Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.37.26
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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nilāyana-krīḍāḥ
—
the games of stealing-and-hiding
Nilāyana (hiding away, concealing) + krīḍā (game). The boys play a village version of cops-and-robbers. Gauḍīyas note: Kṛṣṇa Himself is the great Nilāyana — He hides in every heart and the devotees seek Him in play.
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cora-pāla
—
thieves and protectors
Cora (thief) + pāla (protector, shepherd). The boys split into two roles — and Kṛṣṇa, the universe's protector, joins the protector-side of the game while also being, in His own famous role, the great butter-thief. Gauḍīyas relish the pun: He plays both sides.
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adri-sānuṣu
—
on the mountain slopes
Adri (mountain) + sānu (slope, ridge). The game is set on Govardhana's slopes — the same mountain Kṛṣṇa will later lift. Gauḍīyas treasure how every Vraja location is overdetermined with future significance.
The boys acted out hiding stolen objects as thieves and protectors of herds of sheep.
Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that Nārada did not see the killing of Vyomāsura. After killing Keśī in the morning and hearing Nārada, Kṛṣṇa continued herding the cows and then killed Vyomāsura. Or the event happened earlier and is related here because it is mentioned along with other demons who took various forms. Others say that this happened before the killing of Śaṅkhacūḍa. Or, the killing of Vyomāsura should not have happened the same day as killing of Keśī since this verse starts with the words “one day,” indicating a different time. Therefore this pastime should have occurred at the end of Kṛṣṇa’s kaumāra period. This is suitable since the gopīs previously said: viṣa-jalāpyayād vyāla-rākṣasād varṣa-mārutād vaidyutānalāt vṛṣa-mayātmajād viśvato bhayād ṛṣabha te vayaṁ rakṣitā muhuḥ O greatest of personalities, you have repeatedly saved us from all kinds of danger—from poisoned water, from the terrible man-eater Agha, from the wind mixed with rains and the fiery thunderbolt of Indra, from Vatsāsura and from Vyomāsura. SB 10.31.3 Vṛṣātmta-ja means Vatsāsura and Mayātmaja means Vyomāsura as explained previously. They played a game of stealing objects and hiding them. This is described. They played the roles of thieves and herders. The two parties would take other boys who played the role of sheep. That is explained in the next verse.
Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that Nārada did not see the killing of Vyomāsura. Or after killing Keśī in the morning and hearing Nārada, Kṛṣṇa continued herding the cows and then killed Vyomāsura. The boys, pleased that Kṛṣṇa had killed Keśī, or Kṛṣṇa and all the boys (te) played a game of stealing objects and hiding them. This is described. They played the roles of thieves and herders. The two parties would take other boys who played the role of sheep. The sheep are not mentioned since they were less active and thus not prominent in the game.
One day the cowherd boys play a familiar village game: cops and robbers, or here, thieves-and-shepherds, on the mountain slopes. The Bhāgavatam pivots from cosmic prophecy in verse 21 to a children's game in verse 26 without flinching. The Lord plays both scales.
Throughout Canto 10, killings are followed by games. Aghāsura is followed by the lunch-on-the-bank pastime (10.13); Dhenuka by fruit-eating; Pralamba by mango-picking. Here Keśī and the Nārada-stuti are followed by the thieves-and-sheep game.
Gauḍīyas read this rhythm as the structure of Vraja itself: aiśvarya never lingers. The cowherd village's center of gravity is play, and even demon-killings are interruptions in a longer game. This is the doctrinal weight of līlā: not a break from work but the underlying mode.
My note
Source: vedabase.io