Sri Krishna Madbhagavatam
76. The Deliverance of Śālva
On the other fronts, heroes like Gada, Sātyaki and Sāmba were engaged in killing the soldiers of Śālva. The soldiers who were staying with Śālva in the airplane were also killed in the fighting, and they fell into the ocean. Each party began to strike the opposite party very severely. The battle was fierce and dangerous and continued for twenty-seven days without stop.
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While the fight was going on in the
city of Dvārakā, Kṛṣṇa was staying at Indraprastha along with the Pāṇḍavas and King Yudhiṣṭhira.
This fighting with Śālva took place after the Rājasūya yajña had been
performed by King Yudhiṣṭhira and after the killing of Śiśupāla. When Lord
Kṛṣṇa understood that there was great danger in the
city of Dvārakā, He took permission from the elderly members of the Pāṇḍava family, especially from His aunt Kuntīdevī,
and started immediately for Dvārakā.
Lord Kṛṣṇa
began to think that while He was arriving in Hastināpura with Balarāma after
the killing of Śiśupāla, Śiśupāla's men must have attacked Dvārakā. On
reaching Dvārakā, Lord Kṛṣṇa
saw that the whole city was greatly endangered. He placed Balarāmajī in a
strategic position for the protection of the city, and He Himself asked His
charioteer Dāruka to prepare to start. He said, "Dāruka, please
immediately take Me to where Śālva is staying. You may know that this Śālva
is a very powerful, mysterious man. Don't fear him in the least." As
soon as he got his orders from Lord Kṛṣṇa,
Dāruka had Him seated on the chariot and drove very quickly toward Śālva.
The chariot of Lord Kṛṣṇa was marked with the flag bearing the insignia
of Garuḍa, and as soon as the soldiers and warriors of
the Yadu dynasty saw the flag, they could understand that Lord Kṛṣṇa was on the battlefield. By this time, almost
all the soldiers of Śālva had been killed, but when Śālva saw that Kṛṣṇa had come to the battlefield, he released a
great, powerful weapon which flew through the sky with a roaring sound like a
great meteor. It was so bright that the whole sky lit up by its presence. But
as soon as Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared, He tore the great weapon into
hundreds and thousands of pieces by releasing His own arrow.
Lord Kṛṣṇa
struck Śālva with sixteen arrows, and with showers of arrows He overpowered
the airplane, just as the sun in a clear sky overpowers the whole sky by an
unlimited number of molecules of sunshine. Śālva struck a severe blow to Kṛṣṇa's left side, where the Lord was carring His
bow, Śārṅga, and as a result the Śārṅga bow fell from Lord Kṛṣṇa's hand. This dropping of the bow was indeed
wonderful. Great personalities and demigods who were observing the fighting
between Śālva and Kṛṣṇa became most perturbed by this, and they began
to exclaim, "Alas! Alas!"
Śālva thought that he had become
victorious, and with a roaring sound began to address Lord Kṛṣṇa as follows: "You rascal, Kṛṣṇa! You kidnapped Rukmiṇī forcibly, even in our presence. You baffled my
friend Śiśupāla and married Rukmiṇī
Yourself. And in the great assembly at King Yudhiṣṭhira's Rājasūya yajña, while my friend Śiśupāla
was a little absent-minded, You took an opportunity to kill him. Everyone
thinks that You are a great fighter and that no one can conquer You. So now
You'll have to prove Your strength. I think that if You stand before me any
longer, with my sharpened arrows I shall send You to a place wherefrom You
will never return."
To this Lord Kṛṣṇa replied, "Foolish Śālva, you are talking
nonsensically. You do not know that the moment of death is already upon your
head. Those who are actually heroes do not talk much. They prove their
prowess by practical exhibition of chivalrous activities." After saying
this, Lord Kṛṣṇa, in great anger, struck Śālva on the collarbone
with His club so severely that he began to bleed internally and tremble as if
he were going to collapse from severe cold. Before Kṛṣṇa was able to strike him again, however, Śālva
became invisible by his mystic power.
Within a few moments, a mysterious
unknown man came before Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Crying loudly, he bowed down at the Lord's lotus feet and said to Him,
"Since You are the most beloved son of Your father Vasudeva, Your mother
Devakī has sent me to inform You of the unfortunate news that Your father has
been arrested by Śālva and taken him away by force. He took him just as a
butcher mercilessly takes away an animal." When Lord Kṛṣṇa heard this unfortunate news from the unknown
man, He at first became most perturbed, just like an ordinary human being.
His face showed signs of grief, and He began to cry in a pitious tone,
"How could that happen? My brother Lord Balarāma is there, and it is
impossible for anyone to conquer Balarāmajī. He is in charge of Dvārakā City,
and I know He is always alert. How could Śālva possibly enter the city and
arrest My father in that way? Whatever he may be, Śālva's power is limited,
so how could it be possible that he has conquered the strength of Balarāmajī
and taken away My father, arresting him as described by this man? Alas!
Destiny is, after all, very powerful."
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While Śrī Kṛṣṇa was thinking like this, Śālva brought before Him
in custody a man exactly resembling Vasudeva, His father. These were all
creations of the mystic power of Śālva.
Śālva began to address Kṛṣṇa, "You rascal, Kṛṣṇa! Look. This is Your father who has begotten You and
by whose mercy You are still living. Now just see how I kill Your father. If
You have any strength, try to save him." The mystic juggler, Śālva,
speaking in this way before Lord Kṛṣṇa,
immediately cut off the head of the false Vasudeva. Without hesitation he took
away the dead body and got into his airplane. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the self-sufficient Supreme Personality of
Godhead, yet because He was playing the role of a human being, He became very
depressed for a moment, as if He had actually lost His father. But at the next
moment He could understand that the arrest and killing of His father were
demonstrations of the mystic powers which Śālva had learned from the demon
Maya. Coming to His right consciousness, He could see that there was no
messenger and no head of His father, but that only Śālva had left in his
airplane, which was flying in the sky. He then began to think of slaying Śālva.
Kṛṣṇa's
reaction is a controversial point among great authorities and saintly persons.
How could Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
reservoir of all power and knowledge, be bewildered in such a way? Lamentation,
aggrievement and bewilderment are characteristics of persons who are
conditioned souls, but how can such things affect the person of the Supreme,
who is full of knowledge, power and all opulence? Actually, it is not at all
possible that Lord Kṛṣṇa was misled by the mystic jugglery of Śālva. He
was displaying His pastime in playing the role of a human being. Great saintly
persons and sages who are engaged in the devotional service of the lotus feet
of Lord Kṛṣṇa and who have thus achieved the greatest
perfection of self-realization have transcended the bewilderments of the bodily
concept of life. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal of life for such saintly
persons. How then could Kṛṣṇa have been bewildered by the mystic jugglery of
Śālva? The conclusion is that Lord Kṛṣṇa's
bewilderment was another opulence of His supreme personality.
When Śālva thought that Kṛṣṇa had been bewildered by his mystic representations,
he became encouraged and began to attack the Lord with greater strength and
energy by showering volumes of arrows upon Him. But the enthusiasm of Śālva can
be compared to the speedy march of flies into a fire. Lord Kṛṣṇa, by hurling His arrows with unfathomable
strength, injured Śālva, whose armor, bow and jeweled helmet all scattered into
pieces. With a crashing blow from Kṛṣṇa's
club, Śālva's wonderful airplane burst into pieces and fell into the sea. Śālva
was very careful, and instead of crashing with the airplane, he managed to jump
onto the land. He again rushed towards Lord Kṛṣṇa.
When Śālva ran swiftly to attack Kṛṣṇa
with his club, Lord Kṛṣṇa cut off his hand, which fell to the ground with
the club. Finally deciding to kill him, the Lord took up His wonderful disc,
which was shining like the brilliant sun at the time of the dissolution of the
material creation. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa
stood up with His disc to kill Śālva, He appeared just like the red sun rising
over a mountain. Lord Kṛṣṇa then cut off his head, and the head, with its
earrings and helmet, fell on the ground. Śālva was thus killed in the same way
as Vṛtrāsura was killed by Indra, the King of heaven.
When Śālva was killed, all his soldiers
and followers began to cry, "Alas! Alas!" While Śālva's men were thus
crying, the demigods from the heavenly planets showered flowers on Kṛṣṇa and announced the victory by beating on drums and
blowing bugles. At this very moment, other friends of Śiśupāla, such as
Dantavakra, appeared on the scene to fight with Kṛṣṇa
in order to avenge the death of Śiśupāla. When Dantavakra appeared before Lord
Kṛṣṇa, he was extremely angry.
77. The Killing of Dantavakra,
Vidūratha and Romaharṣaṇa
After the demise
of Śiśupāla, Śālva and Pauṇḍra, another foolish demoniac king of the name Dantavakra wanted to
kill Kṛṣṇa in order to avenge the death of his
friend Śālva. He became so agitated that he personally appeared on the
battlefield without the proper arms and ammunition and without even a chariot.
His only weapon was his great anger, which was red-hot. He carried only a club
in his hand, but he was so powerful that when he moved, everyone felt the earth
tremble. When Lord Kṛṣṇa
saw him approaching in a very heroic mood, He immediately got down from His
chariot, for it was a rule of military etiquette that fighting should take
place only between equals. Knowing that Dantavakra was alone and armed with
only a club, Lord Kṛṣṇa
responded similarly and prepared Himself by taking His club in His hand. When Kṛṣṇa appeared before him, Dantavakra's
heroic march was immediately stopped just as the great, furious waves of the
ocean are stopped by the beach.
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At that time, Dantavakra, who was the
King of Karūṣa, stood up firmly with his club and spoke to
Lord Kṛṣṇa as follows: "It is a great pleasure and
fortunate opportunity, Kṛṣṇa,
that we are facing each other eye to eye. My dear Kṛṣṇa, after all, You are my eternal cousin, and I
should not kill You in this way, but unfortunately You have committed a great
mistake by killing my friend Śālva. Moreover, You are not satisfied by
killing my friend, but I know that You want to kill me also. Because of Your
determination, I must kill You by tearing You to pieces with my club. Kṛṣṇa, although You are my relative, You are foolish.
You are our greatest enemy, so I must kill You today just as a person removes
a boil on his body by a surgical operation. I am always very much obliged to
my friends, and I therefore consider myself indebted to my dear friend Śālva.
I can only liquidate my indebtedness to him by killing You."
As the caretaker of an elephant tries
to control the animal by striking it with his trident, so Dantavakra tried to
control Kṛṣṇa simply by speaking strong words. After
finishing his vituperation, he struck Kṛṣṇa
on the head with his club and made a roaring sound like a lion. Although
struck strongly by the club of Dantavakra, Kṛṣṇa
did not move even an inch, nor did He feel any pain. Taking His Kaumodakī
club and moving very skillfully, Kṛṣṇa
struck the chest of Dantavakra so fiercely that the heart of Dantavakra split
in twain. As a result, Dantavakra began to vomit blood, his hairs became
scattered, and he fell to the ground, spreading his hands and legs. Within
only a few minutes all that remained of Dantavakra was a dead body on the
ground. After the death of Dantavakra, just as at the time of Śiśupāla's
death, in the presence of all persons standing there, a small particle of
spiritual effulgence came out of the demon's body and very wonderfully merged
into the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Dantavakra had a brother named
Vidūratha who became overwhelmed with grief at the death of Dantavakra. Out
of grief and anger, Vidūratha was breathing very heavily, and just to avenge
the death of his brother he also appeared before Lord Kṛṣṇa with a sword and a shield in his hands. He
wanted to kill Kṛṣṇa immediately. When Lord Kṛṣṇa understood that Vidūratha was looking for the
opportunity to strike I im with his sword, He employed His Sudarśana cakra,
His disc, which was as sharp as a razor, and without delay he cut off the
head of Vidūratha, with its helmet and earrings.
In this way, after killing Śālva and
destroying his wonderful airplane and then killing Dantavakra and Vidūratha,
Lord Kṛṣṇa at last entered His city, Dvārakā. It would not
have been possible for anyone but Kṛṣṇa
to kill these great heroes, and therefore all the demigods from heaven and
the human beings on the surface of the globe were glorifying Him. Great sages
and ascetics, the denizens of the Siddha and Gandharva planets, the denizens
known as Vidyādharas, Vāsuki and the Mahānāgas, the beautiful angels, the
inhabitants of Pitṛloka, the Yakṣas,
the Kinnaras and the Cāraṇas all began to
shower flowers upon Him and sing the songs of His victory in great
jubilation. Decorating the entire city very festively, the citizens of
Dvārakā held a great celebration, and when Lord Kṛṣṇa passed through the city all the members of the
Vṛṣṇi dynasty and the heroes of the Yadu dynasty
followed Him with great respect. These are some of the transcendental
pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the master of all mystic power and the
Lord of all cosmic manifestations. Those who are fools, who are like animals,
sometimes think that Kṛṣṇa is defeated, but factually He is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and no one can defeat Him. He always remains
victorious over everyone. He is the only one God, and all others are His
subservient order carriers.
Once upon a time, Lord Balarāma heard
that there was an arrangement being made for a fight between the two rival
parties in the Kuru dynasty, one headed by Duryodhana and the other by the Pāṇḍavas. He did not like the idea that He was to be
only a mediator to stop the fighting. Finding it unbearable not to take an
active part on behalf of either of the parties, He left Dvārakā on the plea
of visiting various holy places of pilgrimage. He first of all visited the
place of pilgrimage known as Prabhāsakṣetra.
He took His bath there, and He pacified the local brāhmaṇas and offered oblations to the demigods, pitās,
great sages and people in general, in accordance with Vedic ritualistic
ceremonies. That is the Vedic method of visiting holy places. After this,
accompanied by some respectable brāhmaṇas,
He decided to visit different places on the bank of the river Sarasvatī. He
gradually visited such places as Pṛthūdaka,
Bindusara, Tritakūpa, Sudarśanatīrtha, Viśālatīrtha, Brahmatīrtha and
Cakratīrtha. Besides these, He also visited all the holy places on the bank
of Sarasvatī River running toward the east. After this He visited all the
principal holy places on the bank of the Yamunā and on the bank of the
Ganges. Thus He gradually came to the holy place known as Naimiṣāraṇya.
This holy place, Naimiṣāraṇya,
is still existing in India, and in ancient times it was especially used for
the meetings of great sages and saintly persons with the aim of understanding
spiritual life and self-realization. When Lord Balarāma visited that place
there was a great sacrifice being performed by a great assembly of
transcendentalists. Such meetings were planned to last thousands of years.
When Lord Balarāma arrived, all the participants of the meeting--great sages,
ascetics, brāhmaṇas and learned scholars--immediately arose from
their seats and welcomed Him with great honor and respect. Some offered Him
respectful obeisances, and those who were elderly great sages and brāhmaṇas offered Him blessings by standing up. After
this formality, Lord Balarāma was offered a suitable seat, and everyone
present worshiped Him. Everyone in the assembly stood up in the presence of
Balarāma because they knew Him to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Education or learning means to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead;
therefore, although Lord Balarāma appeared on the earth as a kṣatriya, all the brāhmaṇas and sages stood up because they knew who Lord
Balarāma was.
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Unfortunately, after being worshiped
and seated at His place, Lord Balarāma saw Romaharṣaṇa, the disciple of
Vyāsadeva (the literary incarnation of Godhead), still sitting on the Vyāsāsana.
He had neither gotten up from his seat nor offered Him respects. Because he was
seated on the Vyāsāsana, he foolishly thought himself greater than the Lord;
therefore he did not get down from his seat or bow down before the Lord. Lord
Balarāma then considered the history of Romaharṣaṇa: he was born in a sūta family or a mixed family,
born of a brāhmaṇa woman and kṣatriya
man. Therefore although Romaharṣaṇa considered Balarāma a kṣatriya, he should not have remained sitting on a
higher seat. Lord Balarāma considered that Romaharṣaṇa, according to his
position by birth, should not have accepted the higher sitting position,
because there were many learned brāhmaṇas
and sages present. He also observed that Romaharṣaṇa not only did not come down from his exalted seat,
but he did not even stand up and offer his respects when Balarāmajī entered the
assembly. Lord Balarāma did not like the audacity of Romaharṣaṇa, and He became very
angry with him.
When a person is seated on the
Vyāsāsana, he does not generally have to stand up to receive a particular
person entering the assembly, but in this case the situation was different
because Lord Baladeva is not an ordinary human being. Therefore, although
Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was voted to
the Vyāsāsana by all the brāhmaṇas, he should have
followed the behavior of other learned sages and brāhmaṇas who were present and should have known that Lord
Balarāma is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Respects are always due Him,
even though such respects can be avoided in the case of an ordinary man. The
appearances of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are especially meant for
reestablishment of the religious principles. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā,
the highest religious principle is to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. It is also confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that the topmost
perfection of religiousness is to be engaged in the devotional service of the
Lord.
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When Lord Balarāma saw that Romaharṣaṇa Sūta did not
understand the highest principle of religiousness in spite of having studied
all the Vedas, He certainly could not support his position. Romaharṣaṇa Sūta had been
given a chance to become a perfect brāhmaṇa,
but because of his ill behavior in his relationship with the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, his low birth was immediately remembered. Romaharṣaṇa Sūta had been
given the position of a brāhmaṇa,
but he had not been born in the family of a brāhmaṇa; he had been born in a pratiloma family.
According to the Vedic concept, there are two kinds of mixed family heritage.
They are called anuloma and pratiloma. When a male is united with a female of
a lower caste, the offspring is called anuloma; but when a male unites with a
woman of a higher caste, the offspring is called pratiloma. Romaharṣaṇa Sūta belonged to
the pratiloma family because his father was a kṣatriya
and his mother a brāhmaṇa. Because Romaharṣaṇa's transcendental realization was not perfect,
Lord Balarāma remembered his pratiloma heritage. The idea is that any man can
be given the chance to become a brāhmaṇa,
but if he improperly uses the position of a brāhmaṇa without actual realization, then his elevation
to the brahminical position is not valid.
After seeing the deficiency of
realization in Romaharṣaṇa Sūta, Lord
Balarāma decided to chastise him for being puffed up. Lord Balarāma therefore
said, "This man is liable to be awarded the death punishment because,
although he has the good qualification of being a disciple of Lord Vyāsadeva
and although he has studied all the Vedic literature from this exalted personality,
he was not submissive in the presence of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead." As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, a person who is actually a
brāhmaṇa and is very learned must automatically become
very gentle also. In the case of Romaharṣaṇa Sūta, although he was very learned and had been
given the chance to become a brāhmaṇa,
he had not become gentle. From this we can understand that when one is puffed
up by material acquisition, he cannot acquire the gentle behavior befitting a
brāhmaṇa. The learning of such a person is as good as a
valuable jewel decorating the hood of a serpent. Despite the valuable jewel
on the hood, a serpent is still a serpent and is as fearful as an ordinary
serpent. If a person does not become meek and humble, all his studies of the
Vedas and Purāṇas and his vast knowledge in the śāstras become
simply outward dress, like the costume of a theatrical artist dancing on the
stage. Lord Balarāma began to consider thus: "I have appeared in order
to chastise false persons who are internally impure but externally pose
themselves to be very learned and religious. My killing of such persons is
proper to check them from further sinful activity."
Lord Balarāma had avoided taking part
in the Battle of Kurukṣetra, and yet because of His position, the
reestablishment of religious principles was His prime duty. Considering these
points, He killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta simply by striking him with a kuśa straw,
which was nothing but a blade of grass. If someone questions how Lord
Balarāma could kill Romaharṣaṇa Sūta simply by striking him with a blade of
kuśa grass, the answer is given in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by the use of the word
prabhu (master). The Lord's position is always transcendental, and because He
is omnipotent He can act as He likes without being obliged to the material
laws and principles. Thus it was possible for Him to kill Romaharṣaṇa Sūta simply by
striking him with a blade of kuśa grass.
At the death of Romaharṣaṇa Sūta, everyone
present became much aggrieved, and there was roaring and crying. Although all
the brāhmaṇas and sages present there knew Lord Balarāma to
be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they did not hesitate to protest the
Lord's action, and they humbly submitted, "Our dear Lord, we think that
Your action is not in line with the religious principles. Dear Lord
Yadunandana, we may inform You that we brāhmaṇas
posted Romaharṣaṇa Sūta on that
exalted position for the duration of this great sacrifice. He was seated on
the Vyāsāsana by our election, and when one is seated on the Vyāsāsana, it is
improper for him to stand up to receive a person. Moreover, we awarded
Romaharṣaṇa Sūta an
undisturbed duration of life. Under the circumstances, since Your Lordship
has killed him without knowing all these facts, we think that Your action has
been equal to that of killing a brāhmaṇa.
Dear Lord, deliverer of all fallen souls, we know certainly that You are the
knower of all Vedic principles. You are the master of all mystic powers;
therefore ordinarly the Vedic injunctions cannot be applied to Your
personality. But we request that You show Your causeless mercy upon others by
kindly atoning for this killing of Romaharṣaṇa Sūta. We do not, however, suggest what kind of
act You should perform to atone for killing him; we simply suggest that some
method of atonement be adopted by You so that others may follow Your action.
What is done by a great personality is followed by the ordinary man."
The Lord replied, "Yes, I must
atone for this action, which may have been proper for Me, but is improper for
others; therefore, I think it is My duty to execute a suitable act of
atonement enjoined in the authorized scriptures. Simultaneously I can also
give this Romaharṣaṇa Sūta life again,
with a span of long duration, sufficient strength, and full power of the
senses. Not only this, if you desire I shall be glad to award him anything
else which you may ask. I shall be very glad to grant all these boons in
order to fulfill your desires."
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The Supreme Personality of Godhead therefore solved the problem in a manner befitting His exalted position, and said, "Because the son is produced from the body of the father, it is the injunction of the Vedas that the son is the father's representative. Therefore I say that Ugraśravā Sūta, the son of Romaharṣaṇa Sūta, should henceforth take his father's position and continue the discourses on the Purāṇas, and because you wanted Romaharṣaṇa to have a long duration of life, this benediction will be transferred to his son. The son, Ugraśravā, will therefore have all the facilities you offered--long duration of life in a good and healthy body, without any disturbances and full strength of all the senses."
Lord Balarāma then implored all the sages and brāhmaṇas that aside from the benediction offered to the son of Romaharṣaṇa, they should ask from Him any other benediction, and He would be prepared to fulfill it immediately. The Lord thus placed Himself in the position of an ordinary kṣatriya and informed the sages that He did not know in what way He could atone for His killing of Romaharṣaṇa, but whatever they would suggest He would be glad to accept.
The brāhmaṇas could understand the purpose of the Lord, and thus, they suggested that He atone for His action in a manner which would be beneficial for them. They said, "Our dear Lord, there is a demon of the name Balvala. He is the son of Ilvala, but he is a very powerful demon, and he visits this sacred place of sacrifice every fortnight on the full moon and moonless days and creates a great disturbance to the discharge of our duties in the sacrifice. O descendant of the Daśārha family, we all request You to kill this demon. We think that if You kindly kill him, that will be Your atonement on our behalf. The demon occasionally comes here and profusely throws upon us contaminated, impure things like puss, blood, stool, urine and wine, and he pollutes this sacred place by showering such filth upon us. After killing Balvala, You may continue touring all these sacred places of pilgrimage for twelve months, and in that way You will be completely freed from all contamination. That is our prescription."
78. The Liberation of Balvala,
and Lord Balarāma's Touring the Sacred Places
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Lord Balarāma prepared Himself to
meet the demon Balvala. At the time when the demon usually attacked the
sacred place, there appeared a great hailstorm, the whole sky became covered
with dust and the atmosphere became surcharged with a filthy smell. Just
after this, the mischievous demon Balvala began to shower torrents of stool
and urine and other impure substances on the arena of sacrifice. After this
onslaught, the demon himself appeared with a great trident in his hand. He
was a gigantic person, and his black body was like a huge mass of carbon. His
hair, his beard and his moustache appeared reddish, like copper, and because
of his great beard and moustache, his mouth appeared to be very dangerous and
fierce. As soon as He saw the demon, Lord Balarāma prepared to attack him. He
first began to consider how He could smash the great demon to pieces. Lord
Balarāma called for His plow and club, and they immediately appeared before
Him. The demon Balvala was flying in the sky, and at the first opportunity
Lord Balarāma dragged him down with His plow and angrily smashed the demon's
head with His club. By Balarāma's striking, the forehead of the demon became
fractured. There was a profuse flow of blood from his forehead, and he began
to scream loudly. In this way the demon, who had been such a great
disturbance to the pious brāhmaṇas,
fell to the ground. His falling was like a great mountain with a red oxide
peak being struck by a thunderbolt and smashed to the ground.
The inhabitants of Naimiṣāraṇya,
learned sages and brāhmaṇas, became most
pleased by seeing this, and they offered their respectful prayers to Lord
Balarāma. They offered their heartfelt blessings upon the Lord, and all
agreed that Lord Balarāma's attempt to do anything would never be a failure.
The sages and brāhmaṇas then performed a ceremonial bathing of Lord
Balarāma, just as King Indra is bathed by the demigods when he is victorious
over the demons. The brāhmaṇas and sages
honored Lord Balarāma by presenting Him first-class new clothing and
ornaments and the lotus flower garland of victory, the reservoir of all
beauty, which was never to be dried up, being in everlasting existence.
After this incidence, Lord Balarāma
took permission from the brāhmaṇas
assembled at Naimiṣāraṇya
and, accompanied by other brāhmaṇas,
went to the bank of the river Kauṣikī.
After taking His bath in this holy place, He proceeded toward the river
Sarayū and visited the source of the river. He began to travel on the bank of
the Sarayū River, and He gradually reached Prayāga, where there is a
confluence of three rivers, the Ganges, Yamunā and Sarasvatī. Here He also
regularly took His bath, worshiped the local temples of God and, as it is
enjoined in the Vedic literature, offered oblations to the forefathers and
sages. He gradually reached the āśrama of the sage Pulaha and from there went
to Gaṇḍakī on the river Gomati. After this He took His
bath in the river Vipāśā. Then gradually He came to the bank of the Śoṇa River. (The Śoṇa
River is still running as one of the big rivers in the Behar Province.) He
also took His bath there and performed the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. He
continued His travels and gradually came to the pilgrimage city of Gayā,
where there is a celebrated Viṣṇu
temple. According to the advice of His father Vasudeva, He offered oblations
to the forefathers in this Viṣṇu
temple. From here He traveled to the delta of the Ganges, where the sacred
river Ganges mixes with the Bay of Bengal. This sacred place is called Gaṅgāsāgara, and at the end of January every year
there is still a great assembly of saintly persons and pious men, just as
there is an assembly of saintly persons in Prayāga every year which is called
the Magh Mela Fair.
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After finishing His bathing and
ritualistic ceremonies at Gaṅgāsāgara, Lord
Balarāma proceeded toward the mountain known as Mahendra Parvata. At this
place He met Paraśurāma, the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and He offered him respect by bowing down
before him. After this He gradually turned toward southern India and visited
the banks of the river Godāvarī. After taking His bath in the river Godāvarī
and performing the necessary ritualistic ceremonies, He gradually visited the
other rivers--the Veṇā, Pampā and Bhīmarathī. On the bank of the river
Bhīmarathī there is the deity called Svāmī Kārttikeya. After visiting
Kārttikeya Lord Balarāma gradually proceeded to Śailapura, a pilgrimage city
in the province of Mahārāṣṭra.
Śailapura is one of the biggest districts in Mahārāṣṭra Province. He then gradually proceeded towards
the Draviḍadeśa. Southern India is divided into five parts,
called Pañcadraviḍa. Northern India is also divided into five
parts, called Pañcagaura. All the important ācāryas of the modern age, namely
Śaṅkarācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇusvāmī, and Nimbārka, advented themselves in
these Draviḍa Provinces. Lord Caitanya appeared in Bengal,
which is part of the five Gauradeśas.
The most important place of
pilgrimage in southern India, or Draviḍa,
is Veṅkaṭācala,
commonly known as Bālājī. After visiting this place Lord Balarāma proceeded
toward Viṣṇukāñcī, and from there He proceeded on the bank
of the Kāverī. He took His bath in the river Kāverī; then He gradually
reached Raṅgakṣetra.
The biggest temple in the world is in Raṅgakṣetra, and the Viṣṇu
Deity there is celebrated as Raṅganātha.
A similar temple of Raṅganātha is in Vṛndāvana,
although not as big as the temple in Raṅgakṣetra.
While going to Viṣṇukāñcī, Lord Balarāma also visited Śivakāñcī.
After visiting Raṅgakṣetra,
He gradually proceeded toward Mathurā, commonly known as the Mathurā of
southern India. After visiting this place, He gradually proceeded toward
Setubandha. Setubandha is the place where Lord Rāmacandra constructed the
stone bridge from India to Laṅkā (Ceylon). In
this particularly holy place, Lord Balarāma distributed ten thousand cows to
the local brāhmaṇa priests. It is the Vedic custom that when a
rich visitor goes to any place of pilgrimage he gives in charity to the local
priests gifts of houses, cows, ornaments and garments. This system of
visiting places of pilgrimage and providing the local brāhmaṇa priests with all necessities of life has
greatly deteriorated in this age of Kali. The richer section of the
population, because of its degradation in Vedic culture, is no longer
attracted by these places of pilgrimage, and the brāhmaṇa priests who depended on such visitors have also
deteriorated in their professional duty of helping the visitors. These brāhmaṇa priests in the places of pilgrimage are called
paṇḍa or paṇḍit.
This means that they formerly were very learned brāhmaṇas and used to guide the visitors in all details
of the purpose of coming there, and thus both the visitors and the priests
were benefited by mutual cooperation.
It is clear from the description of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that when Lord Balarāma was visiting the different places
of pilgrimage, He properly followed the Vedic system. After distributing cows
at Setubandha, Lord Balarāma proceeded toward the Kṛtamālā and Tāmraparṇī
Rivers. These two rivers are celebrated as sacred, and Lord Balarāma bathed
in both. He then proceeded toward Malaya Hill. This Malaya Hill is very
great, and it is said that it is one of seven peaks called the Malaya Hills.
The great sage Agastya used to live there, and Lord Balarāma visited him and
offered His respects by bowing down before him. After taking the sage's
blessings, Lord Balarāma, with the sage's permission, proceeded toward the
Indian Ocean.
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At the point of
the cape there is a big temple of the goddess Durgā where she is known as
Kanyākumārī. This temple of Kanyākumārī was also visited by Lord Rāmacandra,
and therefore it is to be understood that the temple has been existing for
millions of years. From there, Lord Balarāma went on to visit the pilgrimage
city known as Phālgunatīrtha, which is on the shore of the Indian Ocean, or the
Southern Ocean. Phālgunatīrtha is celebrated because Lord Viṣṇu in His incarnation of Ananta is lying
there. From Phālgunatīrtha, Lord Balarāma went on to visit another pilgrimage
spot known as Pañcāpsarasa. There also He bathed according to the regulative
principles and observed the ritualistic ceremonies. This site is also
celebrated as a shrine of Lord Viṣṇu; therefore Lord Balarāma distributed ten thousand cows to the
local brāhmaṇa priests.
From Cape Comarin Lord Balarāma turned
toward Kerala. The country of Kerala is still existing in southern India under
the name of South Kerala. After visiting this place, He came to Gokarṇatīrtha, where
Lord Śiva is constantly worshiped. Balarāma then visited the temple of
Āryādevī, which is completely surrounded by water. From that island, He went on
to a place known as Śūrpāraka. After this He bathed in the rivers known as
Tāpī, Payoṣṇī
and Nirvindhyā, and He came to the forest known as Daṇḍakāraṇya. This is the
same Daṇḍakāraṇya forest where
Lord Rāmacandra lived while He was in exile. Lord Balarāma next came to the
bank of the river Narmadā, the biggest river in central India. On the bank of
this sacred Narmadā is a pilgrimage spot known as Māhiṣmatī Purī. After
bathing there, according to regulative principles, Lord Balarāma returned to
Prabhāsatīrtha, wherefrom He had begun His journey.
When Lord Balarāma returned to
Prabhāsatīrtha He heard from the brāhmaṇas that most of the kṣatriyas in the Battle of Kurukṣetra had been
killed. Balarāma felt relieved to hear that the burden of the world had been
reduced. Lord Kṛṣṇa
and Balarāma appeared on this earth to lessen the burden of military strength
created by the ambitious kṣatriya kings. This is the way of materialistic
life: not being satisfied by the absolute necessities of life, people
ambitiously create extra demands, and their illegal desires are checked by the
laws of nature or by laws of God, appearing as famine, war, pestilence and
similar catastrophes. Lord Balarāma heard that although most of the kṣatriyas had been
killed, the Kurus were still engaged in fighting. Therefore He returned to the
battlefield just on the day Bhīmasena and Duryodhana were engaged in a personal
duel. As well-wisher of both of them, Lord Balarāma wanted to stop them, but
they would not stop.
When Lord Balarāma appeared on the
scene, King Yudhiṣṭhira
and his young brothers, Nakula, Sahadeva, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, immediately offered Him their
respectful obeisances, but they did not speak at all. The reason they were
silent was that Lord Balarāma was somewhat affectionate toward Duryodhana, and
Duryodhana had learned from Balarāmajī the art of fighting with a club. Thus,
when the fighting was going on, King Yudhiṣṭhira and others thought that Balarāma might come
there to say something in favor of Duryodhana, and they therefore remained
silent. Both Duryodhana and Bhīmasena were very enthusiastic in fighting with
clubs, and in the midst of large audiences, each was very skillfully trying to
strike the other, and while attempting to do so they appeared to be dancing.
But although they appeared to be dancing, it was clear that both of them were
very angry.
Lord Balarāma, wanting to stop the
fighting, said, "My dear King Duryodhana and Bhīmasena, I know that both
of you are great fighters and are well known in the world as great heroes, but
still I think that Bhīmasena is superior to Duryodhana in bodily strength. On
the other hand, Duryodhana is superior in the art of fighting with a club.
Taking this into consideration, My opinion is that neither of you is inferior
to the other in fighting. Under the circumstances, there is very little chance
of one of you being defeated by the other. Therefore I request you not to waste
your time in fighting in this way. I wish you to stop this unnecessary
fight."
The good instruction given by Lord
Balarāma to both Bhīmasena and Duryodhana was intended for equal benefit of
both of them. But they were so enwrapped in anger against each other that they
could only remember their long-lasting personal enmity. Each thought only of
killing the other, and they did not give much importance to the instruction of
Lord Balarāma. Both of them then became like madmen in remembering the strong
accusations and ill behavior they had exchanged with one another. Lord
Balarāma, being able to understand the destiny which was awaiting them, was not
eager to go further in the matter. Therefore, instead of staying, He decided to
return to the city of Dvārakā.
When He returned to Dvārakā, He was
received with great jubilation by relatives and friends, headed by King
Ugrasena and other elderly persons; all of them came forward to welcome Lord
Balarāma. After this, He again went to the holy place of pilgrimage at Naimiṣāraṇya, and the
sages, saintly persons and brāhmaṇas all received Him standing. They understood that
Lord Balarāma, although a kṣatriya, was now retired from the fighting business.
The brāhmaṇas
and sages, who were always for peace and tranquillity, were very pleased at
this. All of them embraced Balarāma with great affection and induced Him to
perform various kinds of sacrifices in that sacred spot of Naimiṣāraṇya. Actually
Lord Balarāma had no business performing the sacrifices recommended for
ordinary human beings; He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore
He Himself is the enjoyer of all such sacrifices. As such, His exemplary action
in performing sacrifices was only to give a lesson to the common man to show
how one should abide by the injunction of the Vedas.
Lord Balarāma then took the avabhṛtha bath which is accepted after finishing sacrificial performances. After taking His bath, He dressed Himself in new silken garments and decorated Himself with beautiful jewelry amidst His relatives and friends. He appeared to be a shining full moon amidst the luminaries in the sky. Lord Balarāma is the Personality of Godhead Ananta Himself; therefore He is beyond the scope of understanding by mind, intelligence or body. He descended exactly like a human being and behaved in that way for His own purpose; we can only explain His activities as the Lord's pastimes. No one can even estimate the extent of the unlimited demonstrations of His pastimes because He is all-powerful. Lord Balarāma is the original Viṣṇu; therefore anyone remembering these pastimes of Lord Balarāma in the morning and evening, will certainly become a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus his life will become successful in all respects.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations H H Swami Sri Prabhupada ji, Sri Krishnalilas
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