View source for Balarama

==Legend==
[[File:Krishna meets parents.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Krishna]] and Balarama meet their parents. 19th-century painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]]]]
Balarama was the son of [[Vasudeva]]. The evil king [[Kamsa]], the tyrant of [[Mathura]], was intent upon killing the children of his cousin, [[Devaki]], because of a prophecy that he would die at the hands of her eighth child.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalal |first=Roshen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrk0AwAAQBAJ&dq=kamsa+cousin+devaki&pg=PT632 |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |date=2014-04-18 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-81-8475-277-9 |pages=632 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Harivamsa|Harivamsha]] states that Kamsa went on to murder the first six children of the imprisoned Devaki by smashing the newborns against a stone floor.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U26fDwAAQBAJ&dq=kamsa+smashed+newborns&pg=PA156 |title=Krishna's Lineage: The Harivamsha of Vyasa's Mahabharata |date=2019-07-02 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-027919-6 |pages=156 |language=en}}</ref> When Balarama was conceived, Vishnu intervened, state the Hindu legends; his embryo was transferred from Devaki's womb into the womb of [[Rohini Devi|Rohini]], Vasudeva's first wife.<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p82"/><ref name="JonesRyan2006p65"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Kenneth W. Morgan|title=The Religion of the Hindus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ulz9mO9cK54C&pg=PA55|year=1987|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0387-9|page=406}}</ref> In some texts, this transfer gives Balarama the epithet ''Sankarshana'' (one who was dragged away). Balarama grew up with his younger brother Krishna with his foster-parents, in the household of the head of cowherds [[Nanda (mythology)|Nanda]], and his wife, [[Yashoda]].<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p82"/> The chapter 10 of the Bhagavata Purana describes it as follows:

{{Blockquote|
The Bhagavan as the [[Atman (Hinduism)|Self]] of everything tells the creative power of His unified consciousness (yogamaya) about His plan for His own birth as Balarama and Krishna. He begins with Balarama. The whole of Shesha, which is my abode, will become an embryo in Devaki's womb which you shall transplant to Rohini's womb.
|''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'' 10.2.8|Tr: D Dennis Hudson<ref name="Hudson2008p34">{{cite book|author=D Dennis Hudson|title= The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IMCxbOezDi4C |year=2008| publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0-19-970902-1|pages=34–35}}</ref>}}

He was named Rama, but because of his great strength, he was called Balarama, Baladeva, or Balabhadra, meaning ''Strong Rama''. He was born on [[Shraavana]] [[Purnima (day)|Purnima]], which coincides with the occasion of [[Raksha Bandhan]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Verma |first=Manish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4gzFFLdBoYC&dq=shravan+purnima+raksha+bandhan&pg=PA40 |title=Fasts and Festivals of India |date=2013 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. |isbn=978-81-7182-076-4 |pages=40 |language=en}}</ref>

===Childhood and marriage===
[[File:Krishna and Balarama Studying with the Brahman Sandipani (1525-1550 CE).jpg|thumb|''[[Krishna]] and Balarama Studying with the Brahman [[Sandipani]]'' (''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'', 1525-1550 CE print).]]
[[File:Balarama with Consort LACMA AC1999.127.33.jpg|thumb|Balarama with his consort Revati (right), [[Nathdwara Painting]].]]

One day, Nanda requested the presence of Sage [[Gargamuni]], his priest, to name the newborn [[Krishna]] and Balarama. When the Garga arrived, Nanda received him well and requested the naming ceremony. Gargamuni then reminded Nanda that Kamsa was looking for the son of Devaki and if he performed the ceremony in opulence, it would come to his attention. Nanda, therefore, asked Garga to perform the ceremony in secret and Garga did so:

{{blockquote|Because Balarama, the son of Rohini, increases the [[transcendence (religion)|transcendental]] bliss of others, his name is Rama and because of his extraordinary strength, he is called Baladeva. He attracts the Yadus to follow his instructions and therefore his name is Sankarshana.|Bhagavata Purana, 10.8.12<ref>{{cite web |title=ŚB 10.8.12 |url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/8/12/ |website=vedabase.io |access-date=3 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref>}}

{{blockquote|When his elder brother, fatigued from playing, would lie down with his head upon the lap of a cowherd boy, Lord Kṛiṣṇa would help him relax by personally massaging his feet and offering other services|source=Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter 15, Verse 14<ref>{{cite web |title=ŚB 10.15.14 |url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/15/14/ |website=vedabase.io |access-date=24 February 2020 |language=en}}</ref>}}
Balarama spent his childhood as a cow herder with his brother Krishna. He killed [[Dhenuka]], an [[Asura (Hinduism)|asura]] sent by Kamsa, as well as [[Pralamba]] and Mushtika wrestlers sent by the king. When Krishna was killing Kamsa, Balarama slew his mighty commander, [[List of characters in the Mahabharata#Kaalvakra|Kalavakra]]. After the evil king was slain, Balarama and Krishna went to the ashrama of sage [[Sandipani]] at [[Ujjain]] for their education. Balarama married [[Revati]], the daughter of King [[Kakudmi]].<ref name=pargiter135>Pargiter, F.E. (1922, reprint 1972). ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p. 135</ref> He had two sons - Nishatha and Ulmuka, and a daughter - Shashirekha also known as Vatsala.

Balarama is the celebrated tiller, one of the embodiments of agriculture along with livestock with whom Krishna is associated with. The plough is Balarama's weapon. In the ''Bhagavata Purana'', he uses it to fight asuras, dig a way for [[Yamuna]] river to bring it closer to [[Vrindavan]], and he also availed it to drag the entire capital of [[Hastinapura]] into the Ganga river.<ref name="Hudson2008p99">{{cite book|author=D Dennis Hudson|title=The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMCxbOezDi4C |year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-970902-1|pages=97–101}}</ref>

===Kurukshetra War ===

Balarama taught both [[Duryodhana]] of the Kauravas and [[Bhima]] of the Pandavas the art of war with a [[Gada (mace)|mace]]. When war broke between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Balarama carried obligations for both sides and so remained neutral. He went for a pilgrimage with his nephew [[Pradyumna]] and other [[Yadava|Yadavas]] during the war, and returned on the last day, to watch the fight between his disciples. When Bhima defeated Duryodhana by striking him in the thigh with his mace, a traditional violation of the rules of combat, Balarama threatened to kill Bhima. This was prevented when Krishna reminded Balarama of Bhima's vow—to kill Duryodhana by crushing the thigh he had exposed to Bhima's wife, [[Draupadi]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Varkey|first=C.P.|title=A Pilgrimage Through The Mahabharata|year=2001|publisher=St. Paul Society|location=Mumbai|isbn=81-7109-497-X|pages=148–149}}</ref>

===Disappearance===

In the [[Bhagavata Purana]], it is described that after Balarama took part in the battle causing the destruction of the remainder of the [[Yadu dynasty]] and witnessing the disappearance of Krishna, he sat down in a meditative state and departed from this world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/11/30/26/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070326075600/http://vedabase.net/sb/11/30/26/en1|url-status=dead|title=ŚB 11.30.26|archive-date=26 March 2007|website=vedabase.io}}</ref>

Some scriptures describe a great white snake that left the mouth of Balarama, in reference to his identity as Ananta-[[Sesha]], a form of Vishnu. The place where he departed is situated near [[Somnath Temple]] in [[Gujarat]].

The local people of [[Veraval]] believe about the cave near the temple place, that the white snake who came out of Balarama's mouth got into that cave and went back to [[Patala]]''.''

===Significance===

In Hindu tradition, Balarama is depicted as a farmer's patron deity, signifying the one who is "harbinger of knowledge", of agricultural tools and prosperity.<ref name="Vemsani2016p23">{{cite book|author=Lavanya Vemsani |title=Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4fw2DAAAQBAJ |year= 2016|publisher =ABC-CLIO|isbn= 978-1-61069-211-3|pages= 23–25}}</ref> He is almost always shown and described with Krishna, such as in the act of stealing butter, playing childhood pranks, complaining to Yashoda that his baby brother Krishna had eaten dirt, playing in cow sheds, studying together at the school of [[guru]] [[Sandipani]], and fighting malevolent beasts sent by Kamsa to kill the two brothers.<ref name="Vemsani2016p23"/> He is the constant companion of Krishna, ever watchful, leading to the epithet ''"Luk Luk Dauji"'' (or ''Luk Luk Daubaba'') in the [[Pushtimarg|Pustimarga]] tradition of [[Vaishnavism]].<ref name="Vemsani2016p23"/><ref>{{cite book|author=A. Whitney Sanford|editor=Guy L. Beck|title=Alternative Krishnas: Regional And Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8z-v1p2qrwsC&pg=PA91|year=2006|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-6416-8|pages=91–98}}</ref> In the classical Tamil work [[Akanaṉūṟu|Akananuru]], Krishna hides from Balarama when he steals the clothes of the [[Gopi|milkmaids]] while they bathe, suggesting his brother's vigilance.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Padmaja |first=T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pzgaS1wRnl8C&dq=balaramar+tamil&pg=RA1-PA36 |title=Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: History, Art, and Traditions in Tamilnāḍu |date=2002 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-398-4 |pages=35–36 |language=en}}</ref> He is a creative store of knowledge for the agriculturists: the knowledge that dug a water channel to bring Yamuna water to Vrindavan; that restored groves, farms and forests; that produced goods and drinks.<ref name="Vemsani2016p23"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Lavanya Vemsani|title=Hindu and Jain Mythology of Balarāma: Change and Continuity in an Early Indian Cult|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RXnXAAAAMAAJ|year=2006|location=[[Lewiston, New York]]|publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]]|isbn=978-0-7734-5723-2|pages=64–66, 94–100, 116–125}}</ref>

In Hindu texts, Balarama almost always supports Krishna in form and spirit. However, there are occasions where the dialogues between Balarama and Krishna present different viewpoints, with Krishna's wisdom establishing him to be the ultimate divinity.<ref name="Vemsani2016p23"/> Balarama's constant symbolic association with Krishna makes him the protector and supporter of [[dharma]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Lavanya Vemsani |title=Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4fw2DAAAQBAJ  |year=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-211-3|page=26}}</ref>