Text 17]
Mother Yaśodā Binds Lord Kṛṣṇa
161
TRANSLATION
This new rope also was short by a measurement of two fingers, and when another rope was joined to it, it was still two fingers too short. As many ropes as she joined, all of them failed; their shortness could not be overcome.
TEXT 17
एवं स्वगेहदामानि यशोदा सन्दधत्यपि । गोपीनां सुसयन्तीनां सयन्ती विसिताभवत् ॥१७॥
evam sva-geha-dāmāni yaśodā sandadhaty api gopīnām susmayantīnām smayantī vismitābhavat
evam —in this manner;  sva-geha-dāmāni —all the ropes available in the household;  yaśodā —mother Yaśodā;  sandadhati api —although she was joining one after another;  gopīnām —when all the other elderly  gopī  friends of mother Yaśodā;  su-smayantīnām —were all taking pleasure in this funny affair;  smayantī —mother Yaśodā was also smiling;  vismitā abhavat —all of them were struck with wonder.
TRANSLATION
Thus mother Yaśodā joined whatever ropes were available in the household, but still she failed in her attempt to bind Kṛṣṇa. Mother Yaśodā's friends, the elderly  gopīs  in the neighborhood, were smiling and enjoying the fun. Similarly, mother Yaśodā, although laboring in that way, was also smiling. All of them were struck with wonder.
PURPORT
Actually this incident was wonderful because Kṛṣṇa was only a child with small hands. To bind Him should have required only a rope not more than two feet long. All the ropes in the house combined together might have been hundreds of feet long, but still He was impossible to