Study a Verse

• Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains the word nṛpa-ceṣṭayā as follows: In Vṛndāvana there was a particular place on the riverbank where people who wanted to cross the Yamunā would pay a small tax.
• At times the cowherd boys would assemble in this area and prevent the young girls of Vṛndāvana from crossing the river, insisting that they had to pay a customs duty first.
• Such activities were full of joking and laughter.

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 18: Lord Balarāma Slays the Demon Pralamba

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Kṛṣṇa then suggested to His young friends and Baladeva that they play a game involving contending parties. Taking the role of leaders, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma divided the boys into two groups and determined that the losers would have to carry the winners on their shoulders.