Text 6
ulūkhalaṁ vikarṣantaṁ
dāmnā baddhaṁ svam ātmajam
vilokya nandaḥ prahasad-
vadano vimumoca ha
ulūkhalam — the wooden mortar; vikarṣantam — dragging; dāmnā — by the rope; baddham — bound; svam ātmajam — his own son Kṛṣṇa; vilokya — by seeing; nandaḥ — Mahārāja Nanda; prahasat-vadanaḥ — whose face began to smile when he saw the wonderful child; vimumoca ha — released Him from the bonds.
When Nanda Mahārāja saw his own son bound with ropes to the wooden mortar and dragging it, he smiled and released Kṛṣṇa from His bonds.
Nanda Mahārāja was surprised that Yaśodā, Kṛṣṇa’s mother, could have bound her beloved child in such a way. Kṛṣṇa was exchanging love with her. How then could she have been so cruel as to bind Him to the wooden mortar? Nanda Mahārāja understood this exchange of love, and therefore he smiled and released Kṛṣṇa. In other words, as Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, binds a living entity in fruitive activities, He binds mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja in parental affection. This is His pastime.