In this episode of Mahabharata, Krishna is older. He doesn’t play pranks and pilfer butter anymore, but he has noticed girls. Wherein previously Yashoda would tie him to a pole for stealing butter, this time, she ties him to a pole for stealing the clothes from some bathing girls about his age. One of those girls, Radha loves it when Krishna plays his flute, and the two of them develop some mutual attraction too.
However, as Krishna grows older, it is his subversive ideas that cause real trouble. When he exhorts the villagers not to send any more butter to the palace, exclaiming that Kansa hasn’t done anything for this village to deserve payments in butter, the villagers listen. An angry Kansa sends soldiers to rustle all the cattle away and bring them to the palace. However, Krishna saves the day, when his flute playing causes the cattle to stampede past Kansa’s soldiers and return back to Nanda village.
An incensed Kansa calls upon two demons, Devakasur and Thurambulasur to attack Nanda village and destroy it completely. However, this time, Krishna and Balaram are waiting to fight them.
Tropes found here are
- Bash Brothers: Balaram and Krishna become this to defeat two demons Kansa sends to attack the village.
- Gone Swimming, Clothes Stolen: Krishna steals the clothes of Radha and her friends as they bathe in the Yamuna River.
- Outdoor Bath Peeping: Krishna is perched on a tree, gazing at Radha and her friends as they bathe.
- Magical Flutist: Krishna shows off this capability for the first time, when he uses his flute playing to cause a cattle stampede to defeat some rustlers.
- Protection Racket: Krishna calls Kansa’s “butter tax” a straight up protection racket - send me your butter so I won’t send my soldiers to Rape, Pillage, and Burn.
- Puppy Love: Krishna and Radha.
- The Rustler: Kansa sends soldiers to steal all of Nanda village’s cows when they cut off his butter tribute.
