hastÄgrÄhye racayati vidhiá¹ pÄ«á¹hakolÅ«khalÄdyaiÅ›
chidraá¹ hy antar-nihita-vayunaḥ Å›ikya-bhÄṇá¸eá¹£u tad-vit
dhvÄntÄgÄre dhá¹›ta-maṇi-gaṇaá¹ svÄá¹…gam artha-pradÄ«paá¹
kÄle gopyo yarhi gá¹›ha-ká¹›tyeá¹£u suvyagra-cittÄḥ
hasta-agrÄhye - when the destination is out of the reach of His hands; racayati - He arranges to make; vidhim - a means; pÄ«á¹haka - by wooden planks piled together; ulÅ«khala-Ädyaiḥ - and by overturning the stone mortar for grinding spices; chidram - a hole; hi - indeed; antaḥ-nihita - about the contents of the pot; vayunaḥ - with such knowledge; Å›ikya - hanging by a swing; bhÄṇá¸eá¹£u - in the pots; tat-vit - expert in that knowledge, or in full knowledge; dhvÄnta-ÄgÄre - in a very dark room; dhá¹›ta-maṇi-gaṇam - because of being decorated with valuable jewels; sva-aá¹…gam - His own body; artha-pradÄ«pam - is the light required for seeing in darkness; kÄle - after that, in due course of time; gopyaḥ - the elderly gopÄ«s; yarhi - as soon as; gá¹›ha-ká¹›tyeá¹£u - in discharging household affairs; su-vyagra-cittÄḥ - are busily engaged.
“When the milk and curd are kept high on a swing hanging from the ceiling and Kṛṣṇa and BalarÄma cannot reach it, They arrange to reach it by piling up various planks and turning upside down the mortar for grinding spices. Being quite aware of the contents of a pot, They poke holes in it. While the elderly gopÄ«s go about their household affairs, Kṛṣṇa and BalarÄma sometimes go into a dark room, brightening the place with the valuable jewels and ornaments on Their bodies and taking advantage of this light by stealing.
Formerly, in every household, yogurt and butter were kept for use in emergencies. But Kṛṣṇa and BalarÄma would pile up planks so that They could reach the pots and would then pick holes in the pots with Their hands so that the contents would leak out and They could drink it. This was another means for stealing butter and milk. When the butter and milk were kept in a dark room, Kṛṣṇa and BalarÄma would go there and make the place bright with the valuable jewels on Their bodies. On the whole, Kṛṣṇa and BalarÄma engaged in stealing butter and milk from the neighborhood houses in many ways.
