Balarama
Compiled
by Ahovala Nrsingh Das
The following is a compilation of stories, anecdotes, and bits of
information about Lord Balarama. It was
gathered from different
publications, books and lectures, in the
hopes that it will help
myself and others remember Lord Balarama
on this His glorious
appearance day. I realize that in no way
is this work definitive or
complete and so I welcome any other
information that may be available.
I also realize that I am part of this
material world and I have flawed
senses therefore it is possible that I
have made errors, but I would
ask that anyone who reads this would
please forgive me as I am only
trying to render some small service.
Thank you for your time and
consideration and....
APPEARANCE
Sri Baladeva is the Supreme Personality
of Godhead Himself. He is
equal in supremacy to the Supreme
Godhead, yet wherever Krsna appears,
Sri Baladeva appears as Krsna's brother,
sometimes elder, sometimes
younger. In his vaibhava-prakasa
feature, Lord Krsna manifests Himself
as Balarama. The Balarama feature is as
good as Krsna Himself, the
only difference being that the bodily
hue of Krsna is dark and that of
Balarama is fair. These two Lords, Krsna
and Balarama, are each the
seed and womb of the universe, the
Creator and His Creative potency.
They enter the hearts of living beings
and control their conditioned
awareness. They are the primeval
supreme. (Appreciating Sri Vrndavana
Dhama, pg. 110)
Yogamaya transferred Ananta Sesa
(Balarama) from the womb of Devaki to
the womb of Rohini. Seven months later
during the most auspicious
moment in Sravana month, Rohini, just
like a lioness gave birth to
Lord Balarama feeling all happiness. His
complexion was just like a
white lotus flower and He looked like the
full moon. His eyes were
brilliant like lightning flashes and his
hair was the color of a new
cloud yet brilliant like the sun. Such
extraordinary beauty prevailed
because He was none other than the Lord
Sankarsana. Astrologers said
that He would have long arms and kill
Pralambasura; that He would have
a younger brother and kill many other
demons. They said He is
Dhenupal, the protector of cows an the
killer of Dhenukasura. The
brahmanas under Vasudeva's order
performed the jata karma samskara
ceremony. Though He was extremely
beautiful, everyone was extremely
anxious because He was mute and
inactive. No one could get Him to make
a sound or move. Once when Yasoda was
pregnant, she picked Him up and
carefully placed Him on her lap next to her heart where
Krsna was
residing, Balarama immediately began to
laugh and play like a blissful
child. But when Yasoda would set Him
down, again he would become
inactive. He remained in this condition
until the appearance of His
younger brother (Krsna). (Sri Vrndavana
Dhama, Newsletter, Janmastami
1993, pg. 6)
CHILDHOOD
During their formative years Sri
Balarama and his younger brother Sri
Krsna played and acted just like normal
cowherd boys except for the
events brought about by the unkind acts
of certain demons these
extraordinary activities were played out
for the enjoyment and
salvation of jivas in the material
world. Krsna and his brother
Balarama passed the childhood age known
as kaumara and stepped into
the age known as pauganda, from the
sixth year up to the tenth.
At that time all the cowherd men
conferred and agreed to give those
boys who had passed their fifth year
charge of the cows in the
pasturing ground. Given charge of the
cows, Krsna and Balarama
traversed Vrndavana, purifying the land
with Their footprints.
Accompanied by the cowherd boys and
Balarama, Krsna herded the cows
and played on His flute through the
forest of Vrndavana, which was
full of flowers, vegetables, and
pasturing grass. The Vrndavana forest
was sanctified as the clear mind of a
devotee and was full of bees,
flowers and fruits. There were chirping
birds and clear lakes with
waters that could relieve one of all
fatigue. Sweet-fragranced breezes
blew always, refreshing the mind and
body. Seeing the favorable
situation, Krsna, Balarama, and Their
cowherd friends entered the
forest and enjoyed the atmosphere to the
fullest extent. Krsna saw
that all the trees, overloaded as they
were with fruits and fresh
twigs, were bending down to touch the
ground as if welcoming Him by
touching His lotus feet. He was very
pleased by the behavior of the
trees, fruits and flowers, and, He began
to smile, realizing their
desires.
Krsna then spoke to Balarama as follows;
"My dear brother, You are
superior to all of us, and Your lotus
feet are worshiped by the
demigods. Just see how these trees, full
of fruits, have bent down to
worship Your lotus feet! It appears that
they are trying to get out of
the darkness of being obliged to accept
the form of trees. Actually,
the trees born in the land of Vrndavana
are not ordinary living
entities. Having held the impersonal
point of view in their past
lives, they now have the opportunity of
seeing you in Vrndavana, and
they are praying for further advancement
in spiritual life through
Your personal association.
"The herbs, creepers, and grass are
also fortunate to touch Your lotus
feet. And by Your touching twigs with
Your hands, these small plants
are also made glorious. As for the hills
and rivers, they too are now
glorious because You are now glancing at
them. Above all, the damsels
of Vraja, the Gopis, attracted by Your
beauty, are most glorious, for
You embrace them with Your strong
arms."
In this way Krsna and Balarama enjoyed
in the forest of Vrndavana to
Their fullest satisfaction, along with
the cows and the cowherd boys
Once the cowherd friends of Krsna and
Balarama told Them, "In the
Talavan forest many fruits are falling
from the trees, and many are
lying on the ground. But all the fruits
are being guarded by the evil
Dhenuka. O Rama! O Krsna! Dhenuka is a
most powerful demon in the form
of an ass. He is surrounded by many
friends who have assumed similar
shapes and who are just as powerful as
he. Dhenuka has eaten men
alive, and therefore all people and
animals are terrified of going to
the Tala forest. O killer of the enemy,
even the birds are afraid to
fly there. In the Tala forest are
sweet-smelling fruits no one has
ever tasted. Indeed, even now we can
smell the fragrance of the tala
fruits spreading all about. O Krsna!
Please get those fruits for us.
Our minds are so attracted by their
aroma! Dear Balarama, our desire
to have those fruits is very great. If
you think it's a good idea too,
let's go to that Tala forest."
Hearing the words of Their dear
companions, Krsna and Balarama laughed
and, desiring to please them, set off
for the Tala forest surrounded
by Their cowherd boyfriends. Lord
Balarama entered the Tala forest
first. With His arms he began shaking
the trees with the power of a
maddened elephant, causing the tala
fruits to fall to the ground.
Hearing the sound of the falling fruits,
the ass demon Dhenuka ran to
attack Balarama, making the earth and
trees tremble. The powerful
demon rushed up to Lord Balarama and
sharply struck His chest with the
hooves of his hind legs. Then Dhenuka
began to run about, braying
loudly.
Again the furious ass rushed toward
Balarama and situated himself with
his back toward the Lord. Then screaming
in rage, the demon hurled his
hind legs toward Him. Lord Balarama
seized Dhenuka by his hooves,
whirled him about with one hand, and
threw him into the top of a palm
tree. The violent wheeling motion killed
the demon. Lord Balarama
threw the dead body of Dhenukasura into
the tallest palm tree in the
forest, and when the body landed in the
treetop the tree began
shaking. The great palm tree first
caused a tree by it's side to
shake, and then it broke under the
weight of the demon. As the second
tree shook it caused a third one to
shake. In this way a chain
reaction was created, and many trees in
the forest shook and broke.
Thoroughly enraged by the death of
Dhenuka, the remaining ass demons
ran to attack Krsna and Balarama. As the
demons attacked, Krsna and
Balarama easily seized them one after
another by their hind legs and
threw them all into the tops of the palm
trees. (Krsna Book Vol. I,
pg. 113)
One day while Krsna and Balarama and
Their cowherd friends were
tending the cows in the Vrndavana
forest, the demon Pralamba entered
their midst. He had assumed the form of
a cowherd boy with the
intentions of kidnapping Krsna and
Balarama. Since Lord Krsna sees
everything, he understood who the demon
was. Still, the Lord pretended
to accept the demon as a friend-while at
the same time considering how
to kill him. Krsna assembled the cowherd
boys and divided them into
two even teams. After the cowherd boys
had chosen Krsna and Balarama
as the leaders of the two teams, the
boys began to play various games
involving carriers and passengers.
In these games the winners would climb
up on the back of the losers,
who would have to carry them. Thus
carrying and being carried by one
another, and at the same time tending
the cows, the boys went to a
banyan tree known as Bhandiraka. When
Sridama, Vrsabha, and the other
members of Lord Balarama's party were
victorious in these games, Krsna
and His followers had to carry them.
Thus Krsna had to carry Sridama,
Bhadrasena had to carry Vrsabha, and
Pralamba had to carry Balarama.
Considering Lord Krsna invincible, the
demon Pralamba quickly carried
Balarama far beyond the spot where he
was supposed to put his
passenger down. As the great demon
carried Balarama, the Lord became
as massive as mount Sumeru, and Pralamba
had to slow down.
Pralambasura then resumed his actual
form-an effulgent body that was
covered with golden ornaments and that
resembled a cloud flashing with
lightning and carrying the moon. When
Lord Balarama saw the gigantic
body of the demon as he moved swiftly in
the sky-with his blazing
eyes, fiery hair, terrible teeth
reaching toward his scowling brows,
and amazing effulgence generated by his
armlets, crown and
earrings-the Lord seemed to become a
little frightened. Remembering
the actual situation, the fearless
Balarama understood that the demon
was trying to kidnap Him and take Him
away from His companions. The
Lord then became furious and struck the
demon's head with His hard
fist, just as Indra, the king of the
demigods, strikes a mountain with
his thunderbolt weapon. Thus smashed by
Balarama's fist, Pralamba's
head immediately cracked open. The demon
vomited blood from his mouth
and lost all consciousness, and then
with a great noise he fell
lifeless to the ground, like a mountain
devastated by Indra. The
cowherd boys were most astonished to see
how the powerful Balarama had
killed the demon Pralamba, and they
exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent!"
They offered Balarama profuse
benedictions and glorified Him. Their
minds overwhelmed with ecstatic love,
they embraced Him as if He had
returned from the dead. (Krsna Book Vol.
I, pg. 133)
The demons killed by Lord Balarama
represent different anarthas which
are as follows: Dhenukasura and other
asses- Ignorance of the truth
due to idiocy; loss of knowledge of
one's spiritual identity,
ignorance concerning the non-difference
of Krsna and His name and
ignorance of our relationship with
Krsna. The killing of Pralambasura
removes licentiousness, personal gain,
worship and honor."
"If a devotee cries out humbly and sincerely
to Lord Sri Krsna to
remove these demoniac qualities which
are represented by the demons
killed by Lord Krsna, then Sri Krsna
Himself will remove those evils.
But the devotees must personally work to
drive out the anarthas
represented by the demons killed by Lord
Balarama. This is a mystery
of Vraja bhajan. The aspirant must
personally remove these strong
impediments with his best care and
efforts and by obtaining the mercy
of Krsna. If the devotee's humility
becomes very deep and intense,
Krsna will be merciful. In that case,
the feeling of Lord Balarama
will arise in his mind and quickly
destroy these demoniac qualities.
Then one will gradually improve his
cultivation of Bhajan"
Srila Prabhupada offers further
enlightenment about the powerful mercy
of Lord Balarama. "The word of knowledge is given by Krsna, and
when
one serves the guru and Krsna in order
to hold the sword of Krsna's
instructions, Balarama gives one
strength. Balarama is Nityananda.
Thus one should accept the sword of
knowledge from Krsna and be strong
with the mercy of Balarama. We are
therefore worshiping Krsna-Balarama
in Vrndavana. (Appreciating Sri
Vrndavana Dhama, pg. 153)
Sometimes Krsna and Balarama would play
on Their flutes; sometimes
They would throw ropes and stones
devised for getting fruits from the
trees; sometimes Krsna and Balarama
would only throw stones; and
sometimes, Their anklebells tinkling,
Krsna and Balarama would play
football with the fruits like amalaki.
Sometimes Krsna and Balarama
would cover Themselves with blankets and
imitate the cows and fight
one another, roaring loudly, and
sometimes Krsna and Balarama would
imitate the voices of the animals.
(Appreciating Sri Vrndavana Dhama,
pg. 130)
Lord Balarama is called
"Douji" (the elder brother who protects and
cares for the younger brother). After lifting Govardhana Hill Lord
Krsna killed a succession of ferocious
demons including Sankhasura and
Aristasura. Balarama hadn't killed a
demon for a long time, and He was
concerned about His duty of protecting Krsna as His
elder brother.
Desiring to dress like Krsna, Lord
Balarama asked Krsna if He could
wear His peacock feather and play
Krsna's flute for just one day.
Krsna who dearly loved His elder
brother, agreed and personally gave
His peacock feather and flute to
Balarama. Krsna and Balarama warmly
embraced and then Balarama laughing
happily, ran away playing gaily on
Krsna's flute. Meanwhile, in Mathura,
the wicked King Kamsa was about
to send the horse demon, Kesi, to
Vrndavana in order to kill Krsna.
The Kesi demon asked King Kamsa,
"How will I recognize Krsna?"
Kamsa told him that it would be easy to
tell, because Krsna would be
the only person wearing a peacock
feather and playing a flute. While
Balaramaji was fully enjoying His
pastime of being Krsna for the day,
the fierce horse demon, Kesi, stormed
into Vrndavana. Seeing Balarama
wearing a peacock feather in his crown
and playing a flute, matching
the description King Kamsa had given of
Krsna, the Kesi demon roared
up and gave Balarama a mighty kick that
could have killed a full grown
elephant. This kick totally knocked the
wind out of Balarama, and sent
Him tumbling out of the demon's sight.
Thinking that he had killed
Krsna, the Kesi demon galloped away.
Balaramaji, picking Himself up,
began to cry. Balarama's chest still
hurt from the demon's kick and He
was short of breath. Balarama was
hungry, very tired and sore all over
from tumbling so far.
Reaching home, Balarama immediately went
to Krsna an returned His
flute and peacock feather. Balarama told
Krsna that he never again
wanted to wear them, and that a huge
horse demon had just violently
kicked Him; thinking He was Krsna. Then
Balaramaji met His mother
Rohini and fell asleep in her arms.
Krsna replaced the peacock feather
in His crown, tucked the flute back in
His belt and walked into the
village. Then Sri Krsna met the horrible
horse demon and effortlessly
killed him.
Srila Prabhupada writes, "Lord
Balarama is the original Visnu;
therefore anyone remembering these
pastimes of Lord Balarama in the
morning and the evening will certainly
become a great devotee of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus
his life will become
successful in all respects."
(Appreciating Sri Vrndavana Dhama, pg.
113)
Lord Balarama is constantly serving Lord
Krsna in every respect. In
all of Krsna's incarnations and manifestations. In Rama-lila,
Balarama serves Lord Ramacandra as His
younger Brother, Laksmana. In
Kali-yuga, Sri Balarama spreads the
Sankirtan movement of Sri Caitanya
as Lord Nityananda. Lord Balarama serves
Sri Krsna in all five rasas
(mellows), santa to madhurya rasa. In
santa rasa Lord Balarama
fulfills Sri Krsna's desires for
blissful transcendental pastimes by
expanding Himself as the holy dhama of
Vraja Mandala. All of Krsna's
personal possessions such as Krsna's
crown, bed, clothes, throne,
ornaments; and any other objects that
Krsna utilizes are all
expansions of Lord Balarama. As Krsna's cowherd friend and elder
brother in sakhya rasa, Sri Balarama
sometimes accepts service from
Krsna after defeating Him in a wrestling
match. But generally,
Balarama's fraternal feelings are mixed
with servitude (dasya rasa)
and parental affection (vatsalya rasa).
In the mood of vatsalya rasa,
Sri Balarama sometimes protects Krsna as
a parent or chastises Him as
the elder. Once Lord Balarama told
Subala, "My dear friend, please
inform Krsna not to go to Kaliya today.
Today is Krsna's birthday, and
so I wish to go along with Mother Yasoda
to bathe Him. Tell Krsna He
should not leave the house
today!" This shows how Balarama,
Krsna's
elder brother took care of Krsna with
parental love, within the scope
of fraternal affection.
The splendor of Lord Balarama's
transcendental form eclipses many
millions of glistening rising moons, and
the slightest scent of His
boundless strength is sufficient to
destroy many armies of demons.
Although He knows the supernatural power
of His younger brother Krsna,
still, out of love for Him, Balarama
never leaves Krsna alone in the
forest even for a moment. I offer my
prayers to Lord Balarama, the
enemy of Dhenukasura. (Appreciating Sri
Vrndavana Dhama, pg. 111)
MADHURYA RASA
Lord Balarama can expand Himself into
unlimited and different forms.
In order to serve Krsna's intimate
conjugal pastimes in madhurya rasa,
Lord Balarama expands Himself as Ananga
Manjari. Ananga Manjari wears
beautiful clothing the color of a blue
lotus flower and she is
especially dear to Lalita and Visakha.
Ananga Manjari, a most
exquisitely beautiful gopi, is Srimati
Radharani's younger sister. Her
complexion is the color of a springtime
ketaki flower. (Appreciating
Sri Vrndavana Dhama, pg. 67)
LORD BALARAMA IS VRNDAVANA
The spiritual planet Goloka Vrndavana,
the eternal abode of Lord
Krsna, is shaped like the whorl of a
lotus flower. Even when the Lord
descends to any one of the mundane
planets, He does so by manifesting
His own abode as it is. Vrndavana is
compared to a lotus flower
because it is incredibly beautiful,
fully alive and can expand and
contract.
Being a form of Lord Baladeva, Sri
Vrndavana-dhama is completely
spiritual, fully cognizant and saturated
with unlimited prema for Sri
Krsna. The spiritual lotus of
Vraja-dhama fully cooperates with
Krsna's desire for pastimes by expanding
and contracting to facilitate
His transcendental movements. Within a
short time, for example, Krsna
can traverse the distance between
Nandagrama and Vamsivata where He
meets nightly with Radharani.
According to material calculations,
Vamsivata is thirty-seven miles
away from Nandagrama. But by Sri
Balarama's blessings, Krsna arrives
there easily and quickly. In his
expansion as Sri Vraja-dhama, Lord
Balarama fully accommodates all the
necessary features of Sri Krsna's
mind-pleasing pastimes. This is the inconceivable nature of Sri Krsna
and His transcendental abode of
Vrndavana-dhama. The spiritual lotus
of Vraja also arranges for accomplished
devotees to effortlessly
wander all over Vrndavana to participate
in Radha and Krsna's splendid
spiritual pastimes. One day while Srila
Sanatana Gosvami was doing
bhajan in Vrndavana, he walked to and
circumambulated Govardhana Hill.
Then Sanatana Gosvami walked to Goloka
to perform madhukari, and by
evening he returned to Vrndavana to
serve his beloved Deity,
Madan-mohan. Serving as the spiritual
lotus of Vraja, Sri Balaramaji
enabled Sanatana Gosvami to perform this
incredible service of walking
over 108 kilometers in one day.
Srila Rupa Gosvami compares Vraja to a
lotus: When it blooms fully,
the different sites of Krsna's pastimes
appear to be distant from one
another. But after sunset, the lotus
contracts, and the places come
closer together to assist the meeting of
Srimati Radhika and Sri
Krsnacandra. (Appreciating Sri Vrndavana
Dhama, pg. 160)
LORD BALARAMA'S YOUTH
Lord Krsna and Lord Balarama accompanied
Akrura to the city of Mathura
to kill the evil King Kamsa and to be
reunited with Their parents
Devaki and Vasudeva. After revealing to
Akrura Their other forms of
Lord Visnu and Ananta Sesa
respectively Krsna and Balarama went to
the city to dispose of the evil king.
Upon Their arrival in the city
the evil King Kamsa tried several
unsuccessful attempts to bar Krsna
and Balarama from fulfilling the
inevitable prophecy that They would
kill him. Finally Krsna and Balarama
were with Kamsa in a great
wrestling arena. Kamsa had his greatest wrestlers challenge
Their
Lordships to a fight. The wrestler
Canura addressed Krsna and Balarama
with the following words:
"O Krsna and Balarama, You two are
well respected by courageous men
and are both skillful at wrestling.
Having heard of Your prowess, the
king has called You here, wanting to see
for himself. You, Krsna,
aren't really a child or even a young
man, and neither is Balarama,
the strongest of the strong. Therefore
You two should fight powerful
wrestlers like us. Accepting the
challenge, Krsna paired off with
Canura, and Balarama fought with
Mustika. Seizing each other's hands
and locking legs with each other, the
opponents struggled powerfully,
eager for victory. They each struck fist
against fist, knees against
knees, head against head, and chest
against chest. Each fighter
contended with his opponent by dragging
him about in circles, shoving
him and crushing him, throwing him down,
and running before and behind
him. Forcefully lifting and carrying
each other, pushing each other
away, and holding each other down, the
fighters appeared to be hurting
even their own bodies in their great
eagerness for victory.
As Krsna and Balarama fought the huge
wrestlers, the women present
gazed upon the two Lords and became
enthralled by Their beauty. The
ladies said, 'Just see the lotus face of
Krsna as he darts around His
foe! That face, covered with drops of
perspiration brought on by the
strenuous fight, resembles the whorl of
a lotus covered with dew. What
austerities the gopis must have
performed to be able to always see His
beautiful form!'
'Don't you see the face of Lord Balarama,
with his eyes copper-red
from His anger toward Mustika and its
beauty enhanced by His laughter
and His absorption in the fight?' As the
women spoke, Krsna powerfully
struck Canura and began to break every
part of his body. Furious,
Canura violently pounded the Lord's
chest with both fists. No more
shaken by the demon's mighty blows than
an elephant struck with a
flower garland, Lord Krsna grabbed
Canura by his arms, swung him
around several times, and hurled him
onto the ground with great force.
His clothes, hair, and garland
scattering, the wrestler fell down dead
like a huge festival column collapsing.
Mustika also struck Balarama,
and Balarama returned the blow with
great force. Mustika began to
tremble, and blood and vomit flowed from
his mouth. Distressed, he
gave up his vital force and fell down
just as a tree falls down during
a hurricane. After the two wrestlers
were killed, a wrestler named
Kuta came forward. Lord Balarama
immediately caught him in His left
hand and killed him nonchalantly.
Another wrestler named Sala came
forward, and Krsna immediately kicked
him and cracked his head.
Shortly thereafter Kamsa was killed by
Krsna. Kamsa's eight brothers
headed by Kanka were killed by Lord
Balarama with the tusk of the
elephant Kuvalayapida. (Krsna Book Vol.
I, pg. 273-280)
The rasas Madhurya and aisvarya are in
equal degrees in Mathura. Lord
Krsna and Balarama's killing of Kamsa
and his associates illustrates
this point. After killing these demons
in the wrestling arena at
Mathura, Krsna approached His parents
Devaki and Vasudeva, who just
stood looking awestruck in a mood of
total reverence. Since Krsna
hadn't seen His parents since the day He
was born (about eleven
years), Krsna was expecting some
heartfelt reciprocation of emotions.
But Devaki and Vasudeva, seeing Krsna as
the Supreme Lord and not as
their son, remained firm in their mood
of aisvarya. Krsna who is
always hankering for his devotees' love,
began to cry upon seeing His
parents relating to Him in awe and reverence,
This immediately opened
Mother Devaki's heart, which flooded
with vatsalya rasa. She took
Krsna on her lap, covered His head with
her sari and tried to
breast-feed Him. Meanwhile Lord Balarama
threw Himself at the feet of
His father. And Vasudeva, overcome with
vatsalya rasa, picked up
Balarama, sat Him on his lap, smelled
His head and treated Him in a
very loving fatherly way. (Appreciating
Sri Vrndavana Dhama, pg. 120)
Concealing Their innately perfect
knowledge by Their human-like
activities, Krsna and Balarama went to
Avanti to reside at the school
of the learned spiritual master
Sandipani Muni. Sandipani thought very
highly of these two self-controlled
disciples, whom he felt so
fortunate to have obtained. Krsna and
Balarama served him as devotedly
as one would serve the Supreme Lord
Himself, thus showing others an
irreproachable example of how to worship
the spiritual master.
Satisfied with Their submissive
behavior, Sandipani Muni taught the
two Lords the entire Vedas, together
with their six corollaries and
the Upanisads. He also taught Them the
Dhanur-veda, with it's most
confidential secrets; the standard book
of law: the methods of logical
reasoning and philosophical debate: and
the sixfold science of
politics.
Krsna and Balarama immediately
assimilated each and every subject
after hearing it explained just once.
Thus with fixed concentration
They learned the sixty-four arts and
skills in as many days and
nights. Thereafter They satisfied Their
spiritual master by offering
him guru-daksina, the traditional token
of remuneration a disciple
gives his spiritual master. When Krsna
and Balarama offered Their
teacher, Sandipani Muni, anything he
desired, he asked for the return
of his son, who had drowned in the ocean
at Prabhasa. The two Lords at
once traveled there on Their chariot and
ordered the ocean to return
Their guru's son. The ocean explained
that he had been captured and
slain by the demon Pancajanya. Krsna in
turn slew the demon. The Lords
then went to Samyamani, the abode of
Yamaraja., who immediately
returned the child. (Krsna Book Vol. I,
pg. 281-289)
"Powerful Lord Balarama is sixteen
years old, full of the luster of
youth and has a fair complexion the
color of crystal. Balarama wears
blue garments and a garland of forest
flowers. Baladeva's handsome
hair is tied in a graceful topknot.
Splendid earrings adorn Balarama's
ears. Sri Baladeva's neck is splendidly
decorated with garlands of
flowers and strings of jewels. Splendid
bracelets and armlets ornament
Douji's graceful and very strong arms.
Balarama's feet are decorated
with splendid jeweled anklets. Sri
Baladeva is Krsna's dearest friend.
Baladeva is a great reservoir of the
nectar mellows of many kinds of
transcendental pastimes."
"Lord Balarama's beauty is enhanced
by the earrings touching His
cheeks. Balarama's face is decorated
with tilaka made from musk, and
Balarama's broad chest is ornamented
with gunja (small, red, black,
and white berries native to Vrndavana).
Sri Baladeva's voice is very
grave and His arms are very long,
touching his thighs." (Appreciating
Sri Vrndavana Dhama, pg. 110)
MATURITY
After defeating the king Jarasandha
several times, Krsna decided to
move His family from the city of Mathura
to an unconquerable fortress
in the sea, known as Dwarka. After
moving His family, Krsna and
Balarama pretended to be afraid of
Jarasandha and fled to mount
Pravarsana. Jarasandha chased the Lords
up said mountain, but unable
to find them he set the mountain on
fire. In order to avoid the fires,
Lord Krsna and Balarama jumped some
eighty-eight miles to the ground.
(Krsna Book Vol. I, pg. 348)
In another instance Lord Balarama was
challenged to play chess with a
demoniac in-law of His, Rukmi. On the
advice of the King of Kalinga,
Rukmi challenged Lord Balarama to play
chess for various wagers.
Knowing that Lord Balarama, in this
particular rasa, was not the most
adept of chess players, the two sought
this opportunity to make fun of
Lord Krsna and Balarama. The first two
games were played for 1,000 and
10,000 gold pieces respectively and Lord
Balarama was the loser in
each game, but the third game was for
100,000 gold pieces. Fortunately
Lord Balarama was the winner, but the
sinful Rukmi attempted to cheat
the Lord and claim that he was the
winner. This angered Balarama so He
made another wager of one hundred
million coins. Again Lord Balarama
was the victor and again Rukmi attempted
to cheat the Lord. This time
there was a voice from the sky that
stated that according to the rules
of chess, Lord Balaram was the winner.
Still Rukmi persisted that he
was the winner and insulted the Lord
with artful words. At this time
Lord Balarama became very angry and
summoned His mace, Sunanda, and
smashed Rukmi on the head killing him
with one blow. Lord Balarama
also took this opportunity to capture
the fleeing King of Kalinga who
feared for his life. Balarama used His
mace to smash the teeth of the
king because he was always showing them
while criticizing the Lord.
Balarama also captured all the princes
who supported the king and beat
them with His club, breaking their hands
and legs. (Krsna Book Vol.
II, pg. 194)
Once Lord Balarama was feeling very
anxious to see his father and
mother, Nanda and Rohini, so He returned
to Vrndavana for a visit. At
this time He also sought to pacify the
gopis who were feeling great
distress due to separation from Lord
Krsna. To alleviate their
distress Lord Balarama described the
wonderful pastimes and glories of
Krsna, and chanted Krsna's
transcendental names. Balarama became so
absorbed in chanting that his complexion
assumed Krsna's blue color.
(Appreciating Sri Vrndavana Dhama, pg.
112)
When Lord Balarama visited Vrndavana for
two months, He would enjoy at
night with His cowherd girlfriends in a
garden on the bank of the
Yamuna. One night, intoxicated with joy
and Varuni (a liquid honey
form of the daughter of Varuna) Lord Balarama summoned Yamuna so that
he could play in her waters. Thinking
that the Lord was drunk, she
disregarded His command. This angered
Lord Balarama, and He began
dragging the river with the tip of His
plow, Hala. Lord Balarama said,
" O sinful one disrespecting Me,
you do not come when I call you but
rather move by you own whim. Therefore,
with the tip if My plow I
shall bring you here in a hundred
streams."
At this time Yamuna realizing her
mistake sought to please the Lord
with kind words and immediately
presented her waters for His
enjoyment. Thereupon He released her
and, like the king of elephants
with his entourage of she-elephants,
entered the rivers water with His
female companions. (Krsna Book Vol. II,
pg. 220)
It is noted that after pleasing Lord
Krsna's gopis with words, that
Lord Balarama had the above mentioned
relations with His own separate
gopis. Lord Balarama performed His own
rasa-lila at Ram Ghat, which is
a long distance from the site of Krsna's
rasa-lila. The gopis attached
to Krsna in the mood of madhurya rasa
would be attached to Lord
Balarama in the mood of friendship only
and vice-versa. While Lord
Balarama performed rasa-lila for two
months, Krsna's gopis watched
from a distance. Lord Balarama respects
Lord Krsna's gopis and is very
careful to avoid mixing with them.
(Appreciating Sri Vrndavana Dhama,
pg. 71)
If while walking on Govardhana Hill,
Krsna's elder brother Balarama,
sees a series of golden stones, He
thinks: "The daughter of King
Vrsabhanu (Radharani) must have just
walked before Me," and Balarama
changes course to avoid an awkward
situation. In the same way if
Radharani sees a series of crystal
stones, She thinks, "Balarama must
have just walked before Me," and
Radharani then changes course.
(Appreciating Sri Vrndavana Dhama, pg.
113)
It was during one of these evenings of
Lord Balarama's rasa-lila that
He was accosted by the terrible gorilla
Dvivida. This Dvivida was as
strong as 10,000 elephants and the
friend of a demon killed by Lord
Krsna . He sought to cause harm to Lord
Krsna and all those dear to
Him. Dvivida happened upon Lord Balarama
during an evening of the
Lords pleasure. He insulted the Lord and
His gopis, and sought to
fight with Him. Balarama being angered
by the demon's activities
engaged Dvivida in combat and after
leveling a mountain and a forest
killed the demon with His bare hands.
(Krsna Book Vol. II, pg. 229)
Shortly thereafter Lord Balarama
returned home to Dwarka. There was
then an incident where His nephew,
Samba, was kidnapped. The family
patriarch, King Ugrasena, called for
retaliation. Seeing the family
preparing for a fight, Balarama pacified
them in order to avoid
conflict between the Yadu and Kuru
dynasties. He then went to the
Kaurava household where He expressed
King Ugrasena's demand for
Samba's return. They became very angry,
insulted Balarama and the Yadu
dynasty, and then returned to their
city. Balarama decided to punish
them all. He took His plow, intending to
rid the earth of all the
Kurus, and began dragging their city of
Hastinapura toward the Ganges.
Seeing that their city was in eminent
danger, they quickly returned
Samba. They then prayed, "O Lord,
please forgive us, who are truly
ignorant of Your true identity".
Feeling appeased Balarama assured
them He would not harm them, and returned home with Samba. (Krsna
Art, plate 151)
There was once an incident where in
order to marry Balarama and
Krsna's sister Arjuna, upon the advice
of Krsna, disguised himself as
a sage. Balarama, believing Arjuna to be
a sage presented him Subhadra
to render him service. Subhadra
consequently fell in love with Arjuna
and willingly left with him. Balarama,
thinking His sister was
kidnapped, was going to punish Arjuna.
Krsna the greatest architect of
flowery words pacified Balarama and
explained to Him what truly
happened. (Krsna Book Vol. III, pg. 122)
Once Lord Balarama began to talk in his
sleep as follows: "O lotus
eyed Krsna, Your childhood adventures
are manifest simply according to
Your will. Therefore, please dispose of
the stubborn pride of this
Kaliya serpent." By saying this
Lord Balarama astonished the assembly
of the Yadus and made them laugh very
loudly for some time. Then
yawning so hard as to make ripples on
His abdomen, Lord Balarama, the
bearer of the plow, returned to His deep
sleep. This is an instance of
sleepiness in ecstatic love.
(Appreciating Sri Vrndavana Dhama, pg.
113)
There came a time when it was inevitable
that the two arguing factions
of the Kuru dynasty were going to war.
Lord Balarama, not anxious to
see the outcome of this conflict decided
to take pilgrimage to all the
holy places. At one such place there was
a large sacrifice taking
place. Many great sages were present at
this sacrifice and when Lord
Balarama approached they rose and offered Him all due respects.
Thereafter they offered Balarama a
proper seat and worshiped Him as
the Supreme Lord. All the sages present
did this except Romaharsana,
who remained seated on the Vyasasana.
Seeing his impudence Balarama
struck him with a single blade of kusa
straw and killed him. Upon
seeing the Lord kill Romaharsana, the
other sages in attendance became
greatly distressed. They humbly
petitioned the Lord saying that they
had bestowed the great boon of long life
upon Romaharsana and that
the Lord had caused their benediction to
become false. The sages then
requested the Lord to please set an
example and atone for the sin He
had committed even though He was the
Supreme Personality of Godhead
and therefore sinless.
Lord Balarama heard the words of the
sages and was pleased with them.
He said that the benediction of the
father, Romaharsana, should be
passed on to the son, and the Lord also
agreed that He would do
whatever the sages suggested that he do in order to at