whose knees and two hands were scuffed from crawling
As the child crawls across the goṣṭha, his knees and palms become reddened from contact with the ground; the gopīs are moved by the sight.
घृष्टजानुकरद्वन्द्वः प्रतिबिम्बानुकारकृत् ।अव्यक्तवर्णवाग्वृत्तिः स्मितलक्ष्यरदोद्गमः॥
ghṛṣṭajānukaradvandvaḥ pratibimbānukārakṛt ·avyaktavarṇavāgvṛttiḥ smitalakṣyaradodgamaḥ
whose knees and two hands were scuffed from crawling
As the child crawls across the goṣṭha, his knees and palms become reddened from contact with the ground; the gopīs are moved by the sight.
who mimicked his own reflection
The toddler mimics his own reflection's movements, delighted by the responding image; this becomes a philosophical image of the ātman and its cosmic mirror.
whose speech ran in indistinct syllables
baby-babble
The baby babbles in the toddler's indistinct syllables (avyakta-varṇa) before proper speech forms; the author of the Vedas thus 'speaks' before language.
the budding of whose teeth showed in his smile
The first baby-teeth just visible through the infant's smile is noted with tender precision; the 'milk-teeth' of the Supreme Being.