Beauty

tat-saundaryaṁ sā ca lāvaṇya-lakṣmīs

tat-saundaryaṁ sā ca lāvaṇya-lakṣmīs
tan-mādhuryaṁ tasya kiṁ varṇitaṁ syāt |
dravyair yogyā laukikair nopamā syāt
kiṁ vānyena dvārakendreṇa nāpi ||
kṛṣṇo yathā nāgara-śekharāgryo
rādhā tathā nāgarikā-varāgryā |
rādhā yathā nāgarikā-varāgryā
kṛṣṇo tathā nāgara-śekharāgryaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.110–111)

“Can that beauty, that wealth of loveliness, or that sweetness of his [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s] be described? Neither with worldly objects, nor with others [i.e., Nārāyaṇa of Vaikuṇṭha, or Rāma of Ayodhyā], nor even the Lord of Dvārakā shall any comparison [thereof] be appropriate. [There is only one appropriate object of comparison:] As Kṛṣṇa is the foremost of cultured lovers, so Rādhā is the foremost of cultured ladyloves, and as Rādhā is the foremost of cultured ladyloves, so Kṛṣṇa is the foremost of cultured lovers.”

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lāghyāṅga-sanniveśo yaḥ suramyāṅgaḥ sa kathyate

ślāghyāṅga-sanniveśo yaḥ suramyāṅgaḥ sa kathyate ||
yathā—
mukhaṁ candrākāraṁ karabha-nibham uru-dvayam idaṁ
bhujau stambhārambhau sarasija-vareṇyaṁ kara-yugam |
kavāṭābhaṁ vakṣaḥ-sthalam aviralaṁ śroṇi-phalakaṁ
parikṣāmo madhyaḥ sphurati mura-hantur madhurimā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.45–46)

“One whose [body-] parts are of praiseworthy formation is called one who has beautiful parts (suramyāṅga), as [is described] in [the following verse],
‘A face with the appearance of the moon,
Thighs like elephant trunks,
Arms like the beginnings [i.e., bases] of pillars,
Hands like excellent lotuses,
A chest like a [broad] door panel,
Sides compact,
Midsection lean—
The Slayer of Mura‘s sweetness shines!’”

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bhavet saundaryam aṅgānāṁ sanniveśo yathocitam

bhavet saundaryam aṅgānāṁ sanniveśo yathocitam ||
yathā—
mukhaṁ te dīrghākṣaṁ marakata-taṭī-pīvaram uro
bhuja-dvandvaṁ stambha-dyuti suvalitaṁ pārśva-yugalam |
parikṣīṇo madhyaḥ prathima-laharī-hāri jaghanaṁ
na kasyāḥ kaṁsāre harati hṛdayaṁ paṅkaja-dṛśaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.336–337)

“Formation as is felicitous of the parts and sub-parts [of the body] shall be [called] beauty (saundarya), as [is described] in [the following verse],
‘Your face with wide eyes,
Chest firm like a swathe of emerald,
Two arms like pillars of light,
Flanks finely ridged,
Midsection lean,
And loins captivating with burgeoning waves [of sweetness],
O Enemy of Kaṁsa,
The heart of which lady of lotus eyes
Do [these] not attract?’”

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aṅga-pratyāngakānāṁ yaḥ sanniveśo yathocitam

aṅga-pratyāngakānāṁ yaḥ sanniveśo yathocitam |
suśliṣṭa-sandhi-bandhaḥ syāt tat saundaryam itīryate ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 10.31)

“Formation as is felicitous of the parts and sub-parts [of the body] which shall be that wherein the unions with the joints are well-set is called beauty (saundarya).”

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yasyānanaṁ makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa

yasyānanaṁ makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa-
bhrājat-kapola-subhagaṁ savilāsa-hāsam |
nityotsavaṁ na tatṛpur dṛśibhiḥ pibantyo
nāryo narāś ca muditāḥ kupitā nimeś ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.24.65; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 82, 111; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.123)

“Drinking with their eyes whose [i.e., his, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] face, which is a constant festival, filled with a charming smile, and lovely with shining cheeks and adorable ears [decorated] with makara earrings, delighted women and men were not satiated and became angry at Nimi.”

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yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ svayoga

yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ svayoga-
māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam |
vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhagardheḥ
paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.2.12; cited in the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.108; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.215; the Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1, 2.5.108; Prīti Sandarbha: 80; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.100)

“To show the power of his own yogamāyā, he [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] assumed [that form of his] which is suited to human [-like] līlā, which is astonishing even to himself, which is the apogee of the excellence of loveliness, and in which the limbs are the ornaments of the ornaments [upon them].”

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tvayy ambujākṣākhila-sattva-dhāmni

tvayy ambujākṣākhila-sattva-dhāmni
samādhināveśita-cetasaike |
tvat-pāda-potena mahat-kṛtena
kurvanti govatsa-padaṁ bhavābdhim ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.30)

“O you of lotus eyes, with the boat of your feet made by the great through the mind being absorbed in meditation (samādhi) upon you, the abode of pure existence, the exalted turn the ocean of material existence into the hoofprint of a calf.”

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yasya naisargikī śobhā tan na saṁskāram arhati

yasya naisargikī śobhā tan na saṁskāram arhati |
kaḥ kalām śaśino mārṣṭi kaustubhaḥ kena rajyate ||
(Unknown source)

“That which possesses inherent beauty does not require embellishment [to make it appealing]. Who sweeps the digits of the moon? By whom is the Kaustubha reddened?”

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śrīr guṇā nairapekṣyādyāḥ sukhaṁ duḥkha-sukhātyayaḥ

śrīr guṇā nairapekṣyādyāḥ sukhaṁ duḥkha-sukhātyayaḥ |
duḥkhaṁ kāma-sukhāpekṣā paṇḍito bandha-mokṣa-vit ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.19.41)

“[Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] Embellishment is qualities beginning with indifference [i.e., and not crowns and so forth]. Happiness is overcoming [worldly] suffering and happiness [i.e., and not mere worldly enjoyment]. Suffering is regard for the pleasure of sense objects [i.e., and not being burned in a fire, etc.]. A paṇḍita is one knows bondage and liberation [i.e., and not simply one who is knowledgeable or explains śāstra].”

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