SB 10.33.16

Śrīdhara Svāmī explains this verse. His commentary is strongly based on the example given. Kṛṣṇa was like a child who by mistake plays with his reflection. There is mutual imitation in the Lord’s actions (the boy) and the gopīs actions (the reflection). Kṛṣṇa himself is the initiator of the actions. That process is described in the example. Thus the phrase “the example shows that he is never surpassed in his pastimes” in his commentary seems to be interpolated. Śrīdhara Svāmī then explains the example. Kṛṣṇa transfers his qualities to them. And they become the reflection of his qualities. Just as a boy realizes the beauty of his face by means of the reflection, not by the real face, so the Lord realizes his qualities through his beloved gopīs, since those qualities do not arise in him unless their prema arises. Or, though he is the master of Lakṣmī, he enjoyed with the gopīs of Vraja, not with her. This shows their superior beauty and prema. Or he is the master of Lakṣmī, but does not enjoy with her. He enjoys instead with the gopīs. This shows the extraordinary nature of their enjoyment. Then in astonishment the description of the gopīs is given. He embraced them, held their hands. He joyfully gazed at their faces. He acted without restraint, such as touching their breasts (uddāma-vilāsa). He smiled to show his intense passion. Then an example is given to show their general attachment with unsurpassable qualities in them and him. Some boy, because of the nature of his age, is attached to playing and in illusion plays with his reflection, just as the Lord plays with the gopīs who are equal to him, his reflective counterparts. Attached to play which is filled with his nature of being controlled by prema, he enjoys with the gopīs since they are his counterparts, being his svarūpa-śakti. With a similar intention, previously the gopīs were described as kṛṣṇa-vadhvaḥ (wives of Kṛṣṇa) rather than gopa-vadhvaḥ (wives of cowherds). (They are his eternal consorts.) Brahma-saṁhitā 5.37 says: ānanda cinmaya rasa pratibhāvitābhis tābhir ya eva nija rūpatayā kalābhiḥ | goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma bhūto govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi || I worship the Supreme Lord Govinda who, though regarding all the inhabitants as his very self, resides in Goloka exclusively with the young gopīs, who are embodiments of madhura-rasa. He accepts them as his wives, while they respond to his conjugal affection reciprocally. When a boy moves his head, his reflection moves, when Kṛṣṇa moved, the gopīs moved, but in the excitement of the pastimes, because of mutual attraction, the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa followed each other. The verse mentions his affection glances. This means that just as the gopīs glanced at him with affection, he glanced at them. Parāśara describes his sāttvika-bhāvas: gopī-kapola-saṁśleṣam abhipatya harer bhujau pulakodgama-śaṣpāya svedāmbu-ghanatāṁ gatau When Kṛṣṇa’s arms contacted the cheek of a gopī, those arms began profusly perspiring, and their hairs stood on end like grass.