स्वमुखप्रतिबिम्बार्थी ग्रीवाव्याघ्रनखोज्ज्वलः ।पङ्कानुलेपरुचिरो मांसलोरुकटीतटः॥
svamukhapratibimbārthī grīvāvyāghranakhojjvalaḥ ·paṅkānuleparuciro māṃsalorukaṭītaṭaḥ
who reached for the reflection of his own face
The toddler notices a reflective surface (a polished vessel) and reaches toward his own reflection; devotees see this as the Lord experiencing his own beauty.
whose neck shone with a tiger-claw amulet
Yaśodā ties protective tiger-claw amulets around the child's neck; the clash of the fierce claw against the most beautiful neck in existence becomes itself an ornament.
lovely even smeared with mud
The crawling child smears himself with mud from the goṣṭha courtyard; the mud-covered face becomes even more beautiful in the eyes of the doting gopīs.
with plump thighs and rounded hips
The infant's plump thighs and broad hips are described with motherly admiration; the physical health of the divine child evokes the gopīs' tender care.
