Category:Bodily Features
Theme Analysis
"Bodily features" serve as an index of a living entity's past activities and future destiny. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that according to the laws of karma, a person who performs pious activities is awarded a birth with opulence, good education, and attractive bodily features. Conversely, sinful activities lead to ugliness and deformity. Beyond mere aesthetics, Vedic science (sāmudrika-śāstra) analyzes bodily measurements—such as the length of arms, the depth of the navel, or the color of the soles—to determine a person's character and greatness. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that material beauty is a trap, often compared to a "skin disease" that bewilders the mind. True perfection lies in the spiritual world, where the inhabitants possess eternal, four-armed forms (sārūpya) similar to Lord Viṣṇu, free from the defects of material existence.
- Karma and Anatomy: One's physical appearance is not accidental; it is a direct result of past deeds. Good work yields beauty; bad work yields unattractiveness.
- The Trap of Beauty: Attractive bodily features, especially in the opposite sex, are the primary cause of material entanglement. Devotees are advised not to be captivated by them.
- Signs of a Mahāpuruṣa: Great personalities possess specific signs, such as reddish luster in seven places, broadness in the chest and forehead, and deepness in the voice and navel.
- Transcendental Form: The bodily features of the Lord and His associates in Vaikuṇṭha are distinct. They are characterized by bluish complexions, lotus-like eyes, and specific ornaments, differing completely from material forms.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Bodily Features - Indications of Material and Spiritual Destiny.
Subcategories
This category has the following 14 subcategories, out of 14 total.
A
B
C
G
K
P
R
Pages in category "Bodily Features"
The following 85 pages are in this category, out of 85 total.
1
A
- A person who is in a jubilant spirit, who feels profound devotional ecstasy while dancing before Me, who manifests different features of bodily expression, can burn away all the accumulated sinful reactions he has stocked up for many thousands of years
- Ajamila saw three awkward persons with deformed bodily features, fierce, twisted faces, and hair standing erect on their bodies. With ropes in their hands, they had come to take him away to the abode of Yamaraja
- All the signs described in connection with the bodily features of Sukadeva Gosvami are uncommon symptoms, typical of great personalities, according to physiognomical calculations
- Amongst all the anugas, Raktaka is considered to be the chief. The description of his bodily features is as follows
- Another devotee said, "My dear friend, my youthful beauty is as temporary as lightning in the sky, and therefore, my possessing attractive bodily features is unimportant"
- Anyone who desires to be Krsna conscious in motherly affection or parental affection should contemplate the bodily features of mother Yasoda. It is not that one should desire to become like Yasoda, for this is Mayavada
- As there are different bodily features between bodies in different planets, similarly the bodily features of the inhabitants in Vaikunthaloka are completely different from those in the material universe
- As will be apparent from the following verses (SB 4.21.16), it is to be concluded that not only were Maharaja Prthu's bodily features attractive, as described here, but he had specific all-auspicious signs in his bodily construction
B
- Before even being introduced to a foreigner, one becomes acquainted with him through his dress, bodily features and behavior and can thus understand his position. Therefore when the Yamadutas saw the Visnudutas for the first time, they were surprised
- Bodily features, nature and form are the personal characteristics. Knowledge of His activities provides the marginal characteristics
- Brahma Purana said, "Even the demigods from higher planetary systems see the inhabitants of this Jagannatha Puri as having exactly the same features of body as are possessed by one in Vaikuntha"
- By good work only, as prescribed in the scriptures, can one obtain birth in a good family, opulence, good education and good bodily features. We see also that even in this life one obtains a good education or money by good work
- By seeing his bodily features when he was in perfect ecstasy, persons very poor in spiritual understanding became purified. In other words, Prahlada Maharaja bestowed upon them transcendental bliss
- By seeing the expression of the bodily features, one can understand whether the soul is happy or not
D
E
- Everyone is claiming "Aryan," but he does not know what is the business of Aryans. The same ignorance - "I am this body." So by the bodily features they settle up - This is from Aryan family; this is from non-Aryan family
- Everyone, including the demigods, the demons and the human beings, desired her because of her exquisite beauty, her bodily features, her youth, her complexion and her glories. They were attracted because she is the source of all opulences
H
- He (Gopala Cakravarti) had handsome bodily features, and he was learned and youthful, but he could not tolerate the statement that simply by glimpsing the awakening of the Lord's holy name one can attain liberation
- He has His form, qualities & features; & similarly His order carriers, the Vaisnavas, who are very beautiful, possess bodily features, transcendental qualities & a transcendental nature almost like His
- Here (in SB 3.23.11) there's reference to Devahuti's bodily features. Because she had become skinny, she feared that her body might have no attraction for Kardama. She wanted to be instructed how to improve her bodily condition in order to attract him
- Here in this material world we act, and the result is there. Because as soon as you act, there will be some result, good or bad. By good result we get good birth, good money, good bodily feature, good education - these are the effects of good work
- His (Vidyadhara, the serpent's) bodily features were so beautiful that he appeared to be worshipable. There was a luster and effulgence emanating from his body, and he was garlanded with a gold necklace
- His body had all good features, he was stout and strong like a lion, and he was decorated with bangles. In his hand he carried a jug filled to the top with nectar
- How a beautiful woman's movements and gestures, her hair and the structure of her breasts, hips and other bodily features attract the minds not only of men but of demigods also is very finely described
- However beautiful one's wife and however attractive her bodily features, one is no longer interested in her when her body is dead
I
- I (Agnidhra) cannot imagine how the residents of that place have gotten such wonderful bodily features as your (Purvacitti's) raised breasts, which agitate the mind and eyes of a person like me who sees them
- If one worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original person, even once, he receives the benefit of being promoted to the spiritual world and possessing the same bodily features as Visnu
- Impersonal descriptions of transcendence in the scriptures indicate that the bodily features in Vaikunthaloka are never to be seen in any part of the universe
- Impious acts lead one to become poor by parentage, to be always in want, to become a fool or illiterate and to acquire ugly bodily features
- In different places and in different planets there are different standards of life, bodily features and educational statuses, all awarded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to pious or impious activities
- In the Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya-khanda, Chapter Five, there is the following statement: - Murari Caitanya dasa had no material bodily features, for he was completely spiritual
- In this verse (SB 4.12.20) it is distinctly stated that they (inhabitants of Visnuloka) had four hands and were nicely dressed; the description of their bodily decorations corresponds exactly to that of Visnu
- It is said, "All the associates of Lord Krsna have lustrous bodily features, and their eyes are just like lotus flowers"
P
- Persons whose bodily features change in ecstasy and who breathe heavily and perspire due to hearing the glories of the Lord are promoted to the kingdom of God, even though they do not care for meditation and other austerities
- Prahlada Maharaja studied the bodily features of the saintly person, and through the saint's physiognomy Prahlada Maharaja could understand that he was intelligent and expert
S
- Siva, the husband of Parvati, told his wife, "My dear Parvati, you are very beautiful in your bodily features. You are glorious. But I do not think that you can compete with the beauty and glory of devotees who have become servants of the servants of God
- So the Yamadutas, their description of the body already given. They are not very good-looking. So when they saw the Visnuduta - the description of the Visnuduta is in the next verse - they were surprised, that - Wherefrom such nice features of the body
- Srimati Radharani saw that Uddhava's bodily features resembled Krsna's, but She also saw Uddhava as being equal to Krsna. Indirectly, therefore, She indicated that Uddhava was as unreliable as Krsna Himself
- Suppose that by good action I get a good birth, fine bodily features, and a good education. All these good things I may have, but that does not mean that I am free from material pains. The material pains are birth, death, old age and disease
T
- The aggregate of all these bodily features are manifest only in the bodies of great personalities
- The bodily features of a particular person are exhibited in accordance with his past deeds, for according to one's past deeds, his next bodily features - whether in human society, animal society or demigod society - are determined
- The bodily features of the inhabitants in Vaikunthaloka are completely different from those in the material universe. For example, the four hands are distinct from the two hands in this world
- The demon is envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and inimical toward Him. These were Hiranyakasipu's external bodily features as he considered how to kill Lord Visnu and devastate His kingdom, Vaikunthaloka
- The description of Nanda Maharaj's bodily features is as follows. The hairs on his head are generally black, but some of them are grey. His garments are of greenish color, like the new-grown leaves of a banyan tree
- The impetus to fraternal love upon seeing the associates of Krsna in Vrndavana is also very natural, for their personal bodily features, their qualities and dress are all equal to Krsna's
- The inhabitants of the Vaikuntha planets are described as having a glowing sky-bluish complexion. Their eyes resemble lotus flowers, their dress is of yellowish color, and their bodily features very attractive
- The Lord discloses to the devotee His unlimited varieties of transcendental bodies, all identical with one another with different kinds of bodily features
- The Lord's beauty resembles a dark cloud during the rainy season. As the rainfall glistens, His bodily features also glisten. Indeed, He is the sum total of all beauty
- The order carriers of Lord Visnu, who are worshiped even by the demigods, possess wonderful bodily features exactly like those of Visnu and are very rarely seen
- The sastras state that the following bodily features indicate a great personality: a reddish luster in seven places - the eyes, the palms, the soles, the palate, the lips, the tongue, and the nails
- The sastras state that the following bodily features indicate a great personality: broadness in three places - the waist, the forehead, and the chest; shortness in three places - the neck, the thighs, and the genitals
- The sastras state that the following bodily features indicate a great personality: deepness in three places - the voice, the intelligence, and the navel; highness in five places - the nose, the arms, the ears, the forehead, and the thighs
- The sastras state that the following bodily features indicate a great personality: fineness in five places - the skin, the hair on the head, the bodily hair, the teeth, and the fingertips. All these features are present in the body of the Lord
- The tad-ekatma-rupa forms exist simultaneously with the svayam-rupa form and are nondifferent. At the same time, their bodily features and specific activities appear to be different
- The tad-ekatma-rupa is that form which most resembles the svayam-rupa, but there are some differences in the bodily features. The tad-ekatma-rupa is divided into two manifestations: the personal expansion (svamsa) and the pastime expansion (vilasa)
- The Visnudutas resemble the Supreme Personality of Godhead in their bodily features, transcendental qualities and nature. In other words, the Visnudutas, or Vaisnavas, are almost as qualified as the Supreme Lord
- The Vraja-devis have diverse bodily features. They are Her expansions and are the instruments for expanding rasa
- The Yamadutas said to the Visnudutas, By your bodily features you appear to be very exalted gentlemen, and you have such celestial power that you have dissipated the darkness of this material world
- Their (Anugas) colors are like black bees and the golden moon, and they are dressed just to suit their particular special bodily features
- There are millions of living entities who have become conditioned by the laws of material nature, and they are wandering throughout the planetary systems of this universe in different bodily forms
- There are some instances of great mystics' also expanding their bodily features in different ways, but Krsna did not expand Himself by any yoga process. Each expansion of Krsna was a separate individual
- These two demons who appeared in ancient times soon began to exhibit uncommon bodily features; they had steellike frames which began to grow just like two great mountains
- They (the inferior demigods) were also coming in planes. The word sva-nilayabhyase indicates that they were passing right near her (Sati's) residential quarters. The dresses and bodily features of the wives of the heavenly denizens are nicely described
- This (how one's bodily features is the result of past activities) is proof of the transmigration of the soul through different types of bodies
- Those who want to be relieved from the material clutches give up the worship of the various demigods who have fearful bodily features. Such peaceful devotees, who are not envious of the demigods, worship the different forms of the S P of God, Narayana
- Three men with very beautiful bodily features emerged from the lake. They were nicely dressed and decorated with earrings and garlands of lotuses. All of them were of the same standard of beauty
- To execute his duties properly Maharaja Priyavrata took advantage of his good wife Barhismati, who was always very expert in pleasing her great husband by properly dressing herself, smiling, and exhibiting her feminine bodily features
W
- We therefore request all the members of the Krsna consciousness movement - both men and women - not to be attracted by bodily features but only to be attracted by Krsna. Then everything will be all right. Otherwise there will be danger
- When a woman's bodily features are attractive, when her face is beautiful and when her voice is sweet, she is naturally a trap for a man
- When He (Krsna) saw that they continued to smile, He said, "I very much appreciate your bodily features. All of you have nice, very thin waists." All of the gopis there were exquisitely beautiful
- When he (Pralambasura) appeared in his real feature, he was decorated with a golden helmet and earrings and looked just like a cloud with lightning carrying the moon
- When she did so, many other she-goats also desired him as their husband because he had a very beautiful bodily structure and a nice mustache and beard and was expert in discharging semen and in the art of sexual intercourse
- When the bodily features are delicate and expertly curved, and when the eyebrows are very beautifully agitated, the ornament of feminine charm, called lalita alankara, is manifest
- When the gopis saw that Uddhava was representing Krsna even in his bodily features, they thought he must be a soul completely surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead