Äsan varṇÄs trayo hy asya
gṛhṇato 'nu-yugaṠtanūḥ
Å›uklo raktas tathÄ pÄ«ta
idÄnÄ«á¹ kṛṣṇatÄá¹ gataḥ

 Äsan - there were; varṇÄḥ - colors; trayaḥ - three; hi - indeed; asya - of Him; gá¹›hṇataḥ - accepting; anu-yugam - according to the age; tanūḥ - bodies; Å›uklaḥ - white; raktaḥ - red; tathÄ - also; pÄ«taḥ - yellow; idÄnÄ«m - at the present moment; kṛṣṇatÄm - blackish; gataḥ - has accepted.


Text

“ ‘In the past, your son has had bodies of three different colors, according to the age. These colors were white, red and yellow. In this age [DvÄpara-yuga] He has accepted a blackish body.’

Purport

This verse from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (10.8.13) was spoken by Garga Muni when he was performing the rituals at Lord Kṛṣṇa’s name-giving ceremony. He states that the incarnations of the Lord in other ages had been white, red and yellow. This yellow color refers to ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, whose bodily complexion was yellowish. This confirms that in past Kali-yugas the Lord also had incarnated in a body that was yellow in hue. It is understood that the Lord incarnates in different colors for the different yugas (Satya, TretÄ, DvÄpara and Kali). Accepting the color yellow (pÄ«ta), as well as other characteristics, the Lord incarnated as ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. This is the verdict of all Vedic authorities.