Study a Verse

• The cowherd boys anticipated the possible objection from the brāhmaṇas that they couldn’t give the boys any food because they themselves had not yet eaten, and that a priest initiated to perform a sacrifice should not eat.
• Therefore the boys humbly informed the brāhmaṇas about various technicalities of ritualistic sacrifice.
• The cowherd boys were not unaware of the formalities of Vedic culture, but their real intention was simply to render loving service to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

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

Attraction and threat → Joy and trust. The pastoral world becomes the setting for protection and love.

Chapters 20–28 of Canto 10: Forest seasons, flute and Govardhana. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 23: The Brāhmaṇas’ Wives Blessed

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When the cowherd boys became very hungry, they asked Śrī Kṛṣṇa about obtaining food, and He sent them to beg some from a group of brāhmaṇas who were performing a sacrifice nearby. But these brāhmaṇas ignored the boys, thinking Śrī Kṛṣṇa an ordinary human being.