Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.18.12
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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bhramaṇaiḥ
—
with whirling about
Whirling — a category of play where the body becomes its own axis. Gauḍīyas note Caitanya Mahāprabhu's whirling dances at Jagannātha Purī as the Vraja-bhāva of bhramaṇa flowering in the saṅkīrtana age.
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niyuddhena
—
with fighting
Niyuddha — wrestling, formal hand-to-hand combat. The same word later used for Kṛṣṇa's wrestling-match with Cāṇūra and Muṣṭika. The sakhya-form rehearses the kṣatra-form.
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kāka-pakṣa
—
the locks of hair on the sides of Their heads
Kāka (crow) + pakṣa (wing). The dark side-locks that boyish Vraja-style favours — boys' hair tied in 'crow-wing' tufts. The sakhās pull these tufts. Bhagavān is touched here in a way the Upaniṣads cannot touch Him.
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cikṛīḍatuḥ
—
They played
Reduplicated perfect dual of √krīḍ. Twice-intensive play. The chapter never lets the verb krīḍā out of sight — every action in Vraja is recategorized as play.
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āsphoṭana
—
slapping
Slap on the back or shoulder — the sakhya-rasa salutation. In Gauḍīya rasa-śāstra, slap-on-the-back is the canonical example of viśrambha-prīti, the trustful familiarity that distinguishes sakhya from dāsya.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- Where in my devotion have I refused 'roughness' that real intimacy would allow?
- What ordinary physical activity could I let become a form of play with the Lord?
Bhagavān lets His own hair be pulled by His friends. This is the inversion of every other scripture — the Lord who cannot be touched by the Vedas' negations is happily seized by a sakhā's fist. Acintya-bhedābheda is enacted in the wrestling-pit.
My note
Source: vedabase.io