tataś ca labdha-saḿskārau
dvijatvaḿ prāpya su-vratau
gargād yadu-kulācāryād
gāyatraḿ vratam āsthitau
tatah -- then; ca -- and; labdha -- having received; samskarau -- initiation (Krishna and Balarama); dvijatvam -- twice-born status; prapya -- attaining; su-vratau -- sincere in Their vows; gargat -- from Garga Muni; yadu-kula -- of the Yadu dynasty; acaryat -- from the spiritual master; gayatram -- of celibacy; vratam -- the vow; asthitau -- assumed.
After attaining twice-born status through initiation, the Lords, sincere in Their vows, took the further vow of celibacy from Garga Muni, the spiritual master of the Yadus.
Both Sridhara Svami and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explain the term gayatram vratam as the vow of brahmacarya, or celibacy in student life. Krishna and Balarama were playing the part of perfect students on the path of self-realization. Of course, in the modern, degraded age, student life has become a wild, animalistic affair filled with illicit sex and drugs.
