\\psf\Home\Desktop\Krsna Book 1970\KB 1970 2_24.TXT
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KB 1970-2-24 / The Liberation of Balvala, and Lord Balarama's
Touring the Sacred Places
24 / The Liberation of Balvala, and Lord Balarama's Touring
the Sacred Places
Lord Balarama 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 Balarama prepared to attack him. He first
began to consider how He could smash the great demon to
pieces. Lord Balarama 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 Balarama
dragged him down with His plow and angrily smashed the demon's
head with His club. By Balarama'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 brahmanas, 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 Naimisaranya, learned sages and brahmanas,
became most pleased by seeing this, and they offered their
respectful prayers to Lord Balarama. They offered their
heartfelt blessings upon the Lord, and all agreed that
Lord Balarama's attempt to do anything would never be a
failure. The sages and brahmanas then performed a ceremonial
bathing of Lord Balarama, just as King Indra is bathed by
the demigods when he is victorious over the demons. The
brahmanas and sages honored Lord Balarama 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 Balarama took permission from the
brahmanas assembled at Naimisaranya and, accompanied by other
brahmanas, went to the bank of the river Kausiki. After taking
His bath in this holy place, He proceeded toward the river
Sarayu and visited the source of the river. He began to
travel on the bank of the Sarayu River, and He gradually
reached Prayaga, where there is a confluence of three rivers,
the Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati. 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 asrama of the sage Pulaha and from there went to
Gandaki on the river Gomati. After this He took His
bath in the river Vipasa. Then gradually He came to
the bank of the Sona River. (The Sona 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 Gaya, where there is a celebrated Visnu temple.
According to the advice of His father Vasudeva, He offered
oblations to the forefathers in this Visnu 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 Gangasagara, 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 Prayaga
every year which is called the Magh Mela Fair.
After finishing His bathing and ritualistic ceremonies at
Gangasagara, Lord Balarama proceeded toward the mountain known
as Mahendra Parvata. At this place He met Parasurama, the
incarnation of Lord Krsna, 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 Godavari.
After taking His bath in the river Godavari and performing the
necessary ritualistic ceremonies, He gradually visited the
other rivers -- the Vena, Pampa and Bhimarathi. On the bank of
the river Bhimarathi there is the deity called Svami Karttikeya.
After visiting Karttikeya Lord Balarama gradually proceeded
to Sailapura, a pilgrimage city in the province of Maharastra.
Sailapura is one of the biggest districts in Maharastra
Province. He then gradually proceeded towards the
Dravidadesa. Southern India is divided into five parts,
called Pancadravida. Northern India is also divided
into five parts, called Pancagaura. All the important
acaryas of the modern age, namely Sankaracarya, Ramanujacarya,
Madhvacarya, Visnusvami, and Nimbarka, advented
themselves in these Dravida Provinces. Lord Caitanya
appeared in Bengal, which is part of the five Gauradesas.
The most important place of pilgrimage in southern India, or
Dravida, is Venkatacala, commonly known as Balaji. After
visiting this place Lord Balarama proceeded toward Visnukanci,
and from there He proceeded on the bank of the Kaveri.
He took
His bath in the river Kaveri; then He gradually reached
Rangaksetra. The biggest temple in the world is in
Rangaksetra, and the Visnu Deity there is celebrated as
Ranganatha. A similar temple of Ranganatha is in
Vrndavana, although not as big as the temple in Rangaksetra.
While going to Visnukanci, Lord Balarama also visited Sivakanci.
After visiting Rangaksetra, He gradually proceeded
toward Mathura, commonly known as the Mathura of southern India.
After visiting this place, He gradually proceeded toward
Setubandha. Setubandha is the place where Lord Ramacandra
constructed the stone bridge from India to Lanka (Ceylon). In
this particularly holy place, Lord Balarama distributed ten
thousand cows to the local brahmana 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 brahmana
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 brahmana
priests who depended on such visitors have also deteriorated in
their professional duty of helping the visitors. These brahmana
priests in the places of pilgrimage are called panda or pandit.
This means that they formerly were very learned
brahmanas 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 Srimad-Bhagavatam that when
Lord Balarama was visiting the different places of pilgrimage,
He properly followed the Vedic system. After distributing cows
at Setubandha, Lord Balarama proceeded toward the Krtamala and
Tamraparni Rivers. These two rivers are celebrated as sacred,
and Lord Balarama 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 Balarama
visited him and offered His respects by bowing down before him.
After taking the sage's blessings, Lord Balarama, with the sage'
s permission, proceeded toward the Indian Ocean.
At the point of the cape there is a
big temple of the goddess Durga where she is known as
Kanyakumari. This temple of Kanyakumari was also visited by
Lord Ramacandra, and therefore it is to be understood that the
temple has been existing for millions of years. From there,
Lord Balarama went on to visit the pilgrimage city known as
Phalgunatirtha, which is on the shore of the Indian
Ocean, or the Southern Ocean. Phalgunatirtha is
celebrated because Lord Visnu in His incarnation of Ananta is
lying there. From Phalgunatirtha, Lord Balarama went on
to visit another pilgrimage spot known as Pancapsarasa. There
also He bathed according to the regulative principles and
observed the ritualistic ceremonies. This site is also
celebrated as a shrine of Lord Visnu; therefore Lord Balarama
distributed ten thousand cows to the local brahmana priests.
From Cape Comarin Lord Balarama 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
Gokarnatirtha, where Lord Siva is constantly worshiped.
Balarama then visited the temple of Aryadevi, which is
completely surrounded by water. From that island, He went on to
a place known as Surparaka. After this He bathed in the rivers
known as Tapi, Payosni and Nirvindhya, and He came to the
forest known as Dandakaranya. This is the same Dandakaranya
forest where Lord Ramacandra lived while He was in exile. Lord
Balarama next came to the bank of the river Narmada, the
biggest river in central India. On the bank of this sacred
Narmada is a pilgrimage spot known as Mahismati Puri. After
bathing there, according to regulative principles, Lord
Balarama returned to Prabhasatirtha, wherefrom He had
begun His journey.
When Lord Balarama returned to Prabhasatirtha He heard
from the brahmanas that most of the ksatriyas in the Battle of
Kuruksetra had been killed. Balarama felt relieved to hear that
the burden of the world had been reduced. Lord Krsna and
Balarama appeared on this earth to lessen the burden of
military strength created by the ambitious ksatriya 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 Balarama heard that
although most of the ksatriyas had been killed, the Kurus were
still engaged in fighting. Therefore He returned to the
battlefield just on the day Bhimasena and Duryodhana were
engaged in a personal duel. As well-wisher of both of them,
Lord Balarama wanted to stop them, but they would not stop.
When Lord Balarama appeared on the scene, King Yudhisthira and
his young brothers, Nakula, Sahadeva, Lord
Krsna and Arjuna, immediately offered Him their respectful
obeisances, but they did not speak at all. The reason they were
silent was that Lord Balarama was somewhat affectionate toward
Duryodhana, and Duryodhana had learned from Balaramaji the art
of fighting with a club. Thus, when the fighting was going on,
King Yudhisthira and others thought that Balarama might
come there to say something in favor of Duryodhana, and they
therefore remained silent. Both Duryodhana and Bhimasena 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 Balarama, wanting to stop the fighting, said, "My dear
King Duryodhana and Bhimasena, I know that both of you are
great fighters and are well known in the world as great heroes,
but still I think that Bhimasena 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 Balarama to both Bhimasena
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 Balarama.
Both of them then became like madmen in remembering the strong
accusations and ill behavior they had exchanged with one
another. Lord Balarama, 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 Dvaraka.
When He returned to Dvaraka, 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 Balarama. After this, He again went to the holy place of
pilgrimage at Naimisaranya, and the sages, saintly persons and
brahmanas all received Him standing. They understood
that Lord Balarama, although a ksatriya, was now retired from
the fighting business. The brahmanas and sages, who were always
for peace and tranquillity, were very pleased at this. All
of them embraced Balarama with great affection and induced Him
to perform various kinds of sacrifices in that sacred spot of
Naimisaranya. Actually Lord Balarama 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.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Balarama instructed the
sages and saintly persons at Naimisaranya on the subject matter
of the living entities' relationship with this cosmic
manifestation, on how one should accept this whole universe
and on how one should relate with the cosmos in order to
achieve the highest goal of perfection,
the understanding that the whole cosmic manifestation is
resting on the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is also all-pervading, even
within the minutest atom, by the function of His Paramatma
feature.
Lord Balarama then took the avabhrtha 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 Balarama 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
Balarama is the original Visnu; therefore anyone remembering
these pastimes of Lord Balarama 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.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Volume,
Twenty-fourth Chapter, of Krsna, "The Liberation of Balvala,
and Lord Balarama's Touring Sacred Places."
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KB 79: The Liberation of Balvala, and Lord Balarama's
Touring the Sacred Places
CHAPTER SEVENTY–NINE
The Liberation of Balvala, and Lord Balarama's Touring
the Sacred Places
Lord Balarama 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 mustache appeared reddish
like copper, and because of his great beard and mustache, his
mouth appeared dangerous and fierce. As soon as He
saw the demon, Lord Balarama prepared to attack him. He first
considered how He could smash the great demon to
pieces. Lord Balarama then 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 Balarama
dragged him down with His plow and angrily smashed the demon's
head with His club. Balarama's striking fractured
the demon's
forehead, making blood flow profusely.
Screaming loudly, the demon, who had been such a great
disturbance to the pious brahmanas, fell to the ground
like a great mountain with a red oxide peak being
struck and smashed to the ground by a
thunderbolt.
The inhabitants of Naimisaranya, learned sages and brahmanas,
became most pleased by seeing this, and they offered their
respectful prayers to Lord Balarama. They offered their
heartfelt blessings to the Lord, and all agreed that none of
Lord Balarama's attempts to do something would ever be a
failure. The sages and brahmanas then performed a ceremonial
bathing of Lord Balarama, just as the demigods bathe
King Indra when he is victorious over the demons. The
brahmanas and sages honored Lord Balarama by presenting Him
with first-class new clothing and ornaments and the lotus
garland of victory; this garland was the reservoir of
all beauty and was everlasting -- it was never to be dried
up.
After this incident, Lord Balarama took permission from the
brahmanas assembled at Naimisaranya and, accompanied by other
brahmanas, went to the bank of the river Kausiki. After taking
His bath in this holy place, He proceeded toward the river
Sarayu and visited the source of the river. Traveling
on the bank of the Sarayu River, He gradually
reached Prayaga, where there is a confluence of three rivers --
the Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati. Here also He took
His bath, and then He worshiped in the local temples of the
demigods and, as enjoined in the Vedic literature,
offered oblations to the forefathers and sages. He gradually
reached the asrama of the sage Pulaha and from there went to
the rivers Gandaki and Gomati. After this He took His
bath in the river Vipasa. Then He gradually came to
the bank of the Sona River. (The Sona River is still running as
one of the big rivers in Bihar 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 Gaya, where there is a celebrated Visnu temple.
According to the advice of His father, Vasudeva, He offered
oblations to the forefathers in this Visnu 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 Gangasagara, 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 Prayaga
every year called the Magha-mela fair.
After finishing His bathing and ritualistic ceremonies at
Gangasagara, Lord Balarama proceeded toward the mountain known
as Mahendra Parvata, where He met Parasurama, an
incarnation of Lord Krsna, and offered Him respect by bowing
down before Him. After this Lord Balarama turned toward
southern India and visited the banks of the river Godavari.
After taking His bath in the river Godavari and performing the
necessary ritualistic ceremonies, He gradually visited the
other rivers -- the Vena, Pampa and Bhimarathi. On the bank of
the river Bhimarathi is the deity called Svami Karttikeya.
After visiting Karttikeya, Lord Balarama gradually proceeded
to Sailapura, a pilgrimage city in the province of Maharastra.
Sailapura is one of the biggest districts in Maharastra
province. He then gradually proceeded toward Dravida-
desa. Southern India is divided into five parts, called
Panca-dravida. Northern India is also divided into five
parts, called Panca-gauda. All the important acaryas of
the modern age -- namely Sankaracarya, Ramanujacarya,
Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami and Nimbarka -- advented
themselves in the Dravida provinces. Lord Caitanya, however,
appeared in Bengal, which is part of the five Gauda-desas.
The most important place of pilgrimage in southern India, or
Dravida, is Venkatacala, commonly known as Balaji. After
visiting this place Lord Balarama proceeded toward Visnukanci,
and from there He proceeded on the bank of the Kaveri. While
going to Visnukanci, He visited Sivakanci. Lord Balarama took
His bath in the river Kaveri; then He gradually reached
Rangaksetra. The biggest Visnu temple in the world is in
Rangaksetra, and the Visnu Deity there is celebrated as
Ranganatha. There is a similar temple of Ranganatha in
Vrndavana. Although not as big as the temple in Rangaksetra, it
is the biggest in Vrndavana.
After visiting Rangaksetra, Lord Balarama gradually
proceeded toward Madurai, commonly known as the Mathura of
southern India. After visiting this place, He gradually
proceeded toward Setubandha, the place where Lord
Ramacandra constructed the stone bridge from India to Lanka (
Ceylon). In this particularly holy place, Lord Balarama
distributed ten thousand cows to the local brahmana priests. It
is the Vedic custom that when a rich visitor goes to any place
of pilgrimage he gives the local priests
houses, cows, ornaments and garments as gifts of charity. This
system of visiting places of pilgrimage and providing the local
brahmana 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
brahmana priests who depended on such visitors have also
deteriorated in their professional duty of helping the visitors.
These brahmana priests in the places of pilgrimage are called
panda or pandita. This means that they were formerly
very learned brahmanas and used to guide the visitors in all
details of the purpose of coming there, and thus both the
visitors and the priests benefited by mutual cooperation.
It is clear from the description of Srimad-Bhagavatam that when
Lord Balarama was visiting the different places of pilgrimage
He properly followed the Vedic system. After distributing cows
at Setubandha, Lord Balarama proceeded toward the Krtamala and
Tamraparni rivers. These two rivers are celebrated as sacred,
and Lord Balarama bathed in them both. He then proceeded toward
Malaya Hill. This hill is very great, and it is said
to be one of seven peaks called the Malaya Hills. The
great sage Agastya used to live there, and Lord Balarama
visited him and offered His respects by bowing down before him.
After taking the sage's blessings, Lord Balarama, with the sage'
s permission, proceeded toward the Indian Ocean.
At the point of the cape (known today as Cape Comorin) is a
big temple of Goddess Durga, who is known there as
Kanyakumari. This temple of Kanyakumari was also visited by
Lord Ramacandra, and therefore it is to be understood that the
temple has been existing for millions of years. From there,
Lord Balarama went on to visit the pilgrimage city known as
Phalguna-tirtha, which is on the shore of the Indian
Ocean, or the Southern Ocean. Phalguna-tirtha is
celebrated because Lord Visnu in His incarnation of Ananta is
lying there. From Phalguna-tirtha, Lord Balarama went on
to visit another pilgrimage spot, known as Pancapsarasa. There
also He bathed according to the regulative principles and
observed the ritualistic ceremonies. This site is also
celebrated as a shrine of Lord Visnu; therefore Lord Balarama
distributed ten thousand cows to the local brahmana priests.
From Cape Comorin Lord Balarama 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
Gokarna-tirtha, where Lord Siva is constantly worshiped.
Balarama then visited the temple of Aryadevi, which is
completely surrounded by water. From that island He went on to
a place known as Surparaka. After this He bathed in the rivers
known as Tapi, Payosni and Nirvindhya, and then He came to the
forest known as Dandakaranya. This is the same Dandakaranya
forest where Lord Ramacandra lived while in exile. Lord
Balarama next came to the bank of the river Narmada, the
biggest river in central India. On the bank of this sacred
Narmada is a pilgrimage spot known as Mahismati-puri. After
bathing there according to regulative principles, Lord
Balarama returned to Prabhasa-tirtha, where He had
begun His journey.
When Lord Balarama returned to Prabhasa-tirtha, He heard
from the brahmanas that most of the ksatriyas in the Battle of
Kuruksetra had been killed. Balarama felt relieved to hear that
the burden of the world had been reduced. Lord Krsna and
Balarama appeared on this earth to lessen the burden of
military strength created by the ambitious ksatriya 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 the laws of God, appearing as famine, war,
pestilence and similar catastrophes. Lord Balarama heard that
although most of the ksatriyas had been killed, the Kurus were
still engaged in fighting. Therefore He returned to the
battlefield just on the day Bhimasena and Duryodhana were
engaged in a personal duel. As the well-wisher of both of them,
Lord Balarama wanted to stop them, but they would not stop.
When Lord Balarama appeared on the scene, King Yudhisthira and
his younger brothers Nakula and Sahadeva, as well as Lord
Krsna and Arjuna, immediately offered Him their respectful
obeisances, but they did not speak at all. The reason they were
silent was that Lord Balarama was somewhat affectionate toward
Duryodhana, who had learned from Balaramaji the art
of fighting with a club. When the fighting was going on,
King Yudhisthira and others thought that Balarama might have
come there to say something in favor of Duryodhana, and they
therefore remained silent. Both Duryodhana and Bhimasena were
very enthusiastic in fighting with clubs, and, in the midst of
a large audience, each very skillfully tried to strike
the other. While attempting to do so they appeared to be
dancing, but nonetheless it was
clear that both of them were very angry.
Lord Balarama, wanting to stop the fighting, said, "My dear
King Duryodhana and Bhimasena, I know that both of you are
great fighters and are well known in the world as great heroes,
but still I think that Bhimasena 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
that one of you will be defeated by the other. Therefore I
request you not to waste your time fighting in this way. I
wish you to stop this unnecessary fight."
The good instruction given by Lord Balarama to Bhimasena
and Duryodhana was intended for the equal benefit of both of
them. But they were so enwrapped in anger against each other
that they could remember only their long-standing personal
enmity. Each thought only of killing the other, and they did
not give much importance to the instruction of Lord Balarama.
Both of them then became like madmen in remembering the strong
accusations and ill behavior they had exchanged with each
other. Lord Balarama, being able to understand the destiny
awaiting them, was not eager to go further in the
matter. Therefore, instead of staying, He decided to return to
the city of Dvaraka.
When He returned to Dvaraka, He was received with great
jubilation by relatives and friends, headed by King Ugrasena
and other elder persons, who all came forward to welcome
Him. After this, He again went to the holy place of
pilgrimage at Naimisaranya, and the sages, saintly persons and
brahmanas all stood up to receive Him. They understood
that Lord Balarama, although a ksatriya, was now retired from
the fighting business. The brahmanas and sages, who were always
for peace and tranquillity, were very much pleased at this. All
of them embraced Balarama with great affection and induced Him
to perform various kinds of sacrifices in that sacred spot of
Naimisaranya. Actually Lord Balarama 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 injunctions of
the Vedas.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Balarama, instructed the
sages and saintly persons at Naimisaranya on the subject matter
of the living entities' relationship with this cosmic
manifestation, on how one should regard this whole universe,
and on how one should relate with the cosmos in order to
achieve the highest goal of perfection. This supreme goal is
the understanding that the whole cosmic manifestation rests
on the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is also all-pervading, even
within the minutest atom, by the function of His Paramatma
feature.
Lord Balarama then took the avabhrtha bath, which is taken
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 Balarama 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
purposes; 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
Balarama is the original Visnu; therefore anyone remembering
these pastimes of Lord Balarama in the morning and evening
will certainly become a great devotee of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and thus his life will be
successful in all respects.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Seventy
-ninth Chapter of Krsna, "The Liberation of Balvala,
and Lord Balarama's Touring the Sacred Places."
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