PLEASING LOOK : Beautiful bodily features which automatically attract the eyes are called

rucira (pleasing). Kåñëa possesses this attractive feature of rucira in His personal features. In
the Third Canto, Second Chapter, verse 13, of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, there is a statement about
this. "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His pleasing dress, appeared at the scene of the
sacrificial arena when King Yudhiñöhira was performing the Räjasüya sacrifice. All important
personalities from different parts of the universe had been invited to the sacrificial arena, and
all of them, upon beholding Kåñëa there, considered that the Creator had ended all of His
craftsmanship in the creation of this particular body of Kåñëa." It is said that the
transcendental body of Kåñëa resembles the lotus flower in eight parts—namely His face, His
two eyes, His two hands, His navel and His two feet.

WONDERFUL LINGUIST : Rüpa Gosvämé says that a person who knows the languages of
different countries, especially the Sanskrit language, which is spoken in the cities of the
demigods—as well as other worldly languages, including those of the animals—is called a
wonderful linguist. It appears from this statement that Kåñëa can also speak and understand
the languages of the animals. An old woman in Våndävana, present at the time of Kåñëa's
pastimes, once stated in surprise, "How wonderful it is that Kåñëa, who owns the hearts of all
the young girls of Vrajabhümi, can nicely speak the language of Vrajabhümi with the gopés,
while in Sanskrit He speaks with the demigods, and in the language of the animals He can even
speak with the cows and buffalo! Similarly, in the language of the Kashmir Province, and with
the parrots and other birds, as well as in most common languages, Kåñëa is so expressive!"
She inquired from the gopés as to how Kåñëa had become so expert in speaking so many
different types of languages.

TRUTHFUL : A person whose word of honor is never broken is called truthful. Kåñëa once
promised Kunté, the mother of the Päëòavas, that He would bring her five sons back from the
Battlefield of Kurukñetra. After the battle was finished, when all the Päëòavas had come home,
Kunté praised Kåñëa because His promise was so nicely fulfilled. She said, "Even the sunshine
may one day become cool and the moonshine one day become hot, but still Your promise will
not fail." Similarly, when Kåñëa, along with Bhéma and Arjuna, went to challenge Jaräsandha,
He plainly told Jaräsandha that He was the eternal Kåñëa, present along with two of the
Päëòavas.

PLEASING TALKER : A person who can speak sweetly even with his enemy just to pacify him is
called a pleasing talker. Kåñëa was such a pleasing talker that after defeating His enemy Käliya
in the water of the Yamunä, He said, "My dear King of the snakes, although I have given you so
much pain, please do not be dissatisfied with Me. It is My duty to protect these cows, which are
worshiped even by the demigods. Only in order to save them from the danger of your presence
have I been obliged to banish you from this place."
Käliya was residing within the water of the Yamunä, and as a result the back portion of that
river had become poisoned. Thus so many cows who had drunk the water had died. Therefore
Kåñëa, even though He was only four or five years old, dipped Himself into the water, punished
Käliya very severely and then asked him to leave the place and go elsewhere.

FLUENT : Kåñëa's speech, which contains all good qualities in the universe, is described in the
following statement by Uddhava: "The words of Kåñëa are so attractive that they can
immediately change the heart of even His opponent. His words can immediately solve all of the
questions and problems of the world. Although He does not speak very long, each and every
word from His mouth contains volumes of meaning. These speeches of Kåñëa are very pleasing
to my heart."

HIGHLY LEARNED : When a person is highly educated and acts strictly on moral principles, he
is called highly learned. A person conversant in different departments of knowledge is called
educated, and because he acts on moral principles, he is called morally stout. Together, these
two factors constitute learning.
The Siddhas, the inhabitants of Siddhaloka (where all are born with fully developed mystic
powers), and the Cäraëas, pray to Kåñëa as follows: "My Lord Govinda, the goddess of learning
is un-parelleled in six kinds of expert knowledge—namely Vedic evidence, grammar, astrology,
rhetoric, vocabulary and logic. Her constant friends are the supplements of the Vedas, the
Puräëas, and she is decorated with the final conclusion of all education. And now she has
acquired an opportunity to sit with You as a class friend in school, and she is now engaged in
Your service."
Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, does not require any education, but He gives a
chance to the goddess of learning to serve Him. Being self-sufficient, Kåñëa does not require
the service of any living entity, although He has many devotees. It is because Kåñëa is so kind

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and merciful that He gives everyone the opportunity to serve Him, as though He required the
service of His devotees.

HIGHLY INTELLIGENT : A man is called intelligent if he has a sharp memory and fine discretion.
As far as Kåñëa's memory is concerned, it is said that when He was studying in the school of
Sändépani Muni in Avantépura, He showed such a sharp memory that by once taking
instructions from the teacher He immediately became perfect in any subject. Actually, His
going to the school of Sändépani Muni was to show the people of the world that however great
or ingenious one may be, he must go to higher authorities for general education. However
great one may be, he must accept a teacher or spiritual master.
Kåñëa's fine discretion was exhibited when He was fighting with the untouchable king who
attacked the city of Mathurä. According to Vedic rites, those who are untouchable are not to be
touched by the kñatriya kings, not even for killing. Therefore, when the untouchable king
seized the city of Mathurä, Kåñëa did not think it wise to kill him directly with His own hand.
Still the king had to be killed, and therefore Kåñëa decided with fine discretion that He should
flee from the battlefield so that the untouchable king would chase Him. He could then lead the
king to the mountain where Mucukunda was lying asleep. Mucukunda had received a
benediction from Kärttikeya to the effect that when he awoke from his sleep, whomever he
might see would at once be burnt to ashes.

ARTISTIC : One who can talk and dress himself very artistically is called vidagdha. This
exemplary characteristic was visible in the personality of Çré Kåñëa. It is spoken of by
Rädhäräëé as follows: "My dear friend, just see how Kåñëa has nicely composed songs and how
He dances and speaks funny words and plays on His flute, wearing such nice garlands. He has
dressed Himself in such an enchanting way, as though He had defeated all kinds of players at
the chessboard. He lives wonderfully at the topmost height of artistic craftsmanship."

CLEVER : A person who can perform various types of work at once is called clever. In this
connection one of the gopés said, "My dear friends, just see the clever activities of Çré Kåñëa!
He has composed nice songs about the cowherd boys and is pleasing the cows. By the
movement of His eyes He is pleasing the gopés, and at the same time, He is fighting with
demons like Ariñöäsura. In this way, He is sitting with different living entities in different ways,
and He is thoroughly enjoying the situation."

EXPERT : (in bow fight & rasa dance) Any person who can quickly execute a very difficult task
is called expert. About the expertise of Kåñëa there is a statement in the SB 10.59.17, wherein
Çukadeva Gosvämé tells Mahäräja Parékñit, "O best of the Kurus, Çré Kåñëa cut to pieces all
the different weapons used by different fighters." Formerly, fighting was done by releasing
different kinds of arrows. One party would release a certain arrow, and the other party had to
defeat it by counteracting it with another arrow. For example, one party might release an arrow
which would cause water to pour from the sky, and to counteract this the opposing party would
have to release an arrow which could immediately turn the water into clouds. So from this
statement it appears that Kåñëa was very expert in counteracting the enemy's arrows.
Similarly, at the räsa dance, each and every gopé requested that Kåñëa individually become
her partner, and Kåñëa immediately expanded Himself into so many Kåñëas in order to be
coupled with each and every gopé. The result was that each gopé found Kåñëa by her side.

GRATEFUL : Another instance of Kåñëa's feeling of obligation is stated in connection with His
dealings with Jämbavän. When the Lord was present as Lord Rämacandra, Jämbavän, the great
king of the monkeys, rendered very faithful service to Him. When the Lord again appeared as
Lord Kåñëa, He married Jämbavän's daughter and paid him all the respect that is usually given
to superiors. Any honest person is obliged to his friend if some service has been rendered unto
Him. Since Kåñëa is the supreme honest personality, how can He forget an obligation to His
servitor?

DETERMINED : Any person who observes regulative principles and fulfills his promises by
practical activity is called determined. As far as the Lord's determination is concerned, there is
an example in His dealings in the Hari-vaàça. This is in connection with Lord Kåñëa's fighting
the King of heaven, Indra, who was forcibly deprived of the pärijäta flower. Pärijäta is a kind of
lotus flower grown on the heavenly planets. Once, Satyabhämä, one of Kåñëa's queens, wanted
that lotus flower, and Kåñëa promised to deliver it; but Indra refused to part with his pärijäta
flower. Therefore there was a great fight, with Kåñëa and the Päëòavas on one side and all of
the demigods on the other. Ultimately, Kåñëa defeated all of them and took the pärijäta flower,
which He presented to His queen. So, in regard to that occurrence, Kåñëa told Närada Muni,
"My dear great sage of the demigods, now you can declare to the devotees in general, and to
the nondevotees in particular, that in this matter of taking the pärijäta flower, all the demigods
—the Gandharvas, the Nägas, the demon Räkñasas, the Yakñas, the Pannagas—tried to defeat
Me, but none could make Me break My promise to My queen."

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There is another promise by Kåñëa in Bhagavad-gétä to the effect that His devotee will never
be vanquished. So a sincere devotee who is always engaged in the transcendental loving
service of the Lord should know for certain that Kåñëa will never break His promise. He will
always protect His devotees in every circumstance.
Kåñëa showed how He fulfills His promise by delivering the pärijäta flower to Satyabhämä, by
saving Draupadé from being insulted and by freeing Arjuna from the attacks of all enemies.
The promise of Kåñëa that His devotees are never vanquished had also previously been
admitted by Indra when he was defeated in the govardhana-lélä. When Kåñëa stopped the
villagers of Vraja (Våndävana) from worshiping Indra, Indra became angry and therefore
inundated Våndävana with continuous rain. Kåñëa, however, protected all of the citizens and
animals of Våndävana by lifting Govardhana Hill, which served as an umbrella. After the
incident was over, Indra surrendered to Kåñëa with many prayers, in which he admitted, "By
Your lifting Govardhana Hill and protecting the citizens of Våndävana, You have kept Your
promise that Your devotees are never to be vanquished."

PURE : There are two kinds of supreme purity. When one type is possessed, one is able to
deliver a sinful person. When the other type is possessed, one does not do anything which is
impure. A person who possesses either of these qualities is called supremely pure. Kåñëa is
both; He can deliver all sinful conditioned souls, and at the same time, He never does anything
by which He can be contaminated.
In this connection, Vidura, while trying to detach his elder brother, Dhåtaräñöra, from his
familial attachments, said, "My dear brother, you just fix your mind on the lotus feet of Kåñëa,
who is worshiped with beautiful, erudite verses by great sages and saintly persons. Kåñëa is
the supreme deliverer among all deliverers. Undoubtedly there are great demigods like Lord
Çiva and Lord Brahmä, but their positions as deliverers depend always upon the mercy of
Kåñëa." Therefore Vidura advised his elder brother, Dhåtaräñöra, to concentrate his mind and
worship only Kåñëa. If one simply chants the holy name of Kåñëa, this holy name will rise
within one's heart like the powerful sun and will immediately dissipate all the darkness of
ignorance. Vidura advised Dhåtaräñöra to therefore think always of Kåñëa, so that the volumes
of contaminations due to sinful activities would be washed off immediately. In Bhagavad-gétä
also Kåñëa is addressed by Arjuna as paraà brahma paraà dhäma pavitram [Bg. 10.12]—the
supreme pure. There are many other instances exhibiting Kåñëa's supreme purity.

SELF-CONTROLLED : A person who can control his senses fully is called vaçé, or self-
controlled. In this connection it is stated in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, "All the sixteen thousand
wives of Kåñëa were so exquisitely beautiful that their smiling and shyness were able to
captivate the minds of great demigods like Lord Çiva. But still they could not even agitate the
mind of Kåñëa, in spite of their attractive feminine behavior." Every one of the thousands of
wives of Kåñëa was thinking that Kåñëa was captivated by her feminine beauty, but this was
not the case. Kåñëa is therefore the supreme controller of the senses, and this is admitted in
Bhagavad-gétä, where He is addressed as Håñékeça—the master of the senses.

STEADFAST : A person who continues to work until his desired goal is achieved is called
steadfast There was a fight between Kåñëa and King Jämbavän, and Kåñëa was to take the
valuable Syamantaka jewel from the King. The King tried to hide himself in the forest, but
Kåñëa would not become discouraged. Kåñëa finally got the jewel by seeking out the King with
great steadfastness.

FORBEARING : A person who tolerates all kinds of troubles, even though such troubles appear
to be unbearable, is called forbearing. When Kåñëa was residing at the place of His spiritual
master, He did not mind taking all troubles in rendering service to His guru, although His body
was very soft and delicate. It is the duty of the disciple to execute all services unto the spiritual
master, despite all kinds of difficulties. The disciple living at the residence of the spiritual
master has to go begging from door to door and bring everything back to the spiritual master.
When prasäda is being served, the spiritual master is supposed to call each and every disciple
to come eat. If by chance the spiritual master forgets to call a disciple to partake of the
prasäda, it is enjoined in the scriptures that the student should fast on that day rather than
accept food on his own initiative. There are many such strictures. Sometimes, also, Kåñëa went
to the forest to collect dry wood for fuel.

FORGIVING : A person who can tolerate all kinds of offenses from the opposite party is known
to be forgiving.
Lord Kåñëa's forgiving quality is described in the Çiçupäla-vadha in connection with His
forbidding the killing of Çiçupäla. King Çiçupäla was the monarch of the Cedi kingdom, and
although he happened to be a cousin of Kåñëa's, he was always envious of Him. Whenever they

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would meet, Çiçupäla would try to insult Kåñëa and call Him ill names as much as possible. In
the arena of the Räjasüya sacrifice of Mahäräja Yudhiñöhira, when Çiçupäla began to call Lord
Kåñëa ill names, Kåñëa did not care and remained silent. Some of the people at the arena were
prepared to kill Çiçupäla, but Kåñëa restricted them. He was so forgiving. It is said that when
there is a thundering sound in the clouds, the mighty lion immediately replies with his
thundering roar. But the lion doesn't care when all the foolish jackals begin to make their less
important sounds.
Çré Yämunäcärya praises Kåñëa's power of forgiveness with the following statement: "My dear
Lord Rämacandra, You are so merciful to have excused the crow's clawing on the nipples of
Jänaké simply because of his bowing down before You." Once Indra, the King of heaven,
assumed the form of a crow and attacked Sétä (Jänaké), Lord Rämacandra's wife, by striking
her on the breast. This was certainly an insult to the universal mother, Sétä, and Lord
Rämacandra was immediately prepared to kill the crow. But because later on the crow bowed
down before the Lord, the Lord excused his offense. Çré Yämunäcärya further says in his prayer
that the forgiving power of Lord Kåñëa is even greater than that of Lord Rämacandra, because
Çiçupäla was always in the habit of insulting Kåñëa—not only in one lifetime, but continually
throughout three lives.

GRAVE : A person who does not express his mind to everyone, or whose mental activity and
plan of action are very difficult to understand, is called grave. After Lord Çré Kåñëa had been
offended by Brahmä, Brahmä prayed to Him to be excused. But in spite of his offering nice
prayers to Kåñëa, Brahmä could not understand whether Kåñëa was satisfied or still
dissatisfied. In other words, Kåñëa was so grave that He did not take the prayers of Brahmä
very seriously.

SELF-SATISFIED : A person who is fully satisfied in himself, without any hankering, and who is
not agitated even in the presence of serious cause for distress, is called self-satisfied.
An example of Kåñëa's self-satisfaction was exhibited when He, Arjuna and Bhéma went to
challenge Jaräsandha, the formidable king of Magadha, and Kåñëa gave all credit to Bhéma for
the killing of Jaräsandha. From this we can understand that Kåñëa never cares at all for fame,
although no one can be more famous.
An example of His not being disturbed was shown when Çiçupäla began to call Him ill names.
All the kings and brähmaëas assembled at the sacrificial arena of Mahäräja Yudhiñöhira
became perturbed and immediately wanted to satisfy Kåñëa by offering nice prayers. But all
these kings and brähmaëas could not discover any disturbance in Kåñëa's person.

RELIGIOUS : A person who personally practices the tenets of religion as they are enjoined in
the çästras and who also teaches others the same principles is called religious. Simply
professing a kind of faith is not a sign of religiousness. One must act according to religious
principles, and by his personal example he should teach others. Such a person is to be
understood as religious.
When Kåñëa was present on this planet, there was no irreligion. In this connection, Närada
Muni once addressed Kåñëa jokingly, "My dear Lord of the cowherd boys, Your bulls [bulls are
the representation of religion], while eating grass from the pasturing ground and moving on
their four legs, have certainly eaten up all the grass of irreligion!" In other words, by the grace
of Kåñëa, religious principles were so well cared for that hardly any irreligious activities could
be found.
It is said that because Kåñëa was constantly performing various types of sacrifices and was
inviting the demigods from the higher planetary systems, the demigods were almost always
absent from their consorts. Therefore the wives of the demigods, regretting the absence of
their husbands, began to pray for the appearance of Lord Buddha, Kåñëa's ninth incarnation,
who appears in the age of Kali. In other words, instead of being pleased that Lord Kåñëa had
come, they began to pray for Lord Buddha, who is the ninth incarnation, because Lord Buddha
stopped the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices recommended in the Vedas in order to
discourage animal-killing. The demigods' wives thought that if Lord Buddha appeared, all kinds
of sacrifices would be stopped, and thus their husbands would not be invited to such
ceremonies and would not be separated from them.
Sometimes it is inquired, "Why don't the demigods from higher planetary systems come to this
earth planet nowadays?" The plain answer is that since Lord Buddha appeared and began to
deprecate the performance of sacrifice in order to stop animal-killing on this planet, the
process of offering sacrifices has been stopped, and the demigods do not care to come here
anymore.