Text 32
ekadā krīḍamānās te
rāmādyā gopa-dārakāḥ
kṛṣṇo mṛdaṁ bhakṣitavān
iti mātre nyavedayan
ekadā — once upon a time; krīḍamānāḥ — now Kṛṣṇa, being still more grown up, was playing with other children of the same age; te — they; rāma-ādyāḥ — Balarāma and others; gopa-dārakāḥ — other boys born in the same neighborhood of the cowherd men; kṛṣṇaḥ mṛdam bhakṣitavān — O Mother, Kṛṣṇa has eaten earth (a complaint was lodged); iti — thus; mātre — unto mother Yaśodā; nyavedayan — they submitted.
One day while Kṛṣṇa was playing with His small playmates, including Balarāma and other sons of the gopas, all His friends came together and lodged a complaint to mother Yaśodā. “Mother,” they submitted, “Kṛṣṇa has eaten earth.”
Here is another of Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental activities invented to please the gopīs. First a complaint was lodged with mother Yaśodā about Kṛṣṇa’s stealing, but mother Yaśodā did not chastise Him. Now, in an attempt to awaken mother Yaśodā’s anger so that she would chastise Kṛṣṇa, another complaint was invented — that Kṛṣṇa had eaten earth.