Devanagari
मुष्णन्तोऽन्योन्यशिक्यादीन्ज्ञातानाराच्च चिक्षिपु: ।
तत्रत्याश्च पुनर्दूराद्धसन्तश्च पुनर्ददु: ॥ ५ ॥
Verse text
muṣṇanto ’nyonya-śikyādīn
jṣātān ārāc ca cikṣipuḥ
tatratyāś ca punar dūrād
dhasantaś ca punar daduḥ
Synonyms
muṣṇantaḥ
—
stealing
;
anyonya
—
from one another
;
śikya
—
ādīn — lunch bags and other belongings
;
jṣātān
—
having been understood by the proprietor of the bag
;
ārāt ca
—
to a distant place
;
cikṣipuḥ
—
threw away
;
tatratyāḥ ca
—
those who were in that place also
;
punaḥ dūrāt
—
then again threw farther away
;
hasantaḥ ca punaḥ daduḥ
—
when they saw the proprietor, they threw it farther away and enjoyed laughing, and when the owner sometimes cried, his bag was given to him again .
Translation
All the cowherd boys used to steal one another’s lunch bags. When a boy came to understand that his bag had been taken away, the other boys would throw it farther away, to a more distant place, and those standing there would throw it still farther. When the proprietor of the bag became disappointed, the other boys would laugh, the proprietor would cry, and then the bag would be returned.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
All the cowherd boys used to steal one another's lunch bags. When a boy came to understand that his bag had been taken away, the other boys would throw it farther away, to a more distant place, and those standing there would throw it still farther. When the proprietor of the bag became disappointed, the other boys would laugh, the proprietor would cry, and then the bag would be returned.
KB 10.12.5
While passing through the forest, one boy stole another boy’s lunch package and passed it to a third. And when the boy whose lunch package was stolen came to know of it, he tried to take it back. But the boy who had it threw it to another boy. This sportive playing went on amongst the boys as childhood pastimes.
Purport
This kind of playing and stealing among boys still exists even in the material world because this kind of sporting pleasure is present in the spiritual world, from which this idea of enjoyment emanates.
Janmādy asya yataḥ
(
Vedānta-sūtra
1.1.2). This same enjoyment is displayed by Kṛṣṇa and His associates in the spiritual world, but there the enjoyment is eternal, whereas here, on the material platform, it is temporary; there the enjoyment is
brahman,
whereas here the enjoyment is
jaḍa.
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant to train one how to transfer oneself from the
jaḍa
to the Brahman, because human life is meant for this purpose.
Athāto brahma jijṣāsā
(
Vedānta-sūtra
1.1.1). Kṛṣṇa comes down to teach us how we can enjoy with Him on the spiritual platform, in the spiritual world. Not only does He come, but He personally displays His pastimes in Vṛndāvana and attracts people to spiritual enjoyment.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
They began to steal (musnantah) each others articles. Stealing from the sling the food vessel with sealed tops, some boys would take it to a place difficult to access, such as a base of a tree surrounded by thorn bushes and red ants. When the person discovered his lunch was stolen and tried to get it, someone would throw it further away, and when he ran for it someone would throw it further. Then the boy would cry, and the other boys, laughing, would return his lunch.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
They would steal the ropes, sticks or other items, but not the contents of their packets, which held their food, since it would be improper to laugh if a boy’s food was destroyed. They then threw the items, which were recognized by the owners. When the victims cried or became bewildered they would laugh.