Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.15.13
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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anurauti sma
—
He would call out in imitation of
anu (after) + rauti (cries) + sma (habitual past). The habitual past tense (sma) tells the Gauḍīya commentator that this is not one occasion — it is His daily play. The pastime is eternal in mood, repeated in time.
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sattvānām
—
together with the other creatures
Genitive plural of sattva (being). Gauḍīya: in Vraja every sattva is a devotee in some form. Kṛṣṇa runs with them not for sport but in solidarity — the Lord enters the fear of the small to demystify it.
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bhīta-vat
—
acting as if afraid
bhīta (afraid) + vat (as if, like). The 'as if' is the entire theology: the Lord cannot be afraid, but He performs fear so His companions are not embarrassed by theirs. Gauḍīya: this is the courtesy of mādhurya — He enters their condition.
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vyāghra-siṁhayoḥ
—
of the tigers and lions
vyāghra (tiger) + siṁha (lion). Dual genitive. Real predators of Vṛndāvana's outer forests. Gauḍīya: the threat is real for the small animals but unreal for Kṛṣṇa, who is the protector of Prahlāda's father from a siṁha-form (Nṛsiṁha is His own expansion).
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barhiṇaḥ
—
the peacocks
From barha (tail-feather). Already named in verse 7; here their cries are imitated. Gauḍīya: the peacock and Kṛṣṇa share an ornament — His crown feather. By imitating the peacock's call He returns the favor.
The word bhīta-vat, “as if afraid,” indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa played just like an ordinary boy and ran with the smaller forest creatures in mock fear of the lions and tigers. Actually, in Vṛndāvana, the abode of the Lord, the lions and tigers are not violent, and thus there is no reason to fear them.
Among the sounds of the animals (sattvanam) that they imitated, Krsna appeared to be afraid (bhitavat) of the roar of the tiger and lion. This means that when the other boys fled on hearing those sounds that Krsna made, Krsna also fled as if in fear.
The word kvacit (sometimes) should be understood in this verse. The cakora drinks moon light. The krauṣca (curlew) eats bulbous roots. The cakrāhva is the cakravāka bird. Bhāradvaja (bharadvaja in some versions) is the skylark. He would imitate the cries of these birds, individually, and sometimes together, since he had all powers to do so. This should be understood in the previous descriptions also. As play he appeared frightened. He only appeared to be frightened (bhīta-vat) since actually it was impossible to have fear since the tigers and lions of Vṛndāvana were not violent. The word sma indicates these activities happened for certain. The boys however became frightened of the great strength of tigers and lions. Or, Kṛṣṇa made sounds frightful like the roaring of lions and tigers among all animals in order to see the boys frightened as a joke.
Sometimes he called out like a cakora, which drinks the moonlight. Bāradvaja is a skylark. Sometimes imitating these birds he shouted loudly since he possessed all power. In Vṛndāvana the tigers and lions are not ferocious. Thus there is no fear of them. Thus the word is bhīta-vat, as if in fear, is used. Or he would show fear like an ordinary child, since he performed childhood pastimes. Sma means well known. There is no doubt about these activities.
A boy in the woods pretends to be afraid of tigers and runs squealing with his pet rabbits — half-game, half-tenderness. Kṛṣṇa does the same with His forest companions: He cries out like a cakora, like a peacock, then runs as if frightened with the small animals beside Him. The omnipotent Lord performs a fear He does not feel — to keep the smaller beings company in their actual fear.
My note
Source: vedabase.io