Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.38.28-33
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Supreme Lords’ Beauty and Compassion
“Akrūra then saw Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in the village of Vraja, going to milk the cows. Kṛṣṇa wore yellow garments, Balarāma blue, and Their eyes resembled autumnal lotuses. One of those two mighty-armed youths, the shelters of the goddess of fortune, had a dark-blue complexion, and the other’s was white. With Their fine-featured faces They were the most beautiful of all persons. As They walked with the gait of young elephants, glancing about with compassionate smiles, Those two exalted personalities beautified the cow pasture with the impressions of Their feet, which bore the marks of the flag, lightning bolt, elephant goad and lotus. The two Lords, whose pastimes are most magnanimous and attractive, were ornamented with jeweled necklaces and flower garlands, anointed with auspicious, fragrant substances, freshly bathed, and dressed in spotless raiment. They were the primeval Supreme Personalities, the masters and original causes of the universes, who had for the welfare of the earth now descended in Their distinct forms of Keśava and Balarāma. O King Parīkṣit, They resembled two gold-bedecked mountains, one of emerald and the other of silver, as with Their effulgence They dispelled the sky’s darkness in all directions.”
What the purport teaches
- Akrūra saw Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma going to milk the cows in Vraja. Kṛṣṇa wore yellow garments and had a dark-blue complexion; Balarāma wore blue and had a white complexion.
- Their eyes resembled autumnal lotuses, and They glanced about with compassionate smiles. Their marked footprints beautified the pasture, and Their pastimes were most magnanimous and attractive.
- They were the primeval Supreme Personalities, the masters and original causes of the universes. They had descended as Keśava and Balarāma for the earth’s welfare, and Their effulgence dispelled the darkness.
Try this today
Read the description slowly and spend one minute remembering Their compassionate smiles.
Ask yourself
How does this description help me remember both the Lords’ beauty and Their supreme position?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.