1. Suramyangah - His body is very pleasing and delightful - BRS 2.1.45-46

- 1. Krishna's body is very pleasing and delightful -

What does Krishna's attractiveness mean to you? Does the idea of a person attractive in all ways - an all-attractive individual - intrigue you? Is there something in particular in Krishna's being that captivates your mind? How do you reconcile the attraction with the concept of Krishna as the beloved of your mistress, Sri Radha?

lAvanyAnga is a separate quality or would you include it with suramyAnga? If so there would be more illustrations perhaps. And we could catogorise under headings such as vAcik guna, physical qualities and gunas which pertain to character and disposition. And rucira maybe more closely related to lAvanya. Whose limbs are particularly praiseworthy on account of beauty, softness of touch, well proportioned, fragrant and cool, thus su-ramya-anga, of most delightfull parts and graces. A nice name in that connection is meghazyAmalakomalAnga.

We can always return to similar themes, can't we? If there are several that are very similar, we can swap the sequence and take some others in between. Since they are listed as distinct qualities, I would assume that each has nuances that merit a separate listing, and hence a separate study and relish?

The main reason in my starting this is not an attempt to exhaust the topic, but rather to maintain an ongoing discussion on Krishna, whose qualities have the power to purify even the darkest of minds. An experiment, if you will, to see if amidst all the aimless debate such topics are sustainable at all.

We can all spend our days contemplating on the ongoing qualities, and at the end of the day share a thought or two if anything new was unveiled in the course of our contemplation.

If you'd like to nevertheless categorize the 64 qualities into the abovementioned groups, then certainly, by all means - let us swim around to and fro in the lake of Hari's qualities, dive and emerge, and like unwitty swimmers, drink to our heart's content!

I would like to see Krishna, when he has just fallen in love with Radha. He has been performing japa of Radha's name, as instructed by Paurnamasi, in hope of getting her darsan.

And then suddenly one day he receives Radha's darsan and while drinking her sweet beauty through his big lotus eyes, his soft and tender body is going through all kinds of ecstatic transformations. His body must look very delightful at that moment.

Just came accross a name in Sri Visnu Sahasra nama; zubhAnga Acarya Sankara explains it as; he possesses a handsome body, hence zubhAnga.

The reason I mentioned lAvanya is because it is not otherwise included in the 64.
There is the bhAvAlankAra called vicchitti , which perhaps has some relevance in trying to appriciate the quality of suramyAnaga. Can't find any of the usual referances, which might be in Krsna Karnamrta or Ujjvala Nilamani. Anyway, it's to do with with the beauty of Sri Krsna's limbs becoming surprisingly conspicuous when unadorned. There's a sloka I picked up from an audio cassette attributed to Sri Lilasuka.
This is how it goes roughly from hearing the tape.

lAvaNyavIchi racitAnGabhUSAM
bhUSAparAropita puNyabarhA/
kAruNyadhArAla katAkSamAlAM
bAlaM bhaja vallavavaMsalakSmi//

I sing the praises of the boy who brought plenitude to the cowherds;
a lovely peacock feather in his hair is all the ornament he wears,
yet waves of beauty gush forth from his limbs, and the garland of
his side-long glances shower compassion on all around.

O Madhava, just looked more closely at your questions above. Beauty is a most attractive thing, and hearing about Krsna's unprecedented beauty would be attractive to those who have a taste for such things. " Beauty provoketh theives sooner than gold."
And have you noticed a line in Dhyanacandra's manual, nigUDa bhAvA govinde, in referance to nija manjari svarupa dhyana?
What do you make of that half a line? It has intreged me. And would you say lord Krsna's gunas are to be sought to be relished from the perspective of the relevant azraya murti? In this case Srimati Radharani. She being the actual relisher and the devotee relishes as an accessory.

Radhe Radhe!

Last evening I read to my children Sri Rupa Chintamani. It was such a sweet book to read to them. My wife encourageed them to close their eyes and visualize the descriptions within and after we spoke about them. Even today I asked them questions from what they read and they told us about the different descriptions.

This morning while doing my yogapitha-seva I found myself remembering these descriptions such as Sri Radhikas fingers and even seeing Krsna and Radhas faces with their lockets containing one anothers pictures hanging from their neck. It was very helpful and brought it all to life a bit more.

Radhe Radhe!

Rasaraja dasa

Jagat, if you get a chance to look up something inspirational in the commentaries...

In the evening when Radhika hears that Krishna has gone milking his cows, she is very eager to see that. She goes to a beautiful garden on the bank of Pavana Sarovara. There she climbs a watchtower together with her sakhis and manjaris. And they all stare at Krishna, drinking his beauty through their eyes.

Radhika is astonished by Krishna's beauty and she is describing it to her girlfriends. She is very carefully looking at different parts of Krishna's body and all the ornaments, and praising them all.

Krishna is on his knees among his many many cows, he is milking one of them, and the others are already eager to be touched by him. One cow's belly touches slightly Krishna's turban making it almost fall off. This makes Krishna's curly locks fall on his beautiful moonlike face. His beautiful reddish lips are shining through his locks, and his eyes are restlessly looking here and there.

Maybe we are one day there with our Radhika to see her beloved the way she experiences him.

Yes, Krshna’s beauty is astonishing. It is a fact however that His beauty and all His other attributes are simply a result of Srimati Radharani’s creative love for Him. Without Srimatiji He can’t even play the flute, I heard. Radha is Krishna’s master in every way, teaching Him how to be attractive. There are so many meanings to Jai Radhe!

I’ve also heard that Krsna spoke the entire Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna as part of His plan to go back to Vrindavan, to His beloved Srimati Radharani, to be precise. He was missing Her so much. He wanted to quickly get on with the battle so to come to the arrangement where Gokula would be protected by the victorious army, etc, so He wouldn’t have to be away in Dvaraka anymore. But this could be all just rumors without reality for all the girls of Vraja know. Krsna has cheated Them before, they know that much.

Do you trust Krshna, Malatilata?

This line from Caitanya Candramrta might be appropriate here.

vibhrat kAntiM vikaca-kanakAmbhoja-garbhAbhirAmam

who radiates the abhirAmam lustre of the interior of a freshly blooming golden lotus.
The first line also portrays some aspects of suramyAnga, but maybe comes under sarvasallakSanAnvita as it is in referance to proportions.

siMha skaNdaM lion-shouldered and madhura madhura smera ganDa sthalAntam, the corners of whose cheeks are marked with smiles more sweet than sweet.

athAsyA eva sapraNayerSyaM jalpitam

mukha mAdhurya samRddhyA prahRdayasya grahItari prasabham |
kRSNAtmani parapuruSe sauhRda kAmasya kA zarIrAzA ?

Padyavali- 365, Sri Jagannatha Sena

Enchanting words of Divine Love and envy of Sri Radhika
to Sakhis who revive Her from a fainting spell:

My dear Sakhi! What is this commotion? Listen carefully!
Which foolish-one can still have a hope of keeping one's body
sound and safe, while desiring for the loving courtship of
Paramour Sri Krishna, Who with His wealth of irresistable
charm and beauty forcibly plunders the tender hearts of all?

Jaya Sri Radhey!

Srimati Radhika has declared :

asundaraH sundara zekharo vA
zyAmaH sa yevAdya gatir mamAyam

hRdI mugdhasikandamandanaH likhitaH kena mamaiSa zilpinA
madanAdura vallavAnganA vadanAmbhoja divAkaro yuvA ||

Which bold artist has drawn this picture of this unsatiable beauty known as Gopala in my heart? Who etched this embodiment of beauty wearing the charming peacock feathers in His hair? Which painter painted the picture of this beautiful youth in my heart, who is like the morning Sun to the lotus-like faces of the love-sick Gopis ? (gopala viMzati, vedAnta dezikAcArya, verse 14)

QUOTE

zubhAnga Acarya Sankara explains it as; he possesses a handsome body, hence zubhAnga

zantAkAram bhujaga-zayanam padmanAbham sureSam
viSvAdhAram gaganasadRSam meghavarNam zubhAngam
lakshmikAntam kamalanayanam yogibhir dhyAnagamyam
vande vishNum bhavabhayaharam sarvalokaikanAtham

meghazyAmam pItakauzeyavAsam srIvatsAnkam kaustubhodbhAsitAngam
punyopetam pundarIkAyatAksham vishNum vande sarvalokaikanAtham