dvÄpare bhagavÄn Å›yÄmaḥ
pÄ«ta-vÄsÄ nijÄyudhaḥ
Å›rÄ«-vatsÄdibhir aá¹…kaiÅ› ca
lakṣaṇair upalakṣitaḥ
dvÄpare - in DvÄpara-yuga; bhagavÄn - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; Å›yÄmaḥ - blackish; pÄ«ta-vÄsÄḥ - having yellow clothes; nija - own; Äyudhaḥ - having weapons; Å›rÄ«-vatsa-Ädibhiḥ - such as ÅšrÄ«vatsa; aá¹…kaiḥ - by bodily markings; ca - and; laká¹£aṇaiḥ - by external characteristics such as the Kaustubha jewel; upalaká¹£itaḥ - characterized.
“ ‘In DvÄpara-yuga the Personality of Godhead appears in a blackish hue. He is dressed in yellow, He holds His own weapons, and He is decorated with the Kaustubha jewel and the mark of ÅšrÄ«vatsa. That is how His symptoms are described.’
This is a quotation from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (11.5.27). The Å›yÄma color is not exactly blackish. ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura compares it to the color of the atasÄ« flower. It is not that Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appears in a blackish color in all the DvÄpara-yugas. In other DvÄpara-yugas, previous to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, the Supreme Lord appeared in a greenish body by His own personal expansion. This is mentioned in the Viṣṇu PurÄṇa, Hari-vaá¹Å›a and MahÄbhÄrata.
