The cowherd boys of Vṛndāvana were able to play with Krana just as if le were an ordinary human child, though neither they nor Kṛṣṇa were ordinary boys. The great sages who took birth as Kṛṣṇa's friends had spent many previous lives performing severe penances and austerities. Thus when Kṛṣṇa appeared in Vṛndāvana, India, some fifty centuries ago, they were awarded the greatest possible benediction: the opportunity to play with the Supreme Personality of Godhead on an equal level. By Kṛṣṇa's special mercy, they did not know that He was the Supreme Lord; they simply loved Kṛṣṇa, and this was true of everyone in Vṛndāvana at the time of Kṛṣṇa's advent. Kṛṣṇa's father and mother loved Kṛṣṇa; Kṛṣṇa's girlfriends loved Kṛṣṇa; the trees loved Kṛṣṇa; the water loved Kṛṣṇa; the flowers, the cows, the calves—everyone and everything loved Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of pleasure, blowing His flute and accompanied by His brother Balarāma, the cowherd boys, and the cows, entered the beautiful forest of Vṛndāvana to enjoy the atmosphere. They walked into the midst of newly grown leaves of trees whose flowers resembled peacock feathers. They garlanded themselves with those flowers and decorated themselves with saffron chalk. Sometimes they danced and sang, and sometimes they wrestled with one another. While Kṛṣṇa danced, some of the cowherd boys sang, while others played on flutes; some bugled on buffalo horns or clapped their hands, praising Kṛṣṇa: "Dear brother, You are dancing very nicely." Actually, all these boys were demigods descended from higher planets to assist Kṛṣṇa in His pastimes. The demigods garbed in the dress of the cowherd boys were encouraging Kṛṣṇa in His dancing, just as one artist encourages another.
Up to that time, neither Balarāma nor Kṛṣṇa had undergone the haircutting ceremony; therefore Their hair was clustered like crow's feathers. They were always playing hide and seek with their boyfriends or jumping or fighting with them.
Sometimes, while His friends were chanting and dancing, Kṛṣṇa would praise them: "My dear friends, you are dancing and singing very nicely." The boys played catch with fruits like bel and āmalaki. They played blindman's buff, challenging and touching one another. Sometimes they imitated the forest deer and various kinds of birds. At other times they joked with one another by imitating croaking frogs, sometimes they enjoyed swinging beneath the trees, and sometimes they would play like a king and his subjects.
In this way Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma played all kinds of sports with Their friends and enjoyed the soothing atmosphere of Vṛndāvana, which was filled with rivers, lakes, rivulets, fine trees, and excellent fruits and flowers.