Narayaneeyam Dashakam 45

The Delightful Mischief of Young Lord Krishna

अयि सबल मुरारे पाणिजानुप्रचारै:
किमपि भवनभागान् भूषयन्तौ भवन्तौ ।
चलितचरणकञ्जौ मञ्जुमञ्जीरशिञ्जा-
श्रवणकुतुकभाजौ चेरतुश्चारुवेगात् ॥१॥

ayi sabala muraare paaNijaanu prachaaraiH
kimapi bhavanabhaagaan bhuuShayantau bhavantau |
chalita charaNaka~njau ma~njuma~njiira shi~njaa
shravaNa kutuka bhaajau cheratushchaaru vegaat || 1 ||

This stanza is a wonderful expression of the childhood stage of Krishna and Balarama, who, though not yet walking, crawled about filling the home with their giggles and noise. Little Krishna and Balarama crawled about the house on their hands and knees, spreading their presence everywhere.. The lotus feet of Little Kanha moved playfully, and the sweet jingling of the anklets filled the air, delighting all who heard, as He moved about with a charming swiftness.

मृदु मृदु विहसन्तावुन्मिषद्दन्तवन्तौ
वदनपतितकेशौ दृश्यपादाब्जदेशौ ।
भुजगलितकरान्तव्यालगत्कङ्कणाङ्कौ
मतिमहरतमुच्चै: पश्यतां विश्वनृणाम् ॥२॥

mR^idu mR^idu vihasantau unmiShaddantavantau
vadana patita keshau dR^ishya paadaabja deshau |
bhuja galita karaanta vyaalagat kankaNaankau
matimaharatamuchchaiH pashyataaM vishvanR^INaam ||2 ||

“Oh Lord Kesava! Both of you showed gentle sweet smiles with the little teeth just emerging. Your curly hair fell down over your face and your feet, which were like lotuses, became visible as you moved. The bracelets on your arms fell down as you crawled, making soft noises. This sight totally mesmerized everyone who saw it, filling them with incredible happiness.”

अनुसरति जनौघे कौतुकव्याकुलाक्षे
किमपि कृतनिनादं व्याहसन्तौ द्रवन्तौ ।
वलितवदनपद्मं पृष्ठतो दत्तदृष्टी
किमिव न विदधाथे कौतुकं वासुदेव ॥३॥

anusarati janaughe kautuka vyaakulaakshe
kimapi kR^ita ninaadaM vyaahasantau dravantau |
valita vadanapadmaM pR^iShThatO dattadR^iShTii
kimiva na vidadhaathe kautukaM vaasudeva ||3||

O Madhava, while crowds of people followed you with eyes filled with curiosity and excitement, you and Balarama ran about making delightful sounds and laughing aloud. O Kesava,you turned your lotus-like faces back to glance at those chasing you and what all did you not do to create joy and amusement for them?

द्रुतगतिषु पतन्तावुत्थितौ लिप्तपङ्कौ
दिवि मुनिभिरपङ्कै: सस्मितं वन्द्यमानौ ।
द्रुतमथ जननीभ्यां सानुकम्पं गृहीतौ
मुहुरपि परिरब्धौ द्राग्युवां चुम्बितौ च ॥४॥

drutagatiShu patantau utthitau liptapankau
divi munibhirapankaiH sasmitaM vandyamaanau |
drutamatha jananiibhyaaM saanukampaM gR^ihiitau
muhurapi parirabdhau draagyuvaaM chumbitau cha || 4 ||

As you both ran fast, you sometimes tripped and fell, getting dirty with mud but stood up again and kept going. Meanwhile, the sages in the heaven, looked at you with smiles and respect. Soon, your mothers would come running with love, pick you up, hug you over and over, and shower you with kisses.

स्नुतकुचभरमङ्के धारयन्ती भवन्तं
तरलमति यशोदा स्तन्यदा धन्यधन्या ।
कपटपशुप मध्ये मुग्धहासाङ्कुरं ते
दशनमुकुलहृद्यं वीक्ष्य वक्त्रं जहर्ष ॥५॥

snuta kuchabharamanke dhaarayantii bhavantaM
taralamati yashOdaa stanyadaa dhanyadhanyaa |
kapaTapashupa madhye mugdhahaasaankuraM te
dashanamukula hR^idyaM viikshya vaktraM jaharSha ||5||

Yashoda held You in her lap with a heart overflowing with love and fed You with her milk, feeling more blessed than anyone else. She looked at Your innocent smile, at the tiny teeth that had just started to appear, and at Your beautiful face, and her heart was filled with joy.
Yashoda feeding Krishna is the ultimate act of giving without any expectations, not even an awareness of “giving to the Divine.” She sees only her child; that purity of perception is the true blessing.

तदनुचरणचारी दारकैस्साकमारा-
न्निलयततिषु खेलन् बालचापल्यशाली ।
भवनशुकविडालान् वत्सकांश्चानुधावन्
कथमपि कृतहासैर्गोपकैर्वारितोऽभू: ॥६॥

tadanu charaNachaarii daarakaiH saakamaaraat
nilayatatiShu khelan baalachaapalyashaalii |
bhavana shuka biDaalaan vatsakaamshchaanudhaavan
kathamapi kR^itahaasaiH gOpakaiH vaaritO(a)bhuuH ||6||

O Lord Hari, Then you started to walk with your little feet, going wherever the other children went. With a spirit of playful mischief, you ran around the courtyards and houses, after parrots and cats and calves. In this innocent mischief, the Gopas would somehow catch you and stop you, laughing joyfully at your playful tricks.

Growth requires movement.
Movement requires freedom.
Freedom requires guidance.

If any one of these is missing, development becomes either stagnant or chaotic.
This is not just a verse about a child at play. It is about how life should be lived — with curiosity, energy, interaction, and just enough structure to keep it meaningful.

हलधरसहितस्त्वं यत्र यत्रोपयातो
विवशपतितनेत्रास्तत्र तत्रैव गोप्य: ।
विगलितगृहकृत्या विस्मृतापत्यभृत्या
मुरहर मुहुरत्यन्ताकुला नित्यमासन् ॥७॥

haladhara sahitastvaM yatra yatrOpayaatO
vivasha patita netraaH tatra tatraiva gOpyaH |
vigalita gR^ihakR^ityaa vismR^itaapatya bhR^ityaaH
murahara muhuratyantaakulaa nityamaasan || 7||

O Murahara, wherever you wandered with Balarama, Gopikas followed you with their eyes filled with love. They completely forgot their household duties and responsibilities and became fully absorbed in you, remaining restless and captivated at every moment.
This verse denotes such intensity of attraction toward the Divine – not mere attraction but total absorption. The Gopikas are described as “vivasha.” They were helpless, not by any force but by overwhelming love.

To forget duties and responsibilities does not literally mean to promote neglect; rather it symbolizes a state where the mind has dropped its usual clutter of roles, identities, and endless mental engagement to become one-pointed. The “Gopikas” here represent the human mind when fully aligned with what it values most deeply.

प्रतिनवनवनीतं गोपिकादत्तमिच्छन्
कलपदमुपगायन् कोमलं क्वापि नृत्यन् ।
सदययुवतिलोकैरर्पितं सर्पिरश्नन्
क्वचन नवविपक्वं दुग्धमप्यापिबस्त्वम् ॥८॥

pratinava navaniitaM gOpikaadattamichChan
kalapadamupagaayan kOmalaM kvaapi nR^ityan |
sadayayuvati lOkairarpitaM sarpirashnan
kvachana navavipakvaM dugdhamapyaapibastvam || 8||

In the eighth verse of this Dashakam, Bhattathiri tells us how Little Krishna, when craved for fresh butter, went to the Gopikas with sweet and charming words. Sometimes He would sway a little in dance to please them. The kind Gopis would give Him butter and ghee to eat, which He enjoyed and sometimes He would also drink the fresh milk they had prepared.

मम खलु बलिगेहे याचनं जातमास्ता-
मिह पुनरबलानामग्रतो नैव कुर्वे ।
इति विहितमति: किं देव सन्त्यज्य याच्ञां
दधिघृतमहरस्त्वं चारुणा चोरणेन ॥९॥

mama khalu baligehe yaachanaM jaatamaastaam
iha punarabalaanaamagratO naiva kurve |
iti vihitamatiH kiM deva santyajya yaach~naaM
dadhighR^itamaharastvaM chaaruNaa chOraNena ||9||

O Lord, “it appears that as Vamana you when you went to the house of King Bali. But here, you preferred not to ask anything before these simple ladies. Instead of asking, you cleverly took butter and curd by your charming acts of stealing.” This verse humorously refers to Krishna’s butter-stealing as a contrast with the earlier divine act (as Vamana) of asking for alms.

On the surface, this is just some playful mischief. But the contrast here is very deliberate and very profound. As Vamana, the Lord asked. As Krishna, Lord takes without asking. What accounts for the difference?

The nature of the devotee has changed.
King Bali was strong and full of discipline; he was bound by his ego and formal righteousness. He had to be approached through request and ritual. The Gopikas are simple people with open emotions and deep connections—there is no ego barrier—and so Krishna does not need to ask; He just takes.

तव दधिघृतमोषे घोषयोषाजनाना-मभजत हृदि
रोषो नावकाशं न शोक: ।हृदयमपि मुषित्वा
हर्षसिन्धौ न्यधास्त्वंस मम शमय रोगान्
वातगेहाधिनाथ ॥१०॥

tava dadhighR^itamOSheghOShayOShaajanaanaamabhajata hR^idi
rOShO naavakaashaM na shOkaH |hR^idayamapi muShitvaa
harShasindhau nyadhaastvaMsa mama shamaya rOgaan
vaatagehaadhinaatha || 10||

O Lord, when you took curd and butter from the cowherd women, they felt no anger or sorrow. Instead, you captured their hearts and filled them with joy. O Lord of Guruvayur, please take away my troubles too.
This verse addresses a prevalent nature found in modern society: the attachment to ownership and dominance. People today get very upset over even small losses like
S
tress from losing money or Time wasted leads to anger. Anger when respect is challenged. Disappointment when expectations aren’t met. Why? This is because identity is linked to what you own, whether it’s physical, emotional, or social. The Gopikas, on the other hand, are not attached to this. They don’t feel less when something is taken. They feel better instead. This isn’t being passive; it’s a change in values.

शाखाग्रे विधुं विलोक्य फलमित्य्म्बां च तातं मुहु:
संप्रार्थ्याथ तदा तदीयवचसा प्रोत्क्षिप्तबाहौ त्वयि।
चित्रं देव शशी स ते कर्मगात् किं ब्रूमहे संपत:
ज्योतिर्मण्डलपूरिताखिलवपु: प्रागा विराड्रूपताम् ॥ ११॥

shaakhaagera(a)tha vidhuM vilOkya phalamityambaaM cha taataM muhuH
sampraarthyaatha tadaa tadiiyavachasaa prOtkshiptabaahau tvayi |
chitraM deva shashii sa te karamagaatkiM bruumahe sampatajjyOtirmaNDalapuuritaakhilavapuH
praagaa viraaDruupataam ||11||

Bhattathiri narrates that after Little Krishna had noticed the moon hanging from a tree branch, thinking it was fruit and asking Ma Yashoda and Nanda to bring it to Him, they teasingly asked Him to stretch His arms and pick it up. As soon as He did so, the moon itself came into His hands. What words can we use to describe the glory of Lord Narayan? It is as if His whole being is shining with the splendor of the cosmos.

किं किं बतेदमिति संभ्रम भाजमेनं
ब्रह्मार्णवे क्षणममुं परिमज्ज्य तातम् ।
मायां पुनस्तनय-मोहमयीं वितन्वन्
आनन्दचिन्मय जगन्मय पाहि रोगात् ॥१२॥

kiM kiM batedamiti sambhramabhaajamenaM
brahmaarNave kshaNamamuM parimajjya taatam |
maayaaM punastanayamOhamayiiM vitanvannaanandachinmaya
jaganmaya paahi rOgaat ||12||

“What is all this?” Thus being bewildered and amazed, Nanda was momentarily immersed in the infinite expanse of Brahman. But, soon enough, you cast that illusory veil over him so as to let him see you as his son. Oh, Lord, the source of happiness and awareness, encompassing the whole universe, deliver me from my sufferings.