KášášŁáša's age, His beauty, His bugle, His flute, His conchshell and His pleasing attitude all provoke love in friendship for Him. His exceptional joking abilities, exhibited sometimes by His pretending to be a royal prince, or even the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also give impetus to devotees developing love for KášášŁáša in friendship.
Learned scholars have divided KášášŁáša's age into three periods: the age up through five years is called kaumÄra, the age from the sixth through the tenth year is called paugaášá¸a, and the age from the eleventh through fifteenth year is called kaiĹora. While KášášŁáša is spending His days as a cowherd boy, He is in the kaumÄra and paugaášá¸a ages. In the kaiĹora age, when KášášŁáša appeared in Gokula, He acted as a cowherd boy, and then, when He was sixteen, He went to MathurÄ to kill Kaášsa.
The kaumÄra age is just suitable for reciprocating the love of a child with mother YaĹodÄ. In the Tenth Canto, Thirteenth Chapter, verse 11, of ĹrÄŤmad-BhÄgavatam, Ĺukadeva GosvÄmÄŤ tells King ParÄŤkᚣit, "My dear King, although Lord KášášŁáša is the supreme enjoyer and the beneficiary of all kinds of sacrificial ceremonies, He still used to eat with His cowherd boyfriends. This is because at that time He accepted the pastimes of an ordinary boy, keeping His flute under His arm and His bugle on the right side in His belt, along with His cane. In His left hand He would hold a lump of rice paste with yogurt, and in His fingers would be pÄŤlu, the king of fruits. When He would thus sit among His friends, it would appear that He was the whorl of a lotus flower and that the friends surrounding Him were petals. As they thus enjoyed joking among themselves, the denizens of heaven would become struck with wonder and would only stare at the scene."
KášášŁáša's paugaášá¸a age can be further divided into three periodsânamely the beginning, middle and end. In the beginning of the paugaášá¸a age there is a very nice reddish luster on His lips, His abdomen is very thin, and on His neck are circles like those on a conchshell. Sometimes, some outside visitors would return to VášndÄvana to see KášášŁáša and, upon seeing Him again, would exclaim, "My dear Mukunda, Your beauty is gradually increasing, just like the leaf on a banyan tree! My dear lotus-eyed one, Your neck is gradually manifesting circles like those of the conchshell. And in the shining moonlight Your teeth and cheeks are competing with the padmarÄga jewels in their beautiful arrangement. I am sure that Your beautiful bodily development is now giving much pleasure to Your friends."
At this age KášášŁáša was garlanded with various kinds of flowers. He used to put on a silk dress, colored with various kinds of dye. Such beautiful decorations are considered cosmetics for KášášŁáša. KášášŁáša would wear this dress when He used to go into the forest to tend the cows. Sometimes He would wrestle there with His different friends, and sometimes they would dance all together in the forest. These are some of the specific activities of the paugaášá¸a age.
The cowherd friends of KášášŁáša were so happy in His company that they expressed their transcendental feelings within themselves thus: "Dear KášášŁáša, You are always busy tending the cows which are scattered all over beautiful VášndÄvana. You have a beautiful garland, a small conchshell, a peacock feather on Your turban, yellow-colored silk cloth, decorations of karášikÄra flowers on Your ears and a mallikÄ flower garland on Your chest. Appearing so beautiful, when You pretend, just like an actor, to be fighting with us, You give us unlimited transcendental bliss."
When KášášŁáša is more grown up, in the middle age of paugaášá¸a, His nails become finely sharp, and His chubby cheeks become lustrous and round. On the two sides of His waist above His belt there are three distinct lines of folded skin, called trivalÄŤ.
The cowherd boyfriends of KášášŁáša felt very proud of their association with Him. At that time the tip of His nose defeated the beauty of sesame flowers, the luster of His cheeks defeated the glow of pearls, and the two sides of His body were exquisitely beautiful. In this age KášášŁáša wore a silk dress that glittered like lightning, His head was decorated with a silk turban covered with gold lace, and in His hand He carried a stick about fifty-six inches long.
At the end of KášášŁáša's paugaášá¸a age, KášášŁáša's hair sometimes hangs down to His hips, and sometimes it becomes scattered. In this age His two shoulders become higher and broader, and His face is always decorated with marks of tilaka. When His beautiful hair scatters over His shoulders, it appears to be a goddess of fortune embracing Him, and this embracing is highly relished by His friends. Subala once addressed Him in this way: "My dear KeĹava, Your round turban, the lotus flower in Your hand, the vertical marks of tilaka on Your forehead, Your kuáš kuma-flavored musk and all of Your beautiful bodily features are defeating me today, although I am usually stronger than You or any of our friends. Since this is so, I do not know how these features of Your body can fail to defeat the pride of all the young girls of VášndÄvana. When I am so defeated by this beauty, what chance is there for those who are naturally very simple and flexible?"
At this age KášášŁáša took pleasure in whispering into the ears of His friends, and the subject of His talks was the beauty of the gopÄŤs, who were just tarrying before them. Subala once addressed KášášŁáša thus: "My dear KášášŁáša, You are very cunning. You can understand the thoughts of others; therefore I am whispering within Your ear that all of these five gopÄŤs, who are most beautiful, have been attracted by Your dress. And I believe that Cupid has entrusted them with the responsibility of conquering You." In other words, the beauty of the gopÄŤs was capable of conquering KášášŁáša, although KášášŁáša is the conqueror of all universes.
The symptoms of the kaiĹora age have already been described, and it is at this age that devotees generally most appreciate KášášŁáša. KášášŁáša with RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ is worshiped as KiĹora-kiĹorÄŤ. KášášŁáša does not increase His age that although He is the oldest personality and has innumerable different forms, His original form is always youthful. In the pictures of KášášŁáša on the Battlefield of Kurukᚣetra we can see that He is youthful, although at that time He was old enough to have sons, grandsons and great-grandsons. The cowherd boyfriends of KášášŁáša once said, "Dear KášášŁáša, You need not decorate Your body with so many ornaments. Your transcendental features are themselves so beautiful that You do not require any ornamentation." At this age, whenever KášášŁáša begins to vibrate His flute early in the morning, all of His friends immediately get up from bed just to join Him in going to the pasturing grounds. One of the friends once said, "My dear cowherd friends, the sound of KášášŁáša's flute from above Govardhana Hill is telling us that we need not go to search Him out on the bank of the YamunÄ."
PÄrvatÄŤ, the wife of Lord Ĺiva, told her husband, "My dear PaĂącamukha [five-faced], just look at the PÄášá¸avas! After hearing the sound of KášášŁáša's conchshell, known as PÄĂącajanya, they have regained their strength and are just like lions."
At this age, KášášŁáša once dressed Himself up exactly like RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ, just to create fun among His friends. He put on golden earrings, and because He was blackish, He smeared the pulp of kuáš kuma all over His body in order to become as fair as She. By seeing this dress, KášášŁáša's friend Subala became very astonished.
KášášŁáša played with His intimate friends sometimes by fighting or wrestling with their arms, sometimes by playing ball and sometimes by playing chess. Sometimes they carried one another on their shoulders, and sometimes they exhibited their expertness at whirling logs. And the cowherd friends used to please KášášŁáša by sitting together with Him on couches or on swings, by lying together on their beds, by joking together and by swimming in the pool. All these activities are called anubhÄva. Whenever all the friends would assemble in the company of KášášŁáša, they would immediately engage in all these functions, especially in dancing together. Regarding their wrestling, one friend once asked KášášŁáša, "My dear friend, O killer of the Agha demon, You are very proudly wandering among Your friends trying to exhibit Your arms as very strong. Is it that You are envious of me? I know that You cannot defeat me in wrestling, and I also know that You were sitting idly for a long time because You were hopeless of defeating me."
All the friends were very daring and would risk any difficulty, because they were confident that KášášŁáša would help them to be victorious in all adventures. They used to sit together and advise one another what to do, sometimes inducing one another to be engaged in welfare work. Sometimes they would offer betel nuts to one another, decorate one another's faces with tilaka or smear pulp of candana on one another's bodies. Sometimes, for the sake of amusement, they used to decorate their faces in strange ways. Another business of the friends was that each of them wanted to defeat KášášŁáša. Sometimes they used to snatch His clothing or snatch away the flowers from His hands. Sometimes one would try to induce another to decorate his body for him, and failing this, they were always ready to fight, challenging one another to combat in wrestling. These were some of the general activities of KášášŁáša and His friends.
Another important pastime of the friends of KášášŁáša was that they served as messengers to and from the gopÄŤs; they introduced the gopÄŤs to KášášŁáša and canvassed for KášášŁáša. When the gopÄŤs were in disagreement with KášášŁáša, these friends would support KášášŁáša's side in His presenceâbut when KášášŁáša was not present, they would support the side of the gopÄŤs. In this way, sometimes supporting one side, sometimes the other, they would talk very privately, with much whispering in the ears, although none of the business was very serious.
The servants of KášášŁáša were sometimes engaged in collecting flowers, decorating His body with valuable ornaments and trinkets, dancing before Him, singing, helping Him herd the cows, massaging His body, preparing flower garlands and sometimes fanning His body. These were some of the primary duties of the servants of KášášŁáša. The friends and servants of KášášŁáša were combined together in serving Him, and all of their activities are known as anubhÄva.
When KášášŁáša came out from the YamunÄ after chastising the KÄliya-nÄga, ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ wanted to embrace Him first, but he could not raise his arms because of his great feeling of respect.
When KášášŁáša used to play on His flute, the vibration appeared just like the roaring of clouds in the sky during the constellation of SvÄtÄŤ. According to Vedic astronomical calculation, if there is rain during the constellation of the SvÄtÄŤ star, any rain falling on the sea will produce pearls, and rain falling on a serpent will produce jewels. Similarly, when KášášŁáša's flute roared like a thundercloud under the SvÄtÄŤ constellation, the resulting perspiration on ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ's body appeared to be just like pearls.
When KášášŁáša and Subala were embracing one another, ĹrÄŤmatÄŤ RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ became a little envious, and hiding Her hot temperament She said, "My dear Subala, you are very fortunate because even in the presence of superiors you and KášášŁáša have no hesitation in putting your arms on each other's shoulders. I think it must be admitted that in your previous lives you have succeeded in many kinds of austerities." The idea is that although RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ was accustomed to putting Her arms on KášášŁáša's shoulders, it was not possible for Her to do such a thing in the presence of Her superiors, whereas Subala could do so freely. RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ therefore praised his good fortune.
When KášášŁáša entered the lake of KÄliya, His intimate friends became so perturbed that their bodily colors faded, and they all produced horrible gurgling sounds. At that time all of them fell down on the ground as if unconscious. Similarly, when there was a forest fire, all of KášášŁáša's friends neglected their own protection and surrounded KášášŁáša on all sides to protect Him from the flames. This behavior of the friends toward KášášŁáša is described by thoughtful poets as vyabhicÄrÄŤ. In vyabhicÄrÄŤ ecstatic love for KášášŁáša there is sometimes madness, dexterity, fear, laziness, jubilation, pride, dizziness, meditation, disease, forgetfulness and humbleness. These are some of the common symptoms in the stage of vyabhicÄrÄŤ ecstatic love for KášášŁáša.
When there are dealings between KášášŁáša and His friends which are completely devoid of any feelings of respect and they all treat one another on an equal level, such ecstatic love in friendship is called sthÄyÄŤ. When one is situated in this confidential friendly relationship with KášášŁáša, one shows symptoms of love such as attraction, affection, affinity and attachment. An example of sthÄyÄŤ was exhibited when
When there is full knowledge of KášášŁáša's superiority and yet in dealings with Him on friendly terms respectfulness is completely absent, that stage is called affection. There is one brilliant example of this affection. When the demigods, headed by Lord Ĺiva, were offering respectful prayers to KášášŁáša, describing the glorious opulences of the Lord, Arjuna stood before Him with his hand on His shoulders and brushed the dust from His peacock feather.
When the PÄášá¸avas were banished by Duryodhana and forced to live incognito in the forest, no one could trace out where they were staying. At that time, the great sage NÄrada met Lord KášášŁáša and said, "My dear Mukunda, although You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the all-powerful person, by making friendship with You the PÄášá¸avas have become bereft of their legitimate right to the kingdom of the worldâand, moreover, they are now living in the forest incognito. Sometimes they must work as ordinary laborers in someone else's house. These symptoms appear to be very inauspicious materially, but the beauty is that the PÄášá¸avas have not lost their faith and love for You, in spite of all these tribulations. In fact, they are always thinking of You and chanting Your name in ecstatic friendship."
Another example of acute affection for KášášŁáša is given in the Tenth Canto, Fifteenth Chapter, verse 18, of ĹrÄŤmad-BhÄgavatam. In the pasturing ground KášášŁáša felt a little tired and wanted to take rest, so He lay down on the ground. At that time, many cowherd boys assembled there and with great affection began to sing suitable songs so that KášášŁáša would rest very nicely.
There is a nice example of the friendship between KášášŁáša and Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukᚣetra. When the fighting was going on, AĹvatthÄmÄ, the son of DroášÄcÄrya, unceremoniously attacked KášášŁáša, although according to the prevailing rules of chivalry one's chariot driver should never be attacked by the enemy. AĹvatthÄmÄ behaved heinously in so many ways that he did not hesitate to attack KášášŁáša's body, although KášášŁáša was acting only as charioteer for Arjuna. When Arjuna saw that AĹvatthÄmÄ was releasing various kinds of arrows to hurt KášášŁáša, he immediately stood in front of KášášŁáša to intercept all of them. At that time, although Arjuna was being harmed by those arrows, he felt an ecstatic love for KášášŁáša, and the arrows appeared to him like showers of flowers.
There is another instance of ecstatic love for KášášŁáša in friendship. Once when a cowherd boy named VášášŁabha was collecting flowers from the forest to prepare a garland to be offered to KášášŁáša, the sun reached its zenith, and although the sunshine was scorching hot, VášášŁabha felt it to be like the moonshine. That is the way of rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord; when devotees are put into great difficultiesâeven like the PÄášá¸avas, as described aboveâthey feel all their miserable conditions to be great facilities for serving the Lord.
Another instance of Arjuna's friendship with KášášŁáša was described by NÄrada, who reminded KášášŁáša, "When Arjuna was learning the art of shooting arrows, he could not see You for so many days. But when You arrived there, he stopped all His activities and immediately embraced You." This means that even though Arjuna was engaged in learning about the military art, he had not forgotten KášášŁáša for a moment, and as soon as there was an opportunity to see KášášŁáša, Arjuna immediately embraced Him.
One servant of KášášŁáša named PatrÄŤ once addressed Him like this: "My dear Lord, You protected the cowherd boys from the hunger of the AghÄsura demon, and You protected them from the poisonous effects of the KÄliya snake. And You also saved them from the fierce forest fire. But I am suffering from Your separation, which is more severe than the hunger of AghÄsura, the poison of Lake KÄliya and the burning of the forest fire. So why should You not protect me from the pangs of separation?" Another friend once told KášášŁáša, "My dear enemy of Kaášsa, since You have left us, the heat of separation has become extraordinary. And this heat is felt more severely when we understand that in BhÄášá¸ÄŤravana You are being refreshed by the waves of the cooling river known as BhÄnu-tanayÄ [RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ]." The purport is that when KášášŁáša was engaged with RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ, the cowherd boys headed by Subala were feeling great separation, and that was unbearable for them.
Another friend addressed KášášŁáša thus: "My dear KášášŁáša, O killer of AghÄsura, when You left VášndÄvana to kill King Kaášsa in MathurÄ, all the cowherd boys became bereft of their four bhĹŤtas [the elements earth, water, fire and space]. And the fifth bhĹŤta, the air, was flowing very rapidly within their nostrils." When KášášŁáša went to MathurÄ to kill King Kaášsa, all the cowherd boys became so afflicted by the separation that they almost died. When a person is dead it is said that he has given up the five elements, known as bhĹŤtas, as the body again mixes with the five elements from which it was prepared. In this case, although the four elements earth, water, fire and ether were already gone, the remaining element, air, was still very prominent and was blowing through their nostrils furiously. In other words, after KášášŁáša left VášndÄvana, the cowherd boys were always anxious about what would happen in His fight with King Kaášsa.
Another friend once informed KášášŁáša, "When one of Your friends was feeling much separation from You, there were tears covering his lotus eyes, and so the black drones of sleep became discouraged from entering his eyes and left that place." When there is a lotus flower, the black drones fly into it to collect honey. The eyes of KášášŁáša's friend are compared to the lotus flower, and because they were full of tears the black drones of sleep could not collect honey from his lotus eyes and therefore left the place. In other words, because he was too much afflicted, his eyes were full of tears, and he could not sleep. This is an example of staying up at night because of separation from KášášŁáša.
An example of helplessness is described in the following statement: "Due to KášášŁáša's departure from VášndÄvana to MathurÄ, KášášŁáša's dearest cowherd boys felt as mentally light as possible. They were like fragments of cotton, lighter than the air, and were all floating in the air without any shelter." In other words, the minds of the cowherd boys became almost vacant on account of KášášŁáša's separation. An example of impatience was also shown by the cowherd boys when KášášŁáša went to MathurÄ. Out of the sorrow of separation, all these boys forgot to take care of their cowherding and tried to forget all the melodious songs they used to sing in the pasturing ground. At last they had no desire to live anymore, being separated from KášášŁáša.
An example of stillness was described by a friend of KášášŁáša's who informed Him in MathurÄ that all the cowherd boys had become just like leafless trees on the tops of hills. They appeared almost naked, being skinny and frail, and did not carry any fruits or flowers. He informed KášášŁáša that all the cowherd boys residing in VášndÄvana were as still as the trees at the tops of hills. Sometimes they felt diseased from their separation from KášášŁáša, and being so greatly disappointed, they were aimlessly wandering on the banks of the YamunÄ.
There is also an example of madness caused by separation from KášášŁáša. When KášášŁáša was absent from VášndÄvana, all the cowherd boys became bewildered, and having given up all kinds of activities, they appeared to be mad and forgot all their regular business. They were sometimes lying down on the ground, sometimes rolling in the dust, sometimes laughing and sometimes running very swiftly. All of these symptoms gave them the appearance of madmen. One friend of KášášŁáša's criticized Him by saying, "My dear Lord, You have become the King of MathurÄ after killing Kaášsa, and that is very good news for us. But at VášndÄvana all the residents have become blind from their continuous crying over Your absence. They are full only of anxieties and are not cheered at all by Your becoming the King of MathurÄ."
Sometimes there were also signs of death caused by separation from KášášŁáša. Once KášášŁáša was told, "My dear enemy of Kaášsa, because of their separation from You, the cowherd boys are suffering too much, and they are now lying down in the valleys, breathing only slightly. In order to sympathize with the boys' regrettable condition, even the forest friends, the deer, are shedding tears."
In the MathurÄ-khaášá¸a chapter of the Skanda PurÄáša, there is a description of KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, surrounded by all the cowherd boys, always engaged in taking care of the cows and calves. When KášášŁáša was met by Arjuna at a potter's shop in the city of Drupada-nagara, because of the similarity of their bodily features they made intimate friendship. This is an instance of friendship caused by the attraction of similar bodies.
In the Tenth Canto of ĹrÄŤmad-BhÄgavatam, Seventy-first Chapter, verse 27, it is stated that when KášášŁáša arrived in the city of Indraprastha, BhÄŤma was so overwhelmed with joy that with tears in his eyes and a smiling face he immediately embraced his maternal cousin. Following him were his young brothers Nakula and Sahadeva, along with Arjuna, and they all became so overwhelmed at seeing KášášŁáša that with full satisfaction they embraced the Lord, who is known as Acyuta (the infallible). There is a similar statement about the cowherd boys of VášndÄvana. When KášášŁáša was on the Battlefield of Kurukᚣetra, all the cowherd boys came to see Him, wearing jeweled earrings in their ears. Becoming so greatly overjoyed, they extended their arms and embraced KášášŁáša as their old friend. These are instances of full satisfaction in friendship with KášášŁáša.
In the Tenth Canto, Twelfth Chapter, verse 12, of ĹrÄŤmad-BhÄgavatam, it is stated that even after undergoing severe penances and austerities and performing the yogic principles, the great mystic yogÄŤs can hardly become eligible to achieve the dust of the lotus feet of KášášŁáša, but the same Personality of Godhead, KášášŁáša, is easily available to the vision of the residents of VášndÄvana. This means there is no comparison to the great fortune of these devotees. The friendly relationship of the cowherd boys with KášášŁáša is a particular type of spiritual ecstasy almost similar to the ecstasy of conjugal love. This ecstasy of loving affairs between the cowherd boys and KášášŁáša is very difficult to explain. Great expert devotees like RĹŤpa GosvÄmÄŤ express their astonishment at the inconceivable feelings which are in KášášŁáša and His cowherd boyfriends.
This particular type of ecstatic love shared between KášášŁáša and His confidential friends further develops into parental love, and on from there it may develop into conjugal love, the most exalted humor, or mellow, of ecstatic love between Lord KášášŁáša and His devotees.