Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 24
Garga Muni Names Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma; the Butter-Thief Pastimes; Yaśodā Sees the Universe in Kṛṣṇa’s Mouth
यर्ह्यङ्गनादर्शनीयकुमारलीला- वन्तर्व्रजे तदबला: प्रगृहीतपुच्छै: । वत्सैरितस्तत उभावनुकृष्यमाणौ प्रेक्षन्त्य उज्झितगृहा जहृषुर्हसन्त्य: ॥ २४ ॥
yarhy aṅganā-darśanīya-kumāra-līlāv antar-vraje tad abalāḥ pragṛhīta-pucchaiḥ vatsair itas tata ubhāv anukṛṣyamāṇau prekṣantya ujjhita-gṛhā jahṛṣur hasantyaḥ
Within the house of Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd women of Vraja delighted in beholding the charming pastimes of the infants Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. The two babies would grasp the tips of the calves’ tails, and the calves would drag Them here and there. Seeing these scenes, the women would set aside their household duties and laugh in joyful wonder.
While crawling in curiosity, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would sometimes catch the ends of the tails of calves. The calves, feeling that someone had caught them, would begin to flee here and there, and the babies would hold on very tightly, being afraid of how the calves were moving. The calves, seeing that the babies were holding them tightly, would also become afraid. Then the ladies would come to rescue the babies and gladly laugh. This was their enjoyment.
FAQs
This verse describes how the gopīs become so absorbed in Kṛṣṇa’s charming childhood pastimes that they abandon domestic concerns (ujjhita-gṛhāḥ) and simply watch, rejoice, and laugh—showing the supremacy of loving devotion over worldly obligation.
The gopīs held the calves by their tails, and as the calves moved, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were playfully dragged along—an affectionate Vraja scene highlighting the boys’ carefree bala-līlā and the gopīs’ delighted participation.
Cultivate moments of wholehearted absorption in God—through kīrtana, remembrance, and hearing līlā—so that devotion naturally loosens excessive anxiety about duties, while still living responsibly.