The small boys laughed without reason. Krsna laughed loudly (prahasan), calling their attention to himself. He joked with the young girls. "O young girls of Vraja! Do you know who has put all of these clothes on the branch of the kadamba tree? I was herding the cows and from far off I saw them and thought, "Today the kadamba tree is very colorful with flowers and fruit." To see this astonishing spectacle I came running here and climbed this tree." The young girl said, "Those are our clothes." Krsna said, "Tthat cannot be. If they were yours, how did they get up in this high branch of the tree?" They answered, "You have stolen them and put them there." "Are you blaming me? I am the son of King Nanda. Am I a thief? I can guess that today you want to go to Kamsa in Mathura." The young girls said, "Don’t get angry. Just look closely at the clothing and see if they are women’s or men’s clothing." Krsna said, "According to my intelligence, because these are so colorful, they must be women’s clothing. But so what? In this universe you are not the only women. Are there no other women?" They said, "That is so, but who else except us can come to this isolated forest? " Krsna said, "O girls who like to wander in lonely places, are you the only women that wander in lonely places and play secretly?" They said, "O fool, we did not come here to play. We came to worship Durga, the deity of this kadamba tree."

Krsna said, "Are you the only young women worshipping Durga? Are there no others?" The young girls said, "There are no others." Krsna said, "O foolish ones, every night the deva women come on celestial vehicles and perform worship of Durga here." They said, "Even if they did perform worship here, why would they leave their clothing here and go away?" Krsna said, "Oh young girls, you do not know anything. Tonight they will come again and perform worship. After bathing they will don these clothes. That is why they set them aside here. " The girls said, "You do not know the truth. Today we will perform worship. The deity of the forest has placed those clothes high up in the tree for us to wear after bathing."

With the other boys, quietly and quickly, out of fear, he took their clothing, valued by the girls, with some special intention. He then climbed the tree alone. He laughed when the boys laughed. The girls sought the source of the laughter. Knowing their love and their anger, but appearing not to know, he laughed at them when they said nothing. He spoke this joke. “Why do you not come out since you are shivering from being in the cold water so long? Coming out, giving up dampness, you should put on dry cloth.” This was not inappropriate, since only the Lord can be compared to the Lord: bhavān eva bhavān iva. (Bilvamaṅgala-stava) It was joking that accompanies a conversation. The word ha indicates he spoke clearly. Previously he had left other boys who were situated close by and came with these young friends. Thus he could not be criticized, since they were all young.

Coming close, he took their clothing (upādāya). He laughed loudly with the boys because of his act, and quickly climbed a kadamba tree out of fear, since he was a thief. Since the tree was high they could not see him. The boys were very young. Previously he had left the older boys in order to perform this pastime. Or since he was at the end of seven years when he lifted Govardhana, and this pastime occurred previously, he must have been six years old at this time. The other boys were of the same age. Of course the Lord could perform a pastime of an older Kṛṣṇa even in his younger years. (He matures quickly). That is well known and was mentioned earlier. This is also understood in his giving mercy to the wives of the brāhmaṇas. Thus there is nothing wrong if they were all very young (bālaiḥ). Or the two pastimes occurred during his kaiśora period, but are described before lifting Govardhana. It is related now because of a relationship with the gopīs’ bhāva revealed in their description of Kṛṣṇa’s flute song in the autumn and also with the wives of the brāhmaṇas described in the next chapter. Generally Śukadeva does not narrate the pastimes in order. Sometimes pastimes of similar nature are grouped together. Sometimes because of his own taste they are related at a certain time. That is clear from previous and later chapters. Kṛṣṇa then spoke jokingly in order to attract them. He also laughed conspicuously (prahasan). Ha indicates joy or very clearly.