Lord Balarāma’s Teachings - On Dharma, Diplomacy, and the Soul

This article presents a thematic survey of Lord Balarāma's inquiries into Kṛṣṇa's mystic potency, His philosophical instructions on the nature of the soul, His defense of Kṛṣṇa's supremacy, and His chastisement of religious hypocrisy. It organizes the profound verses found in the Vanisource category Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Verses Spoken by Lord Balarāma.

Lord Balarāma is the original spiritual master (ādi-guru), and Lord Balarāma's words carry the weight of absolute authority. Whether pacifying the grieving Rukmiṇī with high philosophy or threatening the arrogant Kauravas with His plow, Lord Balarāma always acts to glorify Kṛṣṇa and protect the principles of religion. Lord Balarāma's teachings clarify the distinction between the eternal self and the temporary body, while His actions demonstrate the proper attitude of a devotee toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Mystery of the Calves (Brahmā-Vimohana Līlā)

When Lord Brahmā steals the cowherd boys and calves, Kṛṣṇa expands Himself to replace them. For a whole year, no one notices the difference, not even Lord Balarāma. However, few days before the end of the year, Lord Balarāma observes that the affection of the older cows for their calves has increased unnaturally. Lord Balarāma realizes something is mystically wrong and questions Kṛṣṇa.

The Inquiry

Lord Balarāma notices that the love of the Vraja residents has shifted from Kṛṣṇa to their own children, who are actually Kṛṣṇa in disguise. Lord Balarāma deduces that this must be the work of Kṛṣṇa's māyā.

  • "What is this wonderful phenomenon? The affection of all the inhabitants of Vraja, including Me, toward these boys and calves is increasing as never before, just like our affection for Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supersoul of all living entities."
  • "Who is this mystic power, and where has she come from? Is she a demigod or a demoness? She must be the illusory energy of My master, Lord Kṛṣṇa, for who else can bewilder Me?"
  • "Lord Baladeva said, 'O supreme controller! These boys are not great demigods, as I previously thought. Nor are these calves great sages like Nārada. Now I can see that You alone are manifesting Yourself in all varieties of difference. Although one, You are existing in the different forms of the calves and boys. Please briefly explain this to Me.' Having thus been requested by Lord Baladeva, Kṛṣṇa explained the whole situation, and Baladeva understood it."

Family Relations and Protection

Lord Balarāma frequently acts as the protector and comforter of the family. Whether defending the cowherd boys from demons or consoling His parents after long separation, Lord Balarāma's words are full of vātsalya (parental affection).

Protecting the Boys

When a demon attacks the boys in the forest, Lord Balarāma reassures them.

  • "The Lords called out in reply, 'Do not fear!' Then They picked up logs of the śāla tree and quickly pursued that lowest of Guhyakas, who swiftly ran away."

Consoling Nanda and Vasudeva

After the killing of Kaṁsa, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma meet Their parents. Lord Balarāma acknowledges the immense sacrifice of Nanda and Yaśodā, stating that the debt to parents can never be fully repaid.

  • "(Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma said:) O Father, you and mother Yaśodā have affectionately maintained Us and cared for Us so much! Indeed, parents love their children more than their own lives."
  • "They are the real father and mother who care for, as they would their own sons, children abandoned by relatives unable to maintain and protect them."
  • "Now you should all return to Vraja, dear Father. We shall come to see you, Our dear relatives who suffer in separation from Us, as soon as We have given some happiness to your well-wishing friends."

Retrieving the Guru's Son

To repay Their spiritual master, Sāndīpani Muni, Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa go to the abode of Yamarāja to bring back the guru's dead son.

  • "Yamarāja said, 'So be it,' and brought forth the guru's son. Then those two most exalted Yadus presented the boy to Their spiritual master and said to him, 'Please select another boon.'"

The Rukmiṇī-Haraṇa (Dharma and Philosophy)

When Kṛṣṇa kidnaps Rukmiṇī, her brother Rukmī attacks them. Kṛṣṇa defeats Rukmī and, to humiliate him, shaves his head and mustache. Rukmiṇī is horrified. Lord Balarāma intervenes, chastising Kṛṣṇa to pacify Rukmiṇī, and then delivers a profound discourse on the distinction between the body and the soul.

Chastising Kṛṣṇa (Diplomacy)

Lord Balarāma feigns anger at Kṛṣṇa for disfiguring a relative, upholding the code that a relative should be forgiven.

  • "(Lord Balarāma said:) My dear Kṛṣṇa, You have acted improperly! This deed will bring shame on Us, for to disfigure a close relative by shaving off his mustache and hair is as good as killing him."
  • "(Again addressing Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma said:) A relative should not be killed even if his wrongdoing warrants capital punishment. Rather, he should be thrown out of the family. Since he has already been killed by his own sin, why kill him again?"
  • "(Again Balarāma addressed Kṛṣṇa:) Blinded by conceit with their personal opulences, proud men offend others for the sake of such things as kingdom, land, wealth, women, honor and power."

Instructions to Rukmiṇī (The Nature of the Soul)

Turning to Rukmiṇī, Lord Balarāma explains that happiness and distress are mental creations. Lord Balarāma teaches that the soul is never affected by the body's changes, just as the moon is not affected by its phases.

  • "Saintly lady, please do not be displeased with Us out of anxiety for your brother's disfigurement. No one but oneself is responsible for one's joy and grief, for a man experiences the result of his own deeds."
  • "(To Rukmiṇī Balarāma said:) Your attitude is unfair, for like an ignorant person you wish good to those who are inimical to all living beings and who have done evil to your true well-wishers."
  • "(Turning to Rukmiṇī, Balarāma continued:) The code of sacred duty for warriors established by Lord Brahmā enjoins that one may have to kill even his own brother. That is indeed a most dreadful law."
  • "The Supreme Lord's māyā makes men forget their real selves, and thus, taking the body for the self, they consider others to be friends, enemies or neutral parties."
  • "Those who are bewildered perceive the one Supreme Soul, who resides in all embodied beings, as many, just as one may perceive the light in the sky, or the sky itself, as many."
  • "This material body, which has a beginning and an end, is composed of the physical elements, the senses and the modes of nature. The body, imposed on the self by material ignorance, causes one to experience the cycle of birth and death."
  • "O intelligent lady, the soul never undergoes contact with or separation from insubstantial, material objects, because the soul is their very origin and illuminator. Thus the soul resembles the sun, which neither comes in contact with nor separates from the sense of sight and what is seen."
  • "Birth and other transformations are undergone by the body but never by the self, just as change occurs for the moon's phases but never for the moon, though the new-moon day may be called the moon's 'death.'"
  • "As a sleeping person perceives himself, the objects of sense enjoyment and the fruits of his acts within the illusion of a dream, so one who is unintelligent undergoes material existence."
  • "Therefore, with transcendental knowledge dispel the grief that is weakening and confounding your mind. Please resume your natural mood, O princess of the pristine smile."

The Syamantaka Incident

When the Syamantaka jewel is stolen and Satrājit is murdered, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma mourn, displaying human-like emotions. Lord Balarāma advises Kṛṣṇa to find the jewel.

Advice to Kṛṣṇa

  • "When Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma heard this news, O King, They exclaimed, 'Alas! This is the greatest tragedy for Us!' Thus imitating the ways of human society, They lamented, Their eyes brimming with tears."
  • "To this Lord Balarāma replied, 'Indeed, Śatadhanvā must have placed the jewel in the care of someone. You should return to Our city and find that person.'"
  • "I wish to visit King Videha, who is most dear to Me. O King, having said this, Lord Balarāma, the beloved descendant of Yadu, entered the city of Mithilā."

Dragging Hastināpura (Asserting Kṛṣṇa's Supremacy)

When Sāmba is arrested by the Kauravas, Lord Balarāma goes to Hastināpura to negotiate his release. The Kauravas, intoxicated with pride, insult Him, claiming the Yadus are inferior. Enraged, Lord Balarāma takes up His plow and threatens to drag their entire city into the Ganges.

The Pride of the Kurus

Lord Balarāma notes that the Kurus are drunk on power and need to be disciplined.

  • "(Lord Balarāma said:) O sinful one disrespecting Me, you do not come when I call you but rather move only by your own whim. Therefore with the tip of My plow I shall bring you here in a hundred streams!"
  • "(Lord Balarāma said:) King Ugrasena is our master and the ruler of kings. With undivided attention you should hear what he has ordered you to do, and then you should do it at once."
  • "(King Ugrasena has said:) Even though by irreligious means several of you defeated a single opponent who follows the religious codes, still I am tolerating this for the sake of unity among family members."
  • "(Lord Balarāma said:) 'Clearly the many passions of these scoundrels have made them so proud that they do not want peace. Then let them be pacified by physical punishment, as animals are with a stick.'"
  • "Ah, only gradually was I able to calm the furious Yadus and Lord Kṛṣṇa, who was also enraged. Desiring peace for these Kauravas, I came here. But they are so dull-headed, fond of quarrel and mischievous by nature that they have repeatedly disrespected Me. Out of conceit they dared to address Me with harsh words!"
  • "Just see how these puffed-up Kurus are intoxicated with their so-called power, like ordinary drunken men! What actual ruler, with the power to command, would tolerate their foolish, nasty words?"
  • "'Today I shall rid the earth of the Kauravas!' declared the furious Balarāma. Thus He took His plow weapon and rose up as if to set the three worlds ablaze."

The Supremacy of Kṛṣṇa

Lord Balarāma delivers a thundering defense of Kṛṣṇa's position as the Supreme Lord, arguing that even the greatest demigods worship the dust of His feet.

  • "King Ugrasena, the lord of the Bhojas, Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, is not fit to command, when Indra and other planetary rulers obey his orders?"
  • "That same Kṛṣṇa who occupies the Sudharmā assembly hall and for His enjoyment took the pārijāta tree from the immortal demigods—that very Kṛṣṇa is indeed not fit to sit on a royal throne?"
  • "The goddess of fortune herself, ruler of the entire universe, worships His feet. And the master of the goddess of fortune does not deserve the paraphernalia of a mortal king?"
  • "The dust of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, which is the source of holiness for all places of pilgrimage, is worshiped by all the great demigods. The principal deities of all planets are engaged in His service, and they consider themselves most fortunate to take the dust of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa on their crowns. Great demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, and even the goddess of fortune and I, are simply parts of His spiritual identity, and we also carefully carry that dust on our heads. And still Kṛṣṇa is not fit to use the royal insignia or even sit on the royal throne?"

Killing Romaharṣaṇa (Hypocrisy)

During His pilgrimage, Lord Balarāma visits Naimiṣāraṇya. Lord Balarāma sees Romaharṣaṇa Sūta sitting on the vyāsāsana without offering respect. Lord Balarāma kills him to demonstrate that knowledge without character is dangerous.

The Danger of Pride

Lord Balarāma explains that a scholar who has not conquered his mind is like an actor playing a part.

  • "(Lord Balarāma said:) Because this fool born from an improperly mixed marriage sits above all these brāhmaṇas and even above Me, the protector of religion, he deserves to die."
  • "Although he is a disciple of the divine sage Vyāsa and has thoroughly learned many scriptures from him, including the lawbooks of religious duties and the epic histories and Purāṇas, all this study has not produced good qualities in him. Rather, his study of the scriptures is like an actor's studying his part, for he is not self-controlled or humble and vainly presumes himself a scholarly authority, though he has failed to conquer his own mind."
  • "The very purpose of My descent into this world is to kill such hypocrites who pretend to be religious. Indeed, they are the most sinful rascals."

Atonement and Compassion

Immediately after the killing, Lord Balarāma humbly asks the sages for atonement, showing His respect for the brāhmaṇas. Lord Balarāma grants the sages' son long life and strength to continue the recitation.

  • "The Personality of Godhead said: I will certainly perform the atonement for this killing, since I wish to show compassion to the people in general. Please, therefore, prescribe for Me whatever ritual is to be done first."
  • "O sages, just say the word, and by My mystic power I shall restore everything you promised him-long life, strength and sensory power."
  • "The Supreme Lord said: The Vedas instruct us that one's own self takes birth again as one's son. Thus let Romaharṣaṇa's son become the speaker of the Purāṇas, and let him be endowed with long life, strong senses and stamina."
  • "Please tell Me your desire, O best of sages, and I shall certainly fulfill it. And, O wise souls, please carefully determine My proper atonement, since I do not know what it might be."

Stopping the Duel (Bhīma vs Duryodhana)

At the end of the Kurukṣetra war, Lord Balarāma attempts to stop the duel between His two disciples, Bhīma and Duryodhana.

  • "(Lord Balarāma said:) King Duryodhana! And Bhīma! Listen! You two warriors are equal in fighting prowess. I know that one of you has greater physical power, while the other is better trained in technique."
  • "Since you are so evenly matched in fighting prowess, I do not see how either of you can win or lose this duel. Therefore please stop this useless battle."

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

This article is a thematic compilation of the teachings presented in the Vaniquotes category Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Lord Balarama. We invite you to visit the link to read the complete collection of verses presented in alphabetical order.

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