SB 10.30.25

They all spoke at once. These are clearly the foot prints of the son of Nanda because of the marks like the flag which are well known (hi). The combination is found in the supreme person (mahātmanaḥ). Ādhibhiḥ indicates other signs also. ṣoḍaśaiva tu cihnāni mayā dṛṣṭāni tat-pade | dakṣiṇenāṣṭa-cihnāni itare sapta eva ca || dhvajāḥ padmaṁ tathā vajram aṅkuśo yava eva ca | svastikaṁ cordhva-rekhā ca aṣṭa-koṇas tathaiva ca || saptānyāni pravakṣyāmi sāmprataṁ vaiṣṇavottama | indra-cāpaṁ trikoṇaṁ ca kalasaṁ cārdha-candrakam || ambaraṁ matsya-cihnaṁ ca goṣpadaṁ saptamaṁ smṛtam | aṅkāny etāni bho vidvan dṛśyante tu yadā kadā || kṛṣṇākhyaṁ tu paraṁ brahma bhuvi jātaṁ na saṁśayaḥ | dvayaṁ vātha trayaṁ vātha catvāraḥ pañca eva vā || dṛśyante vaiṣṇava-śreṣṭha avatāre kathañcana || ṣoḍaśaṁ tu tathā cihnaṁ śṛṇu devarṣi-saptam | jambū-phala-samākāraṁ dṛśyate yatra kutracit || I have seen sixteen marks on his feet. On His right foot are eight marks and on his left foot are seven marks. O best of Vaiṣṇavas! On his right foot can be seen the marks of the flag, lotus, thunderbolt, goad, barley corn, svastika, an upward line and an octagon. O best of the Vaiṣṇavas! Now I will tell you about the seven marks on his left foot. There is a rainbow, a triangle, a pot, a crescent moon, a compass, a fish and a hoof print of a cow. Hear about the sixteen marks, O best of the sages among the devatās. Sometimes a mark resembling a jambu fruit will be seen. Padma Purāṇa Krama-dīpikā says matsyāṅkuśāri-dara-ketu-yavābja-vrajaiḥ: he has the marks of the fish, goad, cakra, conch, flag, barley corn, lotus and thunderbolt. Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad says śaṅkha-dhvajātpatrais tu cihnitaṁ carana-dvayam: his two feet are marked with the conch, flag and umbrella. Ādi-varāha Purāṇa says yatra kṛṣṇena saṅkīṛṇam krīḍitaṁ ca yathāsukham cakrāṅkita-padā tena sthāne brahmamaye śubhe: wherever Kṛṣṇa plays that place is marked by auspicious foot prints with the mark of the cakra. Nineteen marks are mentioned there including the sixteen mentioned in the Padma Purāṇa plus cakra, conch and umbrella. Skanda Purāṇa also mentions the six marks starting with cakra. These however are the marks of Viṣṇu and other avatāras. Padma Purāṇa also says: aṅkāny etāni bho vidvan dṛśyante tu yadā kadā || kṛṣṇākhyaṁ tu paraṁ brahma bhuvi jātaṁ na saṁśayaḥ | dvayaṁ vātha trayaṁ vātha catvāraḥ pañca eva vā || dṛśyante vaiṣṇava-śreṣṭha avatāre kathañcana || Whenever one sees these marks on the feet of someone, O learned sage, without doubt the supreme Brahman has taken birth on earth as that person. O best of Vaiṣṇavas, two, three, four or five of these marks will sometimes be found on the feet of Kṛṣṇa’s avatāras. The placement is as follows: madhye dhvajā tu vijñeyā padmaṁ tryāṅgulam ānataḥ | vajraṁ vai dakṣiṇe pārśve aṅkuśo vai tad-agrataḥ || yavo’py aṅguṣṭha-mūle syāt svastikaṁ yatra kutracit | ādiṁ caraṇam ārabhya yāvad vai madhyamā sthitā || tāvad vai cordhva-rekhā ca kathitā pādma-saṁjñake | aṣṭa-koṇaṁ tu bho vatsa mānaṁ cāṣṭāṅgulaiś ca tat || nirdiṣṭaṁ dakṣiṇe pāde ity āhur munayaḥ kila | evaṁ pādasya cihnāni tāny eva vaiṣṇavottama || dakṣiṇetara-sthānāni saṁvadāmīha sāmpratam | caturaṅgula-mānena tv aṅgulīnāṁ samīpataḥ || indra-cāpaṁ tato vidyād anyatra na bhavet kvacit | trikoṇaṁ madhya-nirdiṣṭaṁ kalaso yatra kutracit || aṣṭāṅgula-pramāṇena tad bhaved ardha-candrakam | ardha-candra-samākāraṁ nirdiṣṭaṁ tasya suvrata || bindur vai matsya-cihnaṁ ca ādyante vai nirūpitam | goṣpadaṁ teṣu vijñeyam ādyāṅgula-pramāṇataḥ || On the right foot, in the middle is the flag. Three fingers below the middle toe, above the flag is a lotus. On the right side is the thunderbolt and above it is the goad. At the base of the big toe are the barley corn and also the svastikas creating great beauty in all directions (on four sides). There is a line from between the big toe and next toe (ādim) to the middle of the foot. The octagonal figure eight fingers below. This is how the sages describe the right foot. On the left foot four fingers below the toes is the rainbow. In the center is the triangle. The pots are in the four directions. Below the triangle is the crescent moon by eight fingers. The circle is at the top and the fish is at the bottom of the foot. Below the rainbow is the cow’s foot print. Skanda Purāṇa confirms that the lotus is above the flag. Yatra kutra means “creating great beauty in many places.” Ādim refers to the place between the big and next toe. The octagonal figure is eight fingers below the thunderbolt. The feet measure fourteen fingers in length and six fingers wide according to Hayaśīrṣa-paṇcarātra and Matsya Purāṇa. On that basis, the locations of the symbols have been explained. The rainbow is described in the verse as “not being found anywhere else” since it has its unique color (not like the ordinary rainbow) and is without a string. The rainbow is four fingers below the toes since it is situated below the circle below the middle toe. Its length is also four fingers, since it has splendid form. The circle is in the center of the foot below the triangle measures by eight fingers. The triangle extends to the sides of the foot. Bindu means a circle. It is formed of two lines running concentrically. The circle is placed above all the lines and the fish is at the bottom. The hoof is two fingers below the circle, below the rainbow. Also there is the symbol of the lotus (circular) situated with the triangular flag. This is on the right foot. The left foot does not have a line going upwards. The sixteen symbols are on both feet combined. The mark of the jambu fruit has color and is not just a line. There is also a cakra at the base of the big toe of the right foot and conch at the base of the big toe of the left foot according to Skanda Purāṇa. Viṣṇu Purāṇa says vilokyaika bhuvaṁ prāha gopīr gopa-varāṅganā pulakācita-sarvāṅgī vikaśi nayanotpalā dhvaja-vajrāāṅkuśābjāṅka-rekhāvanty āli paśyata padānyetāni kṛṣṇaysa līlāṅkṛta-gāminaḥ Seeing those foot prints one gopī, best of the cowherd women, her hairs standing on end, with wide eyes, said “O friends! Look at the footprints of Kṛṣṇa, who walks about ornamented with pastimes. Those prints are marked with the flag, thunderbolt, goad, and lotus!”