gā gopakair anu-vanaḿ nayator udāra
veṇu-svanaiḥ kala-padais tanu-bhṛtsu sakhyaḥ
aspandanaḿ gati-matāḿ pulakas taruṇāḿ
niryoga-pāśa-kṛta-lakṣaṇayor vicitram
gah -- the cows; gopakaih -- with the cowherd boys; anu-vanam -- to each forest; nayatoh -- leading; udara -- very liberal; venu-svanaih -- by the vibrations of the Lord's flute; kala-padaih -- having sweet tones; tanubhritsu -- among the living entities; sakhyah -- O friends; aspandanam -- the lack of movement; gati-matam -- of those living entities that can move; pulakah -- the ecstatic jubilation; tarunam -- of the otherwise nonmoving trees; niryoga-pasa -- the ropes for binding the rear legs of the cows; krita-lakshanayoh -- of those two (Krishna and Balarama), who are characterized by; vicitram -- wonderful.
My dear friends, as Krishna and Balarama pass through the forest with Their cowherd friends, leading Their cows, They carry ropes to bind the cows' rear legs at the time of milking. When Lord Krishna plays on His flute, the sweet music causes the moving living entities to become stunned and the nonmoving trees to tremble with ecstasy. These things are certainly very wonderful.
Krishna and Balarama would sometimes wear Their cowherding ropes on Their heads and sometimes carry them on Their shoulders, and thus They were beautifully decorated with all the equipment of cowherd boys.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that the ropes of Krishna and Balarama are made of yellow cloth and have clusters of pearls at both ends. Sometimes They wear these ropes around Their turbans, and the ropes thus become wonderful decorations.
