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KB 1970-2-23 / The Killing of Dantavakra, Viduratha and
Romaharsana
23 / The Killing of Dantavakra, Viduratha and Romaharsana
After the demise of Sisupala, Salva and Paundra, another
foolish demoniac king of the name Dantavakra wanted to kill
Krsna in order to avenge the death of his friend Salva. 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 Krsna 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 Krsna responded similarly and prepared Himself by
taking His club in His hand. When Krsna appeared before him,
Dantavakra's heroic march was immediately stopped just as the
great, furious waves of the ocean are stopped by the beach.
At that time, Dantavakra, who was the King of Karusa, stood up
firmly with his club and spoke to Lord Krsna as follows: "It is
a great pleasure and fortunate opportunity, Krsna, that we are
facing each other eye to eye. My dear Krsna, 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 Salva. 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. Krsna, 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 Salva. 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
Krsna simply by speaking strong words. After finishing his
vituperation, he struck Krsna on the head with his club and
made a roaring sound like a lion. Although struck
strongly by the club of Dantavakra, Krsna did not move even an
inch, nor did He feel any pain. Taking His Kaumodaki club and
moving very skillfully, Krsna 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 Sisupala'
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 Krsna.
Dantavakra had a brother named Viduratha who became
overwhelmed with grief at the death of Dantavakra. Out
of grief and anger, Viduratha was breathing very heavily, and
just to avenge the death of his brother he also appeared before
Lord Krsna with a sword and a shield in his hands. He wanted to
kill Krsna immediately. When Lord Krsna understood that
Viduratha was looking for the opportunity to strike I im with
his sword, He employed His Sudarsana cakra, His disc, which
was as sharp as a razor, and without delay he cut off
the head of Viduratha, with its helmet and earrings.
In this way, after killing Salva and destroying his wonderful
airplane and then killing Dantavakra and Viduratha, Lord Krsna
at last entered His city, Dvaraka. It would not have been
possible for anyone but Krsna 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 Vidyadharas, Vasuki and the Mahanagas, the
beautiful angels, the inhabitants of Pitrloka, the Yaksas, the
Kinnaras and the Caranas 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
Dvaraka held a great celebration, and when Lord Krsna passed
through the city all the members of the Vrsni dynasty and the
heroes of the Yadu dynasty followed Him with great respect.
These are some of the transcendental pastimes of Lord Krsna,
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 Krsna 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 Balarama 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 Pandavas. 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 Dvaraka on the plea of
visiting various holy places of pilgrimage. He first of all
visited the place of pilgrimage known as Prabhasaksetra.
He took His bath there, and He pacified the local brahmanas and
offered oblations to the demigods, pitas, 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 brahmanas, He
decided to visit different places on the bank of the river
Sarasvati. He gradually visited such places as Prthudaka,
Bindusara, Tritakupa, Sudarsanatirtha,
Visalatirtha, Brahmatirtha and Cakratirtha.
Besides these, He also visited all the holy places on the bank
of Sarasvati River running toward the east. After this He
visited all the principal holy places on the bank of the Yamuna
and on the bank of the Ganges. Thus He gradually came to the
holy place known as Naimisaranya.
This holy place, Naimisaranya, 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 Balarama 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 Balarama arrived,
all the participants of the meeting -- great sages, ascetics,
brahmanas 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
brahmanas offered Him blessings by standing up. After this
formality, Lord Balarama was offered a suitable seat, and
everyone present worshiped Him. Everyone in the assembly stood
up in the presence of Balarama 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 Balarama appeared on the earth as a ksatriya, all
the brahmanas and sages stood up because they knew who Lord
Balarama was.
Unfortunately, after being worshiped and seated at His place,
Lord Balarama saw Romaharsana, the disciple of Vyasadeva (the
literary incarnation of Godhead), still sitting on the
Vyasasana. He had neither gotten up from his seat nor offered
Him respects. Because he was seated on the Vyasasana, he
foolishly thought himself greater than the Lord; therefore he
did not get down from his seat or bow down before the Lord.
Lord Balarama then considered the history of Romaharsana: he
was born in a suta family or a mixed family, born of a
brahmana woman and ksatriya man. Therefore although
Romaharsana considered Balarama a ksatriya, he should not have
remained sitting on a higher seat. Lord Balarama considered
that Romaharsana, according to his position by birth, should
not have accepted the higher sitting position, because
there were many learned brahmanas and sages present. He
also observed that Romaharsana not only did not
come down from his exalted seat, but he did not even stand up
and offer his respects when Balaramaji entered the assembly.
Lord Balarama did not like the audacity of Romaharsana, and He
became very angry with him.
When a person is seated on the Vyasasana, 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 Romaharsana Suta was voted to the Vyasasana by all the
brahmanas, he should have followed the behavior of other
learned sages and brahmanas who were present and should have
known that Lord Balarama 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
Krsna and Balarama are especially meant for reestablishment of
the religious principles. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, the
highest religious principle is to surrender unto the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. It is also confirmed in the Srimad-
Bhagavatam that the topmost perfection of
religiousness is to be engaged in the devotional service of the
Lord.
When Lord Balarama saw that Romaharsana Suta did not understand
the highest principle of religiousness in spite of having
studied all the Vedas, He certainly could not support his
position. Romaharsana Suta had been given a chance to become
a perfect brahmana, but because of his ill behavior in his
relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his low
birth was immediately remembered. Romaharsana Suta had been
given the position of a brahmana, but he had not been born in
the family of a brahmana; 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.
Romaharsana Suta belonged to the pratiloma family because his
father was a ksatriya and his mother a brahmana. Because
Romaharsana's transcendental realization was not perfect, Lord
Balarama remembered his pratiloma heritage. The idea is that
any man can be given the chance to become a brahmana, but if he
improperly uses the position of a brahmana without actual
realization, then his elevation to the brahminical position is
not valid.
After seeing the deficiency of realization in Romaharsana Suta,
Lord Balarama decided to chastise him for being puffed up. Lord
Balarama 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 Vyasadeva 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-
gita, a person who is actually a brahmana and is very learned
must automatically become very gentle also. In the case
of Romaharsana Suta, although he was very learned and had
been given the chance to become a brahmana, 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 brahmana. 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 Puranas and his vast knowledge in the sastras become simply
outward dress, like the costume of a theatrical artist dancing
on the stage. Lord Balarama 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 Balarama had avoided taking part in the Battle of
Kuruksetra, and yet because of His position,
the reestablishment of religious principles was His prime duty.
Considering these points, He killed Romaharsana Suta simply by
striking him with a kusa straw, which was nothing but a blade
of grass. If someone questions how Lord Balarama could kill
Romaharsana Suta simply by striking him with a blade of kusa
grass, the answer is given in Srimad-Bhagavatam 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 Romaharsana
Suta simply by striking him with a blade of kusa grass.
At the death of Romaharsana Suta, everyone present became much
aggrieved, and there was roaring and crying. Although
all the brahmanas and sages present there knew Lord Balarama 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 brahmanas posted Romaharsana Suta on that exalted
position for the duration of this great sacrifice. He was
seated on the Vyasasana by our election, and when one is seated
on the Vyasasana, it is improper for him to stand up to receive
a person. Moreover, we awarded Romaharsana Suta 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 brahmana. 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 Romaharsana
Suta. 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 Romaharsana Suta 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."
This statement of Lord Balarama definitely confirms that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is free to act in any way.
Although it may be considered that His killing of Romaharsana
Suta was improper, He could immediately
counteract the action with greater profit to all. Therefore,
one should not imitate the actions of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead; one should simply follow the instructions of the
Lord. All the great learned sages present realized that
although they considered the action of Lord Balarama to be
improper, the Lord was able to immediately
compensate with greater profits. Not wanting to detract from
the mission of the Lord in killing Romaharsana Suta, all of
them prayed, "Our dear Lord, the uncommon use of Your kusa
weapon to kill Romaharsana Suta may remain as it is; because
of Your desire to kill him, he should not be brought to
life again. At the same time Your Lordship may remember that
we sages and brahmanas voluntarily gave him long life;
therefore, such a benediction should not be nullified." Thus
the request of all the learned brahmanas in the assembly was
ambiguous because they wanted to keep intact the benediction
given by them that Romaharsana Suta would continue to live
until the end of the great sacrifice, but at the same time they
did not want to nullify Balarama's killing him.
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 Ugrasrava Suta, the son of
Romaharsana Suta, should henceforth take his father's position
and continue the discourses on the Puranas, and because you
wanted Romaharsana to have a long duration of life, this
benediction will be transferred to his son. The son, Ugrasrava,
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 Balarama then implored all the sages and brahmanas that
aside from the benediction offered to the son of Romaharsana,
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 ksatriya and informed
the sages that He did not know in what way He could atone for
His killing of Romaharsana, but whatever they would suggest He
would be glad to accept.
The brahmanas 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
Dasarha 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."
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Volume,
Twenty-third Chapter, of Krsna, "The Killing of Dantavakra,
Viduratha and Romaharsana."
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KB 78: The Killing of Dantavakra, Viduratha and
Romaharsana
CHAPTER SEVENTY–EIGHT
The Killing of Dantavakra, Viduratha and Romaharsana
After the demise of Sisupala, Salva and Paundraka, a
foolish demoniac king of the name Dantavakra wanted to kill
Krsna to avenge the death of his friend Salva. He
became so agitated that he 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 Krsna 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 Krsna responded similarly and prepared Himself by
taking His club in His hand. When Krsna appeared before him,
Dantavakra's heroic march was immediately stopped, just as the
great, furious waves of the ocean are stopped by the beach.
At that time, Dantavakra, who was the King of Karusa, stood
firmly with his club and spoke to Lord Krsna as follows: "It is
a great pleasure and fortunate opportunity, Krsna, that we are
seeing each other face to face. My dear Krsna, after all, You
are my maternal cousin, and I should not kill You in this way,
but unfortunately You have committed a great mistake by killing
my friend Salva. Moreover, You are not satisfied by killing my
friend; 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. Krsna, 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 Salva. I
can liquidate my indebtedness to him only by killing You."
As the caretaker of an elephant tries to control the animal by
striking it with his trident, Dantavakra tried to control
Krsna simply by speaking strong words. After finishing his
vituperation, he struck Krsna on the head with his club and
made a roaring sound like a lion, but Krsna, although struck
strongly by the club of Dantavakra, did not move even an
inch, nor did He feel any pain. Taking His Kaumodaki club and
moving very skillfully, Krsna struck Dantavakra's chest
so fiercely that Dantavakra's heart
split in twain. As a result, Dantavakra began to vomit blood,
his hair 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 Sisupala'
s death, in the presence of all the 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 Krsna.
Dantavakra had a brother named Viduratha, who was
overwhelmed with grief at Dantavakra's death. Out
of grief and anger, Viduratha was breathing very heavily, and
just to avenge the death of his brother he appeared before
Lord Krsna with a sword and a shield in his hands. He wanted to
kill Krsna immediately. When Lord Krsna understood that
Viduratha was looking for the opportunity to strike Him with
his sword, He employed His Sudarsana cakra, His razor-
sharp disc, and without delay cut off
Viduratha's head, with its helmet and earrings.
In this way, after killing Salva and destroying his wonderful
airplane and then killing Dantavakra and Viduratha, Lord Krsna
at last entered His city, Dvaraka. It would not have been
possible for anyone but Krsna 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 Vidyadharas, Vasuki and the Mahanagas, the
beautiful angels, the inhabitants of Pitrloka, the Yaksas, the
Kinnaras and the Caranas all showered flowers upon
Him and sang songs of His victory in great jubilation.
Decorating the entire city very festively, the citizens of
Dvaraka held a great celebration, and when Lord Krsna passed
through the city, all the members of the Vrsni dynasty and the
heroes of the Yadu dynasty followed Him with great respect.
These are some of the transcendental pastimes of Lord Krsna,
the master of all mystic power and the Lord of all
cosmic manifestations. Those who are fools, who are like
animals, sometimes think that Krsna is defeated, but factually
He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and no one can defeat
Him. He always remains victorious over everyone. He alone
is God, and all others are His subservient order-carriers.
Once upon a time, Lord Balarama heard that an
arrangement was being made for a fight between the two rival
parties in the Kuru dynasty, one headed by Duryodhana and the
other by the Pandavas. He did not like the idea, and He tried
to act as mediator to stop the fighting. Finding it
impossible, and not wishing to take an active part on behalf of
either party, He left Dvaraka on the plea of
visiting various holy places of pilgrimage. He first of all
visited the place of pilgrimage known as Prabhasa-ksetra.
He took His bath there, and He pacified the local brahmanas and
offered oblations to the demigods, Pitas, 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 brahmanas, He
decided to visit different places on the bank of the river
Sarasvati. He gradually visited such places as Prthudaka,
Bindusara, Tritakupa, Sudarsana-tirtha, Visala-
tirtha, Brahma-tirtha and Cakra-tirtha. Besides
these, He also visited all the holy places on the bank of the
Sarasvati River running toward the east. After this He visited
all the principal holy places on the bank of the Yamuna and on
the bank of the Ganges. Thus He gradually came to the holy
place known as Naimisaranya.
Naimisaranya 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 Balarama 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 Balarama arrived,
all the participants in the meeting -- great sages, ascetics,
brahmanas and learned scholars -- immediately arose from their
seats and welcomed Him with great honor and respect. Some
offered Him respects by standing up and then paying
obeisances, and those who were elderly great sages and
brahmanas offered Him blessings after standing up. After this
formality, Lord Balarama was offered a suitable seat, and
everyone present worshiped Him. Everyone in the assembly stood
up in the presence of Balarama 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 Balarama appeared on the earth as a ksatriya, all
the brahmanas and sages stood up because they knew who Lord
Balarama was.
Unfortunately, after being worshiped and seated in His place,
Lord Balarama saw Romaharsana, the disciple of Vyasadeva (the
literary incarnation of Godhead), still sitting on the
vyasasana. He had neither gotten up from his seat nor offered
Him respects. Because he was seated on the vyasasana, he
foolishly thought himself greater than the Lord; therefore he
did not get down from his seat or bow down before the Lord.
Lord Balarama then considered the history of Romaharsana: he
was born in a suta family, or a mixed family, born of a
brahmana woman and a ksatriya man. Therefore although
Romaharsana considered Balarama a ksatriya, he should not have
remained sitting on a higher seat;
according to his position by birth he should
not even have accepted the higher sitting position, because
many learned brahmanas and sages were present. Lord
Balarama also observed that Romaharsana not only refused to
come down from his exalted seat but did not even stand up
and offer his respects when Balaramaji entered the assembly.
Lord Balarama did not like the audacity of Romaharsana and,
becoming very angry at him, declared from His seat, "This man,
Romaharsana, is so impudent that he has accepted a higher seat
than that of all the respectable brahmanas present here,
although he was born in a degraded pratiloma family."
When a person is seated on the vyasasana, he does not generally
have to stand 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 Romaharsana Suta was voted to the vyasasana by all the
brahmanas, he should have followed the behavior of other
learned sages and brahmanas present and should have
known that Lord Balarama 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 appearance of
Krsna and Balarama is especially meant for reestablishment of
the religious principles. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, the
highest religious principle is to surrender to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Srimad-
Bhagavatam also confirms that the topmost perfection of
religion is to be engaged in the devotional service of the
Lord.
When Lord Balarama saw that Romaharsana Suta did not understand
the highest principle of religion in spite of his having
studied all the Vedas, He certainly could not support his
position. Romaharsana Suta had been given the chance to become
a perfect brahmana, but because of his ill behavior in his
relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his low
birth was immediately remembered. Romaharsana Suta had been
given the position of a brahmana, but he had not been born in
the family of a brahmana; he had been born in a pratiloma
family. According to the Vedic concept, there are two kinds of
mixed family heritage, 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.
Romaharsana Suta belonged to a pratiloma family because his
father was a ksatriya and his mother a brahmana. Because
Romaharsana's transcendental realization was not perfect, Lord
Balarama remembered his pratiloma heritage. The idea is that
any man may be given the chance to become a brahmana, but if he
improperly uses the position of a brahmana without actual
realization, then his elevation to the brahminical position is
not valid.
After seeing the deficiency of realization in Romaharsana Suta,
Lord Balarama decided to chastise him for being puffed up. Lord
Balarama 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 Vyasadeva, 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-
gita, a person who is actually a brahmana and is very learned
must automatically become very gentle also. But
although Romaharsana Suta was very learned and had
been given the chance to become a brahmana, he had not become
gentle. From this we can understand that one who is puffed
up by material acquisitions cannot acquire the gentle
behavior befitting a brahmana. 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 Puranas and his vast knowledge of the sastras are simply
outward dress, like the costume of a theatrical artist dancing
on the stage. Lord Balarama considered, "I
have appeared in order to chastise false persons who are
internally impure but externally pose themselves as very
learned and religious. My killing of such persons is proper, to
check them from further sinful activity."
Lord Balarama had avoided taking part in the Battle of
Kuruksetra, and yet because of His position as an incarnation,
the reestablishment of religious principles was His prime duty.
Considering these points, He killed Romaharsana Suta simply by
striking him with a kusa straw, which was nothing but a blade
of grass. If someone questions how Lord Balarama could kill
Romaharsana Suta simply by striking him with a blade of kusa
grass, the answer is given in Srimad-Bhagavatam 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 follow the material laws and
principles. Thus it was possible for Him to kill Romaharsana
Suta simply by striking him with a blade of kusa grass.
At the death of Romaharsana Suta, everyone present became much
aggrieved and cried out, "Alas! Alas!" Although
all the brahmanas and sages present knew Lord Balarama to
be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they did not hesitate to
protest the Lord's action. 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 brahmanas posted Romaharsana Suta on that exalted
position for the duration of this great sacrifice. He was
seated on the vyasasana by our election, and when one is seated
on the vyasasana, it is improper for him to stand up to receive
a person. Moreover, we awarded Romaharsana Suta an undisturbed
duration of life. Under the circumstances, since Your Lordship
has killed him without knowing all these facts, we think that
Your action is equal to killing a brahmana. Dear
Lord, deliverer of all fallen souls, we know for certain
that You are the knower of all Vedic principles. You are the
master of all mystic powers; therefore the Vedic
injunctions cannot ordinarily be applied to You.
But we respectfully advise You to show Your causeless mercy
upon others by kindly atoning for this killing of Romaharsana
Suta. We do not, however, suggest what kind of act You should
perform to atone for killing him; we simply suggest that You
adopt some method of atonement 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 Romaharsana Suta life again, with a span of long
duration, sufficient strength and full power of the senses.
Not only this, but if you desire I shall be glad to award him
anything else you may ask. I shall be very glad to grant
all these boons to fulfill your desires."
This statement by Lord Balarama definitely confirms that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is free to act in any way.
Although His killing of Romaharsana
Suta may be considered improper, He could immediately
counteract it with greater profit to all. Therefore,
one should not imitate the actions of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead; one should simply follow the instructions of the
Lord. All the great, learned sages present realized that
although they considered the action of Lord Balarama
improper, the Lord was immediately able to
compensate with greater profits. Not wanting to detract from
the mission of the Lord in killing Romaharsana Suta, all of
them prayed, "Our dear Lord, the uncommon use of Your kusa
weapon to kill Romaharsana Suta may remain as it is; because
You desired to kill him, he should not be brought to
life again. At the same time, Your Lordship may remember that
we sages and brahmanas voluntarily gave him long life;
therefore, such a benediction should not be nullified." Thus
the request of all the learned brahmanas in the assembly was
ambiguous because they wanted to keep intact their benediction
that Romaharsana Suta would continue to live
until the end of the great sacrifice, but at the same time they
did not want to nullify Balarama's killing him.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead therefore solved the problem
in a manner befitting His exalted position. He said, "Because
the son is produced from the body of the father, the
Vedas enjoin that the son is the father's
representative. Therefore I say that Ugrasrava Suta, the son of
Romaharsana Suta, should henceforth take his father's position
and continue the discourses on the Puranas, and because you
wanted Romaharsana to have a long duration of life, this
benediction will be transferred to his son. The son, Ugrasrava,
will therefore have all the facilities you offered -- a long
duration of life in a good and healthy body, with no
disturbances and full strength of all the senses."
Lord Balarama then implored all the sages and brahmanas that
aside from the benediction offered to the son of Romaharsana,
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 ksatriya and informed
the sages that He did not know in what way He could atone for
His killing of Romaharsana, but whatever they would suggest He
would be glad to accept.
The brahmanas could understand the purpose of the Lord, and
thus they suggested that He atone in a manner
beneficial to them. They said, "Our dear Lord,
there is a very powerful demon of the name Balvala. He is the
son of Ilvala, 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
Dasarha 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 pus, blood, stool,
urine and wine; he pollutes this sacred place by showering
such filth upon us. After killing Balvala, You may continue
touring all the sacred places of pilgrimage for twelve months,
and in that way You will be completely freed from all
contamination. That is our prescription."
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Seventy
-eighth Chapter of Krsna, "The Killing of Dantavakra,
Viduratha and Romaharsana."
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