As time passed, Lord Krishna and Balarama grew up into strong and happy children. Lord Krishna would always be dressed in yellow garments while Balarama was attired in blue clothes.
One day, a gopi came to complain to Yashoda. “Kanhaiya is very naughty!” said the unhappy gopi. Lord Krishna was well loved by all and He was affectionately called ‘Kanhaiya’ by the gopis.
“What has my Krishna done?” asked Yashoda. The gopi complained. “When I went to milk the cow in the morning, I saw that someone had untied the calf. The little calf had reached the cow and drunk all the milk. As I looked around to catch the culprit who untied it, I saw your son smiling mischievously at me,” said the gopi.
Yashoda understood how clever and compassionate her son was.
Whenever Yashoda felt that her son, Krishna had finally stopped playing tricks, Lord Krishna played yet another prank on an unsuspecting gopi. The unhappy girl came to Yashoda to complain about this. “Kanhaiya has done it again!” said the gopi as she approached Mother Yashoda.
Without even waiting for her to say a word, the gopi plunged into bitter complaints. “I tied a pot of butter high above the ground so that no one might touch it. When my back was turned, Kanhaiya along with His friends made a pyramid and reached the pot. They helped themselves to the butter and I saw them leaving because I turned around at that moment,” said the gopi, “When I asked Kanhaiya about this, He said maybe a cat ate the butter.” Mother Yashoda did not know which way to look when she heard this.
Yashoda was very unhappy about the complaints regarding Lord Krishna which she got from the gopis. “O Krishna, look how the gopis are complaining about You!” said Yashoda. Lord Krishna who was standing in the corner looked sadly at her. Big tear drops rolled down His cheeks as He felt sad for His mother. Hearing Him cry, all the gopis came to the house. Seeing His tears and His sad, innocent face, the gopis started to protect Him. “Please do not scold Kanhaiya,” one of the gopis pleaded with Yashoda. Another tried to reason, “He is only a little child. Please do not blame Him.”
As everyone loved Lord Krishna dearly, no one wanted to see Him cry, and even Yashoda could not bring herself to scold Him any more. Lord Krishna stopped crying and became happy again. The deep affection that the gopis felt for Him grew stronger as time passed.
