Shloka 29
Garga Muni Names Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma; the Butter-Thief Pastimes; Yaśodā Sees the Universe in Kṛṣṇa’s Mouth
वत्सान् मुञ्चन् क्वचिदसमये क्रोशसञ्जातहास: स्तेयं स्वाद्वत्त्यथ दधिपय: कल्पितै: स्तेययोगै: । मर्कान् भोक्ष्यन् विभजति स चेन्नात्ति भाण्डं भिन्नत्ति द्रव्यालाभे सगृहकुपितो यात्युपक्रोश्य तोकान् ॥ २९ ॥
vatsān muñcan kvacid asamaye krośa-sañjāta-hāsaḥ steyaṁ svādv atty atha dadhi-payaḥ kalpitaiḥ steya-yogaiḥ markān bhokṣyan vibhajati sa cen nātti bhāṇḍaṁ bhinnatti dravyālābhe sagṛha-kupito yāty upakrośya tokān
“Sahabatku Yaśodā! Anakmu kadang datang ke rumah kami sebelum waktu memerah, melepaskan anak-anak lembu; bila tuan rumah marah, Dia hanya tersenyum. Kadang Dia menyusun helah untuk mencuri dadih, mentega dan susu yang lazat lalu memakannya. Apabila monyet berkumpul, Dia membahagikannya; jika mereka tidak mahu lagi, Dia memecahkan tempayan. Dan jika tiada peluang mencuri, Dia marah kepada penghuni rumah, mencubit anak kecil hingga menangis, lalu pergi.”
The narration of Kṛṣṇa’s naughty childhood activities would be presented to mother Yaśodā in the form of complaints. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa would enter the house of a neighbor, and if He found no one there, He would release the calves before the time for the cows to be milked. The calves are actually supposed to be released when their mothers are milked, but Kṛṣṇa would release them before that time, and naturally the calves would drink all the milk from their mothers. When the cowherd men saw this, they would chase Kṛṣṇa and try to catch Him, saying, “Here is Kṛṣṇa doing mischief,” but He would flee and enter another house, where He would again devise some means to steal butter and curd. Then the cowherd men would again try to capture Him, saying, “Here is the butter thief. Better capture Him!” And they would be angry. But Kṛṣṇa would simply smile, and they would forget everything. Sometimes, in their presence, He would begin eating the curd and butter. There was no need for Kṛṣṇa to eat butter, since His belly was always full, but He would try to eat it, or else He would break the pots and distribute the contents to the monkeys. In this way, Kṛṣṇa was always engaged in mischief-making. If in any house He could not find any butter or curd to steal, He would go into a room and agitate the small children sleeping there by pinching them, and when they cried He would go away.
FAQs
In this verse (10.8.29), Śukadeva describes child Kṛṣṇa’s playful “theft” of yogurt and milk—done through clever tricks—as an intimate Vraja pastime that increases the devotees’ love (vatsalya-bhakti) rather than indicating any moral fault.
The verse says that when Kṛṣṇa distributed the stolen dairy to the monkeys and they would not eat, He would break the pots; it portrays His mischievous, childlike līlā that charms Vraja and intensifies affectionate devotion.
Hearing these pastimes trains the mind toward loving remembrance of God: instead of relating to the Divine only through fear or formality, one cultivates intimate devotion and sees spiritual joy as the heart of bhakti practice.