tan mādhavo veṇum udīrayan vṛto
gopair gṛṇadbhiḥ sva-yaśo balānvitaḥ
paśūn puraskṛtya paśavyam āviśad
vihartu-kāmaḥ kusumākaraḿ vanam
tat -- thus; madhavah -- Lord Sri Madhava; venum -- His flute; udirayan -- sounding; vritah -- surrounded; gopaih -- by the cowherd boys; grinadbhih -- who were chanting; sva-yasah -- His glories; bala-anvitah -- accompanied by Lord Balarama; pasun -- the animals; puraskritya -- keeping in front; pasavyam -- full of nourishment for the cows; avisat -- He entered; vihartu-kamah -- desiring to enjoy pastimes; kusuma-akaram -- rich with flowers; vanam -- the forest.
Thus desiring to enjoy pastimes, Lord Madhava, sounding His flute, surrounded by cowherd boys who were chanting His glories, and accompanied by Lord Baladeva, kept the cows before Him and entered the Vrindavana forest, which was full of flowers and rich with nourishment for the animals.
Srila Sanatana Gosvami has explained the various meanings of the word madhava as follows: Madhava normally indicates Krishna to be "the Lord, who is the consort of the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi." This name also implies that Lord Krishna descended in the dynasty of Madhu. Since the spring season is also known as Madhava, it is understood that as soon as Lord Krishna entered the Vrindavana forest, it automatically exhibited all the opulences of spring, becoming filled with flowers, breezes and a celestial atmosphere. Another reason Lord Krishna is known as Madhava is that He enjoys His pastimes in madhu, the taste of conjugal love.
Lord Krishna would loudly sound His flute as He entered the forest of Sri Vrindavana, thus giving inconceivable bliss to all the residents of His hometown, Vraja-dhama. These simple pastimes of playfully entering the forest, playing on the flute and so forth were performed daily in the spiritual land of Vrindavana.
