There are three kinds of flutes used by Kṛṣṇa. One is called veṇu, one is called muralī, and the third is called vaṁśī. Veṇu is very small, not more than six inches long, with six holes for whistling. Muralī is about eighteen inches long with a hole at the end and four holes on the body of the flute. This kind of flute produces a very enchanting sound. The vaṁśī flute is about fifteen inches long, with nine holes on its body. Kṛṣṇa used to play on these three flutes occasionally when they were needed. Kṛṣṇa has a longer vaṁśī, which is called mahānanda, or sanmohinī. When it is still longer it is called ākarṣiṇī. When it is even longer it is called ānandinī. The ānandinī flute is very pleasing to the cowherd boys and is technically named vaṁsulī. These flutes were sometimes bedecked with jewels. Sometimes they were made of marble and sometimes of hollow bamboo. When the flute is made of jewels it is called sanmohinī. When made of gold, it is called ākarṣiṇī.
Kṛṣṇa's Buffalo Horn
Kṛṣṇa used a buffalo horn as a bugling instrument. This instrument was always highly polished and circled with gold bands, and on the middle there was a hole. Regarding these instruments, there is a metaphorical statement about a gopī named Tārāvalī. It is said that Tārāvalī became bitten by the most venomous snake of Kṛṣṇa's flute. Then, in order to neutralize the poisonous effect, she drank the milk produced by the buffalo horn in the hand of Kṛṣṇa. But instead of decreasing the poisonous effect, it increased it a thousand times. The gopī was thus put into the most miserable poisoned condition.
The Attraction of Kṛṣṇa's Leg Bells
A certain gopī once stated to her friend, "My dear friend, when I heard the sound of the leg bell of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, I immediately started to go out of the house to see Him. But most regrettably, my superiors were present just before me at that time, and I could not go out."
Kṛṣṇa's Conchshell
Kṛṣṇa's conchshell is known as Pāñcajanya. This Pāñcajanya conch is also mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa sounded it before the Battle of Kurukṣetra. It is said that when Lord Kṛṣṇa blows on His transcendental conchshell, the wives of the demons become subject to abortions, and the wives of the demigods become blest with all auspiciousness. In this way, the sound of Kṛṣṇa's conchshell used to vibrate and circulate all over the world.