PURPORT

The narration of Krsna's naughty childhood activities would be presented to Mother Yasoda in the form of complaints. Sometimes Krsna would enter the house of a neighbor, and if He found no one there, He would release the calves before the time for the cows to be milked. The calves are actually supposed to be released when their mothers are milked, but Krsna would release them before that time, and naturally the calves would drink all the milk from their mothers. When the cowherd men saw this, they would chase Krsna and try to catch Him, saying, "Here is Krsna doing mischief," but He would flee and enter another house, where He would again devise some means to steal butter and yogurt. Then the cowherd men would again try to capture Him, saying, "Here is the butter thief. Better capture Him!" And they would be angry. But Krsna would simply smile, and they would forget everything. Sometimes, in their presence, He would begin eating the yogurt and butter. There was no need for Krsna to eat butter, since His belly was always full, but He would try to eat it, or else He would break the pots and distribute the contents to the monkeys. In this way, Krsna was always engaged in mischief-making. If in any house He could not find any butter or yogurt to steal, He would go into a room and agitate the small children sleeping there by pinching them, and when they cried He would go away.