bhramaṇair lańghanaiḥ kṣepair
āsphoṭana-vikarṣaṇaiḥ
cikrīḍatur niyuddhena
kāka-pakṣa-dharau kvacit
bhramanaih -- with whirling about; langhanaih -- jumping; kshepaih -- throwing; asphotana -- slapping; vikarshanaih -- and dragging; cikriidatuh -- They(Krishna and Balarama) played; niyuddhena -- with fighting; kaka-paksha -- the locks of hair on the sides of Their heads; dharau -- holding; kvacit -- sometimes.
Krishna and Balarama played with their cowherd boyfriends by whirling about, leaping, hurling, slapping and fighting. Sometimes Krishna and Balarama would pull the hair on the boys' heads.
The acaryas have explained this verse as follows: The word bhramanaih indicates that the boys, pretending they were machines, would sometimes
whirl about until they became dizzy. They would also sometimes jump about (langhanaih). The word kshepaih indicates that sometimes they would hurl objects like balls or stones and that sometimes they would grab each other by the arms and throw one another about. Asphotana means that sometimes they would slap one another's shoulders or backs, and vikarshanaih indicates they would drag one another about in the midst of their play. By the word niyuddhena arm wrestling and other types of friendly fighting are indicated, and the word kaka-paksha-dharau means that Krishna and Balarama would sometimes grab the hair on the other boys' heads in a playful manner.
