to pacify him, ex. to Kaliya, “Even though I gave you severe painful punishment please don’t be dissatisfied with me”;
(10) Fluent: A person who speaks meaniëgful words with politeness and good manners;
(11) Highly learned: When a person is highly educated and acts strictly on moral principles, he is called highly learned;
(12) Highly intelligent: A man is called intelligent if he has a sharp memory and fine decision; (Krishna can remember our activities of all our births.)
(13) A genius: A person who can refute any kind of opposiëg element with newer and newer arguments;
(14) Artistic: One who can talk and dress himself very artistically is called Vidagdha;
(15) Extremely clever: A person who can perform various types of work alone;
(16) Expert: Any person who can quickly execute a difficult task;
(17) Grateful: Any person who is conscious of His friend’s benefitient activiteis and never forget His services;
(18) Firmly determined: Any person who observes regulative principles and fulfills His promises by practical example;
(19) An expert judge of time and circumstances: “My dear Uddhava have the most apportune time for Rasa dance is on a full moon Autumnal night, like tonight. The best place within the universe is Vrndavan and he most beautiful girls are the gopis. So, I should now take advantage of these circumstances and eëgage Myself in the Rasa dance”;
(20) Sees and speaks on the authority of Vedas, or scriptures: A person who acts exactly accordiëg to the scriptures;
(21) Pure: There are 2 kinds of supreme purity. When one is possessed, one can deliver a sinful person. When the other type is possessed, one does not do anythiëg which is impure;
(22) Self-controlled: A person who can control His senses fully is called Vasi, self-controlled;
(23) Steadfast: A person who continues to work until the desired goal is achieved;
(24) Forbearing: A person who can tolerate all kinds of troubles even if they appear unbearable;
(25) Forgiving: A person who can tolerate all kinds of offences from the opposite party;
(26) Grave: A person who does not express His mind to anyone, or whose mental activity and plan of action are very difficult to understand;
(27) Self-satisfied: A person who is completely satisfied in himself, without any hankeriëg and who is not agitated over in the presence of a serious cause for distress;
(28) Possessing equilibrium: A person who is unaffected by attachment and envy;
(29) Magnanimous: Any person is very charitably disposed;
(30) Religious: A person who personally practices the tenants of religion as they are enjoined in the Sastra and who teaches others the same principles;
(31) Heroic: A person when very enthusiastic in military activities and expert in realisiëg different weapons;
(32) Compassionate: A person who is unable to bear another’s distress;
(33) Respectful: A person who shows adequate respect to a spiritual master, a brahmana, or an old person;
(34) Gentle: A person who neither becomes impudent nor exhibits a puffed up nature is called gentle;
(35) Liberal: Any person who by His natural behavior very mild is called liberal;
(36) Shy: A person who displays humility or bashfulness. While Krishna held up Govardhan Hill, He gazed upon the breasts of the gopis, His hand started to shake, every one concerned, Balaram smiling at their concern, Krishna thought he was caught looking at the gopis breasts. He became shy;
(37) The protector of surrendered souls: Krishna is the protector of the surrendered soul;
(38) Happy: Any person who is always joyful and untouched by any distressis called happy;
(39) Well-wisher of devotees: Krishna’s significance and attraction is His devotees;
(40) Controlled by love: Krishna becomes obliged to the loviëg spirit of the devotees;
(41) All-auspicious: A person who is always eëgaged in auspicious welfare activities for everyone;
(42) Most Powerful: A person who can always put His enemies into calamity;
(43) All-famous: A person becomes well-known due to His spotless character;
(44) Popular: Any person who is very dear to people in general is called popular;
(45) Partial to devotees: Partiality to devotees means he gives whatever the devotee wants; If he gives money to someone, he takes the same money from another person if it is good for him.
(46) Very attractive to all women: Any person who has special qualifications becomes immediately very attractive to women;
(47) All-worshipable: A person who is respected & worshiped by all human and gods;
(48) All-opulent: Krishna is full in all opulence’s, streëgth, fame, wealth, beauty, knowledge;
(49) All-honorable: A person who is chief among all important persons;
(50) The supreme controller: There 2 kinds of controllers, one who is independent is called a controller, and one whose orders cannot be neglected by anyone;
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has all these fifty transcendental qualities in fullness as deep as the ocean. In other words, the extent of His qualities is inconceivable.
As parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, the individual living entities can also possess all of these qualities in minute quantities, provided they become pure devotees of the Lord. In other words, all of the above transcendental qualities can be present in the devotees in minute quantity, whereas the qualities in fullness are always present in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
(B) FIVE QUALITIES OF KRISHNA THAT EXIST PARTIALLY IN LORD SIVA OR BRAHMA DEVA ALSO
Besides all of the above-mentioned fifty qualities, Lord Krishna possesses five more, which are sometimes partially manifested in the persons of Lord Brahma or Lord Siva.
These transcendental qualities are as follows:
(51) Changeless: Krishna never chaëges His constitutional position sat-cit-ananda-vigraha;
(52) All-cognizant: Any person who can understand the feeliëgs of all persons and incidents in all places at all times;
(53) Ever fresh: Krishna is always remembered. His name is always chanted by millions of His devotees;
(54) Sac-cid-ananda (possessing an eternal blissful body): Krishna’s body is eternal full of knowledge and bliss;
(55) Possessing all mystic perfections: There are many standards of perfection. The highest material perfections, obtained by perfect yogis, are listed as eight: to become the smallest of the small, to become the greatest of the great, etc. All of these material perfections, as well as all spiritual perfections, can be found fully in Krishna’s personality;
Also Read : QUALITIES OF A PURE DEVOTEE OF KRISHNA
(C) FIVE QUALITIES OF KRISHNA THAT EXIST IN HIS NARAYANA FORM ALSO
(56) He has inconceivable potency.
(57) Uncountable universes generate from His body.
(58) He is the original source of all incarnations.
(59) He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills.
(60) He is the attractor of liberated souls.
(D) FOUR QUALITIES OF KRISHNA THAT EXISTS ONLY IN HIMSELF (NOT EVEN IN NARAYANA FORM)
(61) He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes).
(62) He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead.
(63) He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute.
(64) He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in the creation.
Thus, it is to be understood that the aggregate number of qualities of Krishna is sixty-four. Srila Rupa Gosvami has attempted to give evidences from various scriptures about all sixty-four qualities present in the person of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna.