Canto Ten / CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Lord Balarāma Slays the Demon Pralamba

In Chapter Eighteen, of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda comments as follows: “The summer season in India is not very much welcomed because of the excessive heat, but in Vrindāvana everyone was pleased because summer there appeared just like spring.”

This and the following three verses describe how Vrindāvana manifested the features of spring, even during the summer season.

Wanting to encourage Śrī Krishna, some of the cowherd boys openly praised His dancing.

The ācāryas have explained this verse as follows: The word bhramanaih indicates that the boys, pretending they were machines, would sometimes whirl about until they became dizzy. They would also sometimes jump about (langhanaih). The word kshepaih indicates that sometimes they would hurl objects like balls or stones and that sometimes they would grab each other by the arms and throw one another about. Āsphotana means that sometimes they would slap one another’s shoulders or backs, and vikarshanaih indicates they would drag one another about in the midst of their play. By the word niyuddhena arm wrestling and other types of friendly fighting are indicated, and the word kāka-paksha-dharau means that Krishna and Balarāma would sometimes grab the hair on the other boys’ heads in a playful manner.

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains that the word ādyaih, “by other such sports,” indicates such games as chasing one another and building bridges. Another pastime would occur at noon, while Lord Krishna was taking rest. Nearby, the young cowherd girls would be passing by, singing, and Krishna’s boyfriends would pretend to inquire from them about the price of milk. Then the boys would steal yogurt and other items from them and run away. Krishna, Balarāma and Their friends would also play games in which they would cross the river in boats.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura further explains that the boys would play with fruits by throwing a few in the air and then throwing others to try to hit them. The word netra-bandha indicates a game in which one boy would approach a blindfolded boy from behind and place his palms over the blindfolded boy’s eyes. Then, simply by the feel of his palms, the blindfolded boy would have to guess who the other boy was. In all such games the boys put up stakes for the winner, such as flutes or walking sticks. Sometimes the boys would imitate the various fighting methods of the forest animals, and at other times they would chirp like birds.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura explains the word nripa-ceshtayā as follows: In Vrindāvana there was a particular place on the riverbank where people who wanted to cross the Yamunā would pay a small tax. At times the cowherd boys would assemble in this area and prevent the young girls of Vrindāvana from crossing the river, insisting that they had to pay a customs duty first. Such activities were full of joking and laughter.

Having described how Krishna and Balarāma acted just like ordinary boys, Śukadeva Gosvāmī will now reveal one of the Lord’s transcendental pastimes that is beyond the range of human activity. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura, the demon Pralamba disguised himself as a particular cowherd boy who on that day had remained at home with duties to perform.

The word yathā-yatham means that Krishna naturally wanted the two teams to be evenly matched so that there would be a good game. In addition to the pleasure of sporting, the purpose of the game was to kill the demon Pralamba.

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī quotes the following relevant verse from the Vishnu Purāna (5.9.12):

“They then played the childhood game known as harinākrīdanam, in which each boy paired off with an opponent and all the boys simultaneously attacked their respective rivals.”

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī quotes the following verses from Śrī Harivamśa (Vishnu-parva 11.18-22), which describe the banyan tree:

“They saw that best of all trees, which had many long branches. With its dense covering of leaves, it resembled a cloud sitting on the earth. Indeed, its form was so large that it appeared like a mountain covering half the sky. Many birds with charming blue wings frequented that great tree, whose dense fruits and leaves made it seem like a cloud accompanied by a rainbow or like a house decorated with creepers and flowers. It spread its broad roots downward and carried upon itself the sanctified clouds. That banyan tree was like the lordly master of all other trees in that vicinity, as it performed the all-auspicious functions of warding off the rain and the heat of the sun. Such was the appearance of that nyagrodha tree known as Bhāndīra, which seemed just like the peak of a great mountain.”

One may ask how Bhagavān, the Supreme Lord, can be defeated by His boyfriends. The answer is that in His original form, God has a most playful nature and occasionally enjoys submitting to the strength or desire of His loving friends. A father may sometimes playfully fall down on the ground when struck by his beloved little child. These acts of love give pleasure to all parties. Thus Śrīdāmā agreed to ride on Lord Krishna’s shoulders to please his beloved friend, who happened to be Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Pralamba wanted to carry Balarāma out of Lord Krishna’s sight so that he could cruelly attack Him.

Here the demon Pralamba is compared to a cloud, his golden ornaments to lightning within that cloud, and Lord Balarāma to the moon shining through it. Great demons can assume various forms by exerting their mystic power, but when the Lord’s spiritual potency curtails their power, they can no longer maintain an artificial form and must again manifest their actual, demoniac body. Lord Balarāma suddenly became as heavy as a great mountain, and although the demon tried to carry Him high on his shoulders, he could not go on.

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains Lord Baladeva’s so-called fear as follows: Balarāma was playfully acting out the role of an ordinary cowherd boy, and to maintain the mood of this pastime He appeared slightly disturbed by the horrible demoniac body. Also because the demon had appeared as a cowherd boyfriend of Krishna’s and because Krishna had accepted him as a friend, Baladeva was slightly apprehensive about killing him. Balarāma could also have been worried that since this cowherd boy was actually a demon in disguise, at that very moment another such demon might have been attacking Lord Krishna Himself. Thus the omniscient and omnipotent Supreme Lord Balarāma exhibited the pastime of becoming slightly nervous in the presence of the horrible demon Pralamba.

Lord Balarāma’s powerful fist came crashing down upon the demon’s head, just as a huge lightning bolt comes crashing into a mountain, cracking its stone surface into pieces. The words vihāya sārtham iva may also be divided vihāyasā artham iva, meaning that the demon was flying in the sky on the cosmic path, vihāyas, with the purpose of carrying off Balarāma, who was his artham, or object of pursuit.