गीयमानो ऽथ गोपीभिश् चरितैश् चारुचेष्टितैः संस्तूयमानो गोपालैः कृष्णो व्रजम् उपागमत्
Then, as the cowherd women sang of his deeds and charming exploits, and the cowherds praised him, Krishna entered Vraja.
गाः पालयन्तौ च पुनः सहितौ रामकेशवौ भ्रममाणौ वने तत्र रम्यं तालवनं गतौ
Once again, Rāma and Keśava, tending the cows together, wandered in the forest and came to the delightful Tāla grove.
तच् च तालवनं नित्यं धेनुको नाम दानवः नृगोमांसकृताहारः सदाध्यास्ते खराकृतिः
And in that Tāla forest, there always dwells a demon named Dhenuka, who, in the form of a donkey, constantly feeds on the flesh of men and cattle.
तत्र तालवनं रम्यं फलसंपत्समन्वितम् दृष्ट्वा स्पृहान्विता गोपाः फलादाने ऽब्रुवन् वचः
There, seeing the delightful Tāla forest abundant with fruit, the cowherds, filled with longing, spoke words about gathering the fruit.
हे राम हे कृष्ण सदा धेनुकेनैव रक्ष्यते भूप्रदेशो यतस् तस्मात् त्यक्तानीमानि सन्ति वै
O Rāma, O Krishna, this land is always guarded by Dhenuka; therefore, these fruits remain here, abandoned.
फलानि पश्य तालानां गन्धमोदयुतानि वै वयम् एतान्य् अभीप्सामः पात्यन्तां यदि रोचते
See the fruits of the palm trees, fragrant and ripe; we desire these—let them be brought down, if you are willing.
इति गोपकुमाराणां श्रुत्वा संकर्षणो वचः कृष्णश् च पातयाम् आस भुवि तालफलानि वै
Hearing the words of the cowherd boys, Sankarṣaṇa and Krishna began to bring down the palm fruits to the ground.
तालानां पततां शब्दम् आकर्ण्यासुरराट् ततः आजगाम स दुष्टात्मा कोपाद् दैतेयगर्दभः
Hearing the sound of the falling palms, the king of the demons, that wicked-hearted Daitya in donkey form, came there in anger.
पद्भ्याम् उभाभ्यां स तदा पश्चिमाभ्यां च तं बली जघानोरसि ताभ्यां च स च तेनाप्य् अगृह्यत
Then that powerful one struck Baladeva on the chest with both his hind legs, but Baladeva seized him with those very legs.
गृहीत्वा भ्रामणेनैव चाम्बरे गतजीवितम् तस्मिन्न् एव प्रचिक्षेप वेगेन तृणराजनि
Seizing him, Baladeva whirled him around in the air, and, lifeless, hurled him with force onto the top of a palm tree.
ततः फलान्य् अनेकानि तालाग्रान् निपतन् खरः पृथिव्यां पातयाम् आस महावातो ऽम्बुदान् इव
Then, as the donkey fell from the tops of the palms, many fruits were shaken down to the earth, like great winds bring down clouds.
अन्यान् अप्य् अस्य वै ज्ञातीन् आगतान् दैत्यगर्दभान् कृष्णश् चिक्षेप तालाग्रे बलभद्रश् च लीलया
Krishna and Balabhadra, with ease, likewise hurled the other donkey-demons, his kin, who had come there, onto the palm trees.
क्षणेनालंकृता पृथ्वी पक्वैस् तालफलैस् तदा दैत्यगर्दभदेहैश् च मुनयः शुशुभे ऽधिकम्
In a moment, the earth was adorned with ripe palm fruits and the bodies of the donkey-demons, making the sages shine all the more.
ततो गावो निराबाधास् तस्मिंस् तालवने द्विजाः नवशष्पं सुखं चेरुर् यत्र भुक्तम् अभूत् पुरा
Then, in that Tāla forest, the cows, undisturbed, grazed happily on fresh grass, O twice-born, where once it had been forbidden.
तस्मिन् रासभदैतेये सानुजे विनिपातिते सर्वगोपालगोपीनां रम्यं तालवनं बभौ
With that donkey-demon and his brothers slain, the beautiful Tāla forest shone for all the cowherds and cowherd women.
ततस् तौ जातहर्षौ तु वसुदेवसुताव् उभौ शुशुभाते महात्मानौ बालशृङ्गाव् इवर्षभौ
Then the two sons of Vasudeva, filled with joy, shone forth—those great souls—like two young bulls with budding horns.
चारयन्तौ च गा दूरे व्याहरन्तौ च नामभिः नियोगपाशस्कन्धौ तौ वनमालाविभूषितौ
Tending the cows at a distance, calling them by name, the two, with herding ropes on their shoulders and garlands of forest flowers, moved about.
सुवर्णाञ्जनचूर्णाभ्यां तदा तौ भूषिताम्बरौ महेन्द्रायुधसंकाशौ श्वेतकृष्णाव् इवाम्बुदौ
Adorned with garments dusted with gold and black powders, they resembled Indra’s weapons, appearing like white and dark clouds.
चेरतुर् लोकसिद्धाभिः क्रीडाभिर् इतरेतरम् समस्तलोकनाथानां नाथभूतौ भुवं गतौ
They wandered the earth, engaging in playful games with the perfected beings of the worlds, themselves the lords of all the world’s lords.
मनुष्यधर्माभिरतौ मानयन्तौ मनुष्यताम् तज्जातिगुणयुक्ताभिः क्रीडाभिश् चेरतुर् वनम्
Delighting in human ways, honoring humanity, they wandered the forest, playing games suited to their human birth and nature.
ततस् त्व् आन्दोलिकाभिश् च नियुद्धैश् च महाबलौ व्यायामं चक्रतुस् तत्र क्षेपणीयैस् तथाश्मभिः
Then those two mighty ones engaged in exercise there with swings, wrestling, and also by throwing stones.
तल्लिप्सुर् असुरस् तत्र उभयो रममाणयोः आजगाम प्रलम्बाख्यो गोपवेषतिरोहितः
Desiring to defeat them as they delighted together, the Asura named Pralamba came there, disguised in the attire of a cowherd.
सो ऽवगाहत निःशङ्कं तेषां मध्यममानुषः मानुषं रूपम् आस्थाय प्रलम्बो दानवोत्तमः
He, the foremost of the Dānavas, entered fearlessly among them in human form, appearing as an ordinary man.
तयोश् छिद्रान्तरप्रेप्सुर् अतिशीघ्रम् अमन्यत कृष्णं ततो रौहिणेयं हन्तुं चक्रे मनोरथम्
Seeking an opportunity between the two, he quickly considered to kill the son of Rohiṇī, while keeping Kṛṣṇa distracted.
हरिणा क्रीडनं नाम बालक्रीडनकं ततः प्रक्रीडितास् तु ते सर्वे द्वौ द्वौ युगपद् उत्पतन्
Then, as part of their play, they all began a children's game called 'Hariṇa-krīḍana', leaping up in pairs together.
श्रीदाम्ना सह गोविन्दः प्रलम्बेन तथा बलः गोपालैर् अपरैश् चान्ये गोपालाः सह पुप्लुवुः
Govinda with Śrīdāmā, Bala with Pralamba, and the other cowherds with each other, all jumped in pairs.
श्रीदामानं ततः कृष्णः प्रलम्बं रोहिणीसुतः जितवान् कृष्णपक्षीयैर् गोपैर् अन्यैः पराजिताः
Then Kṛṣṇa defeated Śrīdāmā, and the son of Rohiṇī defeated Pralamba; the other cowherds on Kṛṣṇa's side won, while the rest were defeated.
ते वाहयन्तस् त्व् अन्योन्यं भाण्डीरस्कन्धम् एत्य वै पुनर् निवृत्तास् ते सर्वे ये ये तत्र पराजिताः
Those who were defeated carried the victors on their shoulders to the Banyan tree and then all returned to their places.
संकर्षणं तु स्कन्धेन शीघ्रम् उत्क्षिप्य दानवः न तस्थौ प्रजगामैव सचन्द्र इव वारिदः
The Dānava swiftly lifted Saṃkarṣaṇa onto his shoulders and did not stop, but went off like a cloud with the moon.
अशक्तो वहने तस्य संरम्भाद् दानवोत्तमः ववृधे सुमहाकायः प्रावृषीव बलाहकः
Unable to carry him further, the foremost Dānava, out of anger, grew to an enormous size, like a rain cloud in the monsoon.