Text 19
gā gopakair anu-vanaṁ nayator udāra
veṇu-svanaiḥ kala-padais tanu-bhṛtsu sakhyaḥ
aspandanaṁ gati-matāṁ pulakas taruṇāṁ
niryoga-pāśa-kṛta-lakṣaṇayor vicitram
gāḥ — the cows; gopakaiḥ — with the cowherd boys; anu-vanam — to each forest; nayatoḥ — leading; udāra — very liberal; veṇu-svanaiḥ — by the vibrations of the Lord’s flute; kala-padaiḥ — having sweet tones; tanubhṛtsu — among the living entities; sakhyaḥ — O friends; aspandanam — the lack of movement; gati-matām — of those living entities that can move; pulakaḥ — the ecstatic jubilation; taruṇam — of the otherwise nonmoving trees; niryoga-pāśa — the ropes for binding the rear legs of the cows; kṛta-lakṣaṇayoḥ — of those two (Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma), who are characterized by; vicitram — wonderful.
My dear friends, as Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma 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 Kṛṣṇa 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.
Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma 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.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that the ropes of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma 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.