"Listen, mother Yasoda, to your son’s stealing activities. One day, thinking to steal the yogurt from some empty house, he went around looking for an empty house. Before the milking time (asamaye) he let the calves loose to drink the cows milk. When everyone was running here and there to catch the loose calves, he entered the empty room, stole the yogurt and fled away. Another day when that yogurt thief came, we shouted "Beat him! Tie him up!" But he just smiled sweetly. Smitten by his intoxicating smile, we watched him do his dirty work, not able to do anything, while he ate the milk and yoghurt. He just sat there eating, not even running away, while we stood there bewildered." "In that case why didn’t you just let him eat till his belly was full?" "He is always being fed by you so he has no hunger. It is not a question of hunger. He has a taste for stealing. He likes to steal the yogurt and milk. He does not like it if we give it to him. Being skilful at releasing the calves and at smiling, he steals in two ways ---without our seeing and directly visible. Using his intelligence he finds different ways to steal. Later, one day even before eating himself, he distributed it to the monkeys. When all the monkeys had overeaten and none could eat more, He thought "Without you what is the purpose in my eating? I will not eat." In distress, he broke the pots. Sometimes when he enters an empty house and finding no yogurt, he becomes angry at the occupants (sagrha). "Stay there, and I will come tomorrow morning with a flaming coal in my hand. If you don’t give some yogurt, I will burn your house down along with the elders and children." Saying that he then makes the young children cry by scratching them with his nails."

They spoke in the following manner. Two and a half verses now describe Kṛṣṇa’s fickleness. The first half of the first verse may be taken as one statement, and is explained separately for relishing the topic. The gopīs speak of the first disturbance that Kṛṣṇa causes. He releases the calves. The plural (vatsān) is used to express their agitation. “But there is no fault on his part, since he cares for the calves.” But he does this when it is not milking time (asamaye). “The child has done this out of ignorance. Why worry? There are many people in the house. Can they not prevent it?” They cannot prevent it when they are busy in other household engagements. “Why don’t you frighten him?” When we shout at him he laughs. This describes his bewildering nature. “Why does he release the calves?” Laughing they imitate his answer. “I want to drink milk.” This means he releases the cows to make the people run here and there. “Oh, you are unkind. Give him some milk before he does this.” Slowing they say with smiling brows, “He wants stolen milk, not milk which we have given him. If we give him milk, he will not drink it.” “But what loss is there if he takes a little milk from your storehouse?” He takes the tastiest milk set aside for our husbands. He drinks it all. “It is not possible that an untaught boy can steal from you, for you are very clever.” He has invented methods unseen or unheard of previously by his intelligence. “This is the result of piety of your father and grandfather since he is enjoying what is not given by you misers. Why do you not accept this joyfully, after it is done?” He gives it to the monkeys. Let him eat it with his friends, but before he eats it he divides it up and gives it to the monkeys. And if even one monkey does not eat, since they have eaten enough fruits in the forest. He also does not eat it. He simply breaks the pot. He becomes angry when the gopīs do not follow his order to give butter to the monkeys which have come to the door. Or sometimes, since he has already eaten, he will not eat the stolen goods but still break the pot and blame others. “If you know this, why do you not hide the pots? By not doing so, you are making my playful child agitated.” The gopīs use the word saḥ to indicate that Kṛṣṇa is not present, even though they can see him in front of them since he is now like another person, very gentle in behavior. He becomes angry at all the people in the house. He makes the young children—Rādhā, Cāndrāvalī and their young brothers-- cry and then runs away. Sa can also be a compound: sa-gṛha-kūpitaḥ: he becomes angry at people in the house.

They speak to dispel the notion that they are being bold in speaking about his fickle childhood pastimes, or to create more attractiveness in relating his pastimes. At some time or in some place (kvacit), he releases the calves. This word is understood with all the actions described. While engaged in doing other activities, they cannot catch him. He releases the calves, and they must again tie them up. While the women are busy he leisurely enters their houses to eat the yogurt. He smiles when the babies cry. Or by making them cry, he announces his play to the people. He is very naughty. After releasing the calves he eats the butter with his friends. He devises new means of stealing the butter. Not only does he eat the butter with his friends, but makes the monkeys eat also. He makes newborn infants cry. Or if he does not eat the butter, he gives it to the monkeys, so that they will blame the monkeys.