The Glories of Lord Balarama: Features
The Glories of Lord Balarama: Features
The Glories of Lord Balarama: Features
Issue no: 18
Madhai Glorifies
Nityananda Balarama
nitya bhgavata-sevay
rmad-Bhgavatam
Maharaja Parikshit said: The Supersoul, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, the cause of the
cosmic manifestation, appeared in the dynasty of
Yadu. Please tell me elaborately about His glorious
activities and character, from the beginning to the end
of His life. Glorification of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead is performed in the parampara system;
that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple.
Such glorification is relished by those no longer
interested in the false, temporary glorification of this
cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the
right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing
repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease
hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher
or one who is killing his own self?
Taking the boat of Krishna's lotus feet, my
grandfather Arjuna and others crossed the ocean of the
Battlefield of Kurukshetra, in which such commanders
as Bhishmadeva resembled great fish that could
very easily have swallowed them. By the mercy of
Lord Krishna, my grandfathers crossed this ocean,
which was very difficult to cross, as easily as one
steps over the hoofprint of a calf. Because my mother
surrendered unto Lord Krishna's lotus feet, the Lord
with Sudarshana-chakra in hand, entered her womb
and saved my body, the body of the last remaining
descendant of the Kurus and the Pandavas, which was
almost destroyed by the fiery weapon of Ashvatthama.
Lord Sri Krishna, appearing within and outside of all
materially embodied living beings by His own potency
in the forms of eternal time-that is, as Paramatma and as
virat-rupa-gave liberation to everyone, either as cruel
death or as life. Kindly enlighten me by describing His
transcendental characteristics.
My dear Sukadeva Goswami, Sankarshana,
who belongs to the second quadruple, appeared as
the son of Rohini named Balarama. If Balarama was
not transferred from one body to another, how is it
possible that He was first in the womb of Devaki and
then in the womb of Rohini? Kindly explain this to me.
rmad-Bhgavatam (Bhgavata Pura) Canto 10: The Summum
Bonum SB 10.1: The Advent of Lord Krishna Verses: 3 8
nitya bhgavata-sevay
top right 3
nitya bhgavata-sevay
The Orignal Spiritual Master
His Divine Grace
A .C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Balarama was angry after hearing the news of Arjuna kidnapping Subhadra
Sripad Vallabhacharya
nitya bhgavata-sevay
very angry with the Kauravas, and He wanted to throw
their whole city into the depths of the Yamuna. But the
Kauravas satisfied Him by surrendering unto His divine
lotus feet. He was actually the seventh son of Devaki
prior to the birth of Lord Krishna, but by the will of
the Lord He was transferred to the womb of Rohini to
escape the wrath of Kamsa. His other name is therefore
Sankarshana, who is also the plenary portion of Sri
Baladeva. Because He is as powerful as Lord Krishna
and can bestow spiritual power to the devotees, He
is therefore known as Baladeva. In the Vedas also it
is enjoined that no one can know the Supreme Lord
without being favored by Baladeva.
Sri Baladeva was also a class friend of Lord
Sri Krishna as a student of Sandipani Muni. In His
childhood He killed many asuras along with Sri Krishna,
and specifically He killed the Dhenukasura at Talavana.
During the Kurukshetra battle, He remained neutral,
and He tried His best not to bring about the fight. He was
in favor of Duryodhana, but still He remained neutral.
When there was a club-fight between Duryodhana and
Bhimasena, He was present on the spot. He was angry
at Bhimasena when the latter struck Duryodhana on the
thigh or below the belt, and He wanted to retaliate the
unfair action. Lord Sri Krishna saved Bhima from His
wrath. But He left the place at once, being disgusted at
Bhimasena, and after His departure Duryodhana fell to
the ground to meet his death. The funeral ceremony of
Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, was performed by Him,
as He was the maternal uncle. It was impossible to be
performed by any one of the Pandavas, who were all
overwhelmed with grief. At the last stage, He departed
from this world by producing a great white snake from
His mouth, and thus He was carried by Sheshanaga in
the shape of a serpent.
In the Upanishads it is stated, nyam tm balahnena labhya. The purport is that one cannot attain
the supreme platform of self-realization without being
sufficiently favored by Balarama. Bala does not mean
physical strength. No one can attain spiritual perfection
by physical strength. One must have the spiritual
strength which is infused by Balarama, or Sankarshana.
Ananta, or Sesha, is the power which sustains all the
planets in their different positions. Materially this
sustaining power is known as the law of gravitation, but
actually it is a display of the potency of Sankarshana.
Balarama, or Sankarshana, is spiritual power, or the
original spiritual master. Therefore Lord Nityananda
Prabhu, who is also the incarnation of Balarama, is the
original spiritual master. And the spiritual master is the
representative of Balarama, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, who supplies spiritual strength. In the
Chaitanya-caritamrta it is confirmed that the spiritual
nitya bhgavata-sevay
Taking a straw between his teeth, he began
to offer prayers to the Lord. O Lord, You maintain
everyone in Your form of Vishnu. You hold innumerable
universes on Your hoods. You are the embodiment
of pure devotional service. Parvati and Shankara
meditate on You. You distribute Your devotional
service. There is no one more dear to Lord Chaitanya
than You. By Your mercy the powerful Garuda happily
carries Krishna in His pastimes. You sing the glories
of Krishna with innumerable mouths, and You teach
everyone devotional service, the topmost religious
system. Narada Muni sings Your glories, for Your
only asset is Lord Chaitanya. You are known as the
chastiser of Kalindi. By serving You, Janaka achieved
transcendental knowledge. You are the primeval Lord
and the personification of all religious principles. You
are addressed by the Vedas as Adideva. You are the
father of the universe and the master of mystic yoga.
You are Lakshmana, the great archer. You are the
destroyer of the atheists, the enjoyer of transcendental
mellows, and the teacher by example. You know
all of Lord Chaitanya's pastimes. Mahamaya became
worshipable by serving You. Innumerable universes
desire the shelter of Your lotus feet. You are the devotee
of Lord Chaitanya and the personification of pure
devotional service. You possess all the potencies of
Lord Chaitanya. You are Lord Chaitanya's bed, throne,
couch, and umbrella, and You are His life and wealth.
There is no one more dear to Krishna than You. You are
the source of all Gaurachandra's incarnations. O Lord,
You deliver the fallen souls and You kill all the atheists.
You protect all Vaishnavas and You teach the principles
of Vaishnava-dharma.
By Your mercy the demigod Brahma creates.
You are served by Revati, Varuni, and Kanti. Maharudra incarnated from Your anger. Through Him
You annihilate the entire creation. Rudra, who is
nondifferent from Sankarshana, appeared from the face
of Sankarshana and devours the three worlds (through
the fire of time). Even though You do everything, You
do not do anything. You hold the Lord of innumerable
universes within Your heart. Krishna enjoys sleeping on
Your extremely soft and pleasing form. I attacked such
a transcendental body, so there is no one more sinful
than me. Throughout his life, Shiva worships this form
with Parvati and one hundred million ladies.
By remembering this form one is freed from
all bondage, yet I made such a form bleed. Maharaja
Citraketu became the topmost Vaishnava and enjoyed
great happiness by serving this form. Unlimited
universes meditate on this form, yet I am so sinful that I
attacked this form. By serving this form, sages headed
by Sanaka became free from bondage at Naimisaranya."
nitya bhgavata-sevay
ye aga laghiy indrajita gela kaya
ye aga laghiy dvividera na haya
Indrajit and Dvivida were both vanquished because
they attacked this form."
ye aga laghiy jarsandha na gela
ra mora kuala nhi, se aga laghila
Jarasandha was destroyed because he attacked this
form. How can I have any auspiciousness after attacking
such a form?"
laghanera ki dya, yhra apamne
kera ylaka rukm tyajila jvane
What to speak of attacking this form, simply by insulting
it, Rukmi, the brother of Krishna's wife, lost his life."
drgha yu brahmsama piy o sta
tom' dekhi' n uhila, haila bhasmbhta
Even though Romaharshana Suta received a duration
of life as long as that of Lord Brahma, he was burned to
ashes because he did not rise on seeing You."
yra apamna kari' rj duryodhana
savaete pra gela, nahila rakaa
daiva-yoge chila tath mah-bhakta-gaa
t'r saba jnilena tomra kraa
kunt, bhma, yudhihira, vidura, arjuna
t'-sabra vkye pura pilena puna
"King Duryodhana and his dynasty were almost
destroyed for insulting You. By the arrangement
of providence great devotees like Kunti, Bhishma,
Yudhisthira, Vidura, and Arjuna, who all understood
Your desire, were present there. The city of Hastinapura
was saved by their words of solace."
By insulting You one's life is finished, so where
will a most sinful person like me go? While offering
prayers in this way, Madhai floated in an ocean of love.
He fell down and took the Lord's feet to his chest. One
will never be destroyed if he takes shelter of These
lotus feet, which manifest to deliver the fallen souls.
Dear Lord, please deliver this surrendered soul. You are
Madhai's life, wealth, and soul. All glories to the son of
Padmavati! All glories to Nityananda, the wealth of all
Vaishnavas! All glories to the blissful Lord, who is free
from anger. It is proper for You to forgive the offenses
nitya bhgavata-sevay
appeared to him. Seeing the Lord decorated in wonderful
ornaments, that best of the brahmanas offered many
prayers. As before, upon the disappearance of the Lord,
the brahmana's sleep broke.
Morning soon came and the brahmana came
before Nityananda Prabhu and explained the previous
nights dream. The Lord smiled slightly and holding the
brahmana's hand instructed the brahmana in all truths.
The brahmana inquired from the Lord, Who has made
those ornaments I saw in my dream?' The Lord, who is
controlled by His devotees' desires, replied, One day I
will be decorated as you have seen. For now take this
govardhana-il and cover it in gold. I will then wear it
on My neck.'
The brahmana executed the order as given by
the Lord. The best of the avadhtas then took the il
and wore it on His neck. Even for Lord Brahma, such
pastimes are very rare. Nityananda forbid the brahmana
to disclose this incident to anyone. However, out of His
affection to His devotee, the Lord remained there (at
Govardhana) for some days.
An excerpt from Sri Bhakti-ratnkara by rla Narahari Cakravart
hkura, Published by Puarka Vidynidhi dsa