Study a Verse

• According to Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, the word nilāyanaiḥ refers to games such as hide-and-go-seek or cops and robbers.
• Sometimes the boys would jump around like the monkeys in Lord Rāmacandra’s army and then enact the building of the bridge to Śrī Laṅkā by constructing play bridges in lakes or ponds.
• Sometimes the boys would imitate the pastime of churning the Ocean of Milk, and sometimes they would play catch with balls.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Peril and pride → Friendship and humility. Divinity is revealed amid intimate childhood play.

Chapters 12–19 of Canto 10: Childhood dangers and Brahmā's amazement. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 14: Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Indeed, later they related to the residents of Vṛndāvana the incident of Kṛṣṇa’s killing the Agha demon. In this way, the cowherd boys described pastimes that Lord Kṛṣṇa had performed in His bālya age (one to five), even though His paugaṇḍa age (six to ten) had begun.