Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.12.5
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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muṣṇantaḥ
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stealing
From muṣ- (to steal). The same root will return in 10.13 (Brahmā stealing the calves) and in the butter-thief līlā. Theft in Vraja is always playful — never property crime, always love-game. Gauḍīyas call Kṛṣṇa 'Cora' as a name of endearment.
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śikya-ādīn
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lunch-bags and so on
Compound: śikya (lunch bag) + ādi (etcetera). The 'etcetera' is significant — they steal whatever is at hand. Sakhya-rasa is improvisational.
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hasantaḥ
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laughing
From has- (to laugh). Laughter is the keynote of sakhya-rasa; Rūpa Gosvāmī classifies hāsya (humor) as one of the seven secondary rasas, and in Vraja it is constant. The owner's tears and the friends' laughter are both ingredients of the same rasa.
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daduḥ
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they gave back
Aorist of dā- (to give). The game has a finite arc — tease, cry, return. Vraja's pranks always end in restoration; nothing is lost, even the lunch-bag.
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 jijñāsā ( 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.
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.
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.
- Where am I taking devotee friendships too seriously, missing the playfulness that is itself part of bhakti?
- When I am the one whose 'lunch bag' is stolen — by a delay, a critique, a teasing — can I laugh and stay close?
Imagine a circle of children playing keep-away with one boy's hat — the hat sails over heads, the owner runs and cries, everyone laughs, and finally the hat comes back. This is not malice; it is the texture of friendship. In Vraja, even theft is rasa.
My note
Source: vedabase.io