SB 10.18.12 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

भ्रमणैर्लङ्घनै: क्षेपैरास्फोटनविकर्षणै: । चिक्रीडतुर्नियुद्धेन काकपक्षधरौ क्‍वचित् ॥ १२ ॥

Verse text

bhramaṇair laṅghanaiḥ kṣepair āsphoṭana-vikarṣaṇaiḥ cikrīḍatur niyuddhena kāka-pakṣa-dharau kvacit

Synonyms

bhramaṇaiḥ — with whirling about ; laṅghanaiḥ — jumping ; kṣepaiḥ — throwing ; āsphoṭana — slapping ; vikarṣaṇaiḥ — and dragging ; cikṛīḍatuḥ — They (Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma) played ; niyuddhena — with fighting ; kāka — pakṣa — the locks of hair on the sides of Their heads ; dharau — holding ; kvacit — sometimes .

Translation

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma played with their cowherd boyfriends by whirling about, leaping, hurling, slapping and fighting. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would pull the hair on the boys’ heads.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma played with their cowherd boyfriends by whirling about, leaping, hurling, slapping and fighting. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would pull the hair on the boys' heads. KB 10.18.12 Up to that time, neither Balarāma nor Kṛṣṇa had undergone the haircutting ceremony; therefore Their hair was clustered like crows’ feathers. They were always playing hide-and-seek with Their boyfriends or jumping or fighting with them.

Purport

The ācāryas have explained this verse as follows: The word bhramaṇaiḥ indicates that the boys, pretending they were machines, would sometimes whirl about until they became dizzy. They would also sometimes jump about ( laṅghanaiḥ ). The word kṣepaiḥ indicates that sometimes they would hurl objects like balls or stones and that sometimes they would grab each other by the arms and throw one another about. Āsphoṭana means that sometimes they would slap one another’s shoulders or backs, and vikarṣaṇaiḥ indicates they would drag one another about in the midst of their play. By the word niyuddhena arm wrestling and other types of friendly fighting are indicated, and the word kāka-pakṣa-dharau means that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would sometimes grab the hair on the other boys’ heads in a playful manner.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The boys played by making sounds with their palms in their arm pits (asphotanaih), and engaging in arm wrestling (niyuddhena). According to Sridhara Swami kaka paksa dharu means the hair remaining on the sides of the head after the cudakarana ceremony. Others say it means hair tied in three braids. Others say it means locks hanging in front of the ears.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Other than dancing, their fun in fighting is now shown. By grasping each others’ hands they would whirl around, jump up and down, insult each other in fun, strike their own arms, and pull the opponent in wrestling. Kākapakṣa is hair dressed with three braids.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

They made objects like tops spin, or grasped each other’s hands and whirled around. They threw balls or let go of others’ hands and went flying around. They clapped their hands and pulled each other or pulled using ropes. They wrestled. They had hair styles with three braids (kāka-pakṣa-dharau). Sometimes (kvacit) they did one activity and sometimes another. Or not being seen by others, the two brothers simultaneously did all the activities. This showed their powers. Or for whoever was the opponent in wrestling, they became visible in front of that person in the arena.