Category:Balarama's Body
Theme Analysis
In the absolute realm, there is no difference between the Supreme Lord and His body; both are entirely composed of eternity, knowledge, and bliss (sac-cid-ānanda). Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Lord Balarāma is the second body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is a svāṁśa expansion, specifically known as a vilāsa-vigraha. This means that Lord Balarāma is identical to Kṛṣṇa in all His supreme potencies. The only distinction between the two brothers is their bodily complexion: Kṛṣṇa exhibits a beautiful, dark blackish hue, while Balarāma possesses a fair, whitish complexion. When standing together, they appear like magnificent mountains of sapphire and silver.
The transcendental nature of Balarāma's body is vividly displayed in His enchanting pastimes in Vṛndāvana. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how the effulgence of Their bodies, combined with the brilliant jewels They wore, acted as a natural light source. When the young brothers would sneak into dark rooms to steal butter and yogurt, the elder gopīs noted that They needed no lamps because Their bodies naturally brightened the entire space. Whether They were smeared with fragrant sandalwood pulp by Kubjā in Mathurā or covered in muddy clay from crawling in the courtyards of Nanda Mahārāja, the bodily features of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma remained irresistibly attractive to all the residents of Vraja.
Despite His exquisite beauty, Lord Balarāma's body possesses unlimited, invincible strength. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that His form is not subjected to material fragility. During His fierce battle with the great ape demon Dvivida, massive trees and large boulders were hurled like rainfall against Balarāma's body. Yet, in a great sporting mood, the Lord simply shattered them to pebbles. Ultimately, His body is the supreme shelter of the goddess of fortune, and even the highest demigods shower flowers upon His transcendental form in awe and reverence.
- The First Expansion: Lord Balarāma is Kṛṣṇa's second body, differing only in His fair whitish complexion compared to Kṛṣṇa's dark hue.
- Completely Transcendental: The Lord's body is entirely spiritual and distinct from the material elements, a fact recognized by pure devotees like Akrūra.
- Luminous Beauty: The effulgence of Balarāma's body and His jeweled ornaments literally illuminated dark rooms during His childhood pastimes in Vṛndāvana.
- Supreme Strength: Despite His beautiful features, Balarāma's body possesses unlimited power, effortlessly withstanding and smashing the massive weapons of demons like Dvivida.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Balarāma's Body - The Transcendental Form of the First Expansion.
Pages in category "Balarama's Body"
The following 29 pages are in this category, out of 29 total.
A
- Akrura continued, "Less intelligent men misunderstand Your transcendental form to be made of material energy. But that concept is not at all applicable to You (Krsna & Balarama). You are all-spiritual, & there is no difference between You & Your body"
- All the demigods in the heavenly planets became very satisfied and showered flowers on the transcendental body of Balarama, and they also offered their blessings and congratulations for His having killed the great demon Pralambasura
B
- Balarama is a svamsa expansion of the Lord, and therefore there is no difference in potency between Krsna and Balarama. The only difference is in Their bodily structure
- Being captivated by the beautiful features of Krsna & Balarama, Their talking, Their smiling, Their glancing & Their other activities, the hunchbacked woman began to smear all the pulp of sandalwood over Their bodies with great satisfaction and devotion
- Both (Krsna and Balarama) were the shelter of the goddess of fortune. They had well-constructed bodies, beautiful hands and pleasing faces, and They were as strong as elephants
H
- He (Dvivida) became captivated by the beauty of Balarama's body, whose every feature was very beautiful, decorated as He was with a garland of lotus flowers. Similarly, all the young girls present, dressed & garlanded with flowers, exhibited much beauty
- His (Balarama's) bodily features became so much agitated that it was difficult for anyone to look at Him. He laughed very loudly
I
- If Balarama was not transferred from one body to another, how is it possible that He was first in the womb of Devaki and then in the womb of Rohini? Kindly explain this to me - King Pariksit - SB 10.1.8
- If we (the elder gopis) keep our stock of yogurt, butter and milk in a solitary dark place, your Krsna and Balarama find it in the darkness by the glaring effulgence of the ornaments and jewels on Their bodies
S
- Since the gorilla was very angry, he took another tree in his hands and struck Lord Balarama's body. Again Lord Balarama tore the tree to pieces, and the fighting continued
- Sometimes Krsna would take a palm fan and fan the body of Balarama, causing a pleasing breeze to relieve Him of His fatigue. Other boys would sometimes dance or sing while Balarama took rest, and sometimes they would wrestle amongst themselves or jump
T
- The Balarama feature is as good as Krsna Himself, the only difference being that Krsna's bodily hue is blackish and Balarama's is whitish
- The Balarama feature is as good as Krsna Himself, the only difference being that the bodily hue of Krsna is dark and that of Balarama is fair
- The elder gopis said, "If They (Krsna and Balarama) cannot reach (the butter and yogurt), They make a hole in the pot. We think therefore that you’d better take all the jeweled ornaments from the bodies of your children"
- The expansions of the Lord (Krsna) who manifest such bodily differences (such as Sri Balarama's bodily color and Sri Narayana's four hands) are known as vilasa-vigrahas
- The first manifestation of the vaibhava feature of Krsna is Sri Balaramaji. Sri Balarama and Krsna have different bodily colors, but otherwise Sri Balarama is equal to Krsna in all respects
- The Kurus said, "Our dear Lord (Balarama), You have appeared on this earth in Your transcendental body just for the maintenance of the cosmic situation. You are above all anger, envy and enmity"
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarama is His second body
- The upper portions of Their (Krsna and Balarama's) bodies were already very attractive, and when the hunchbacked woman smeared Their bodies with sandalwood pulp, They looked even more beautiful
- Their (Krsna and Balarama's) whole bodies became wet from Their ecstatic dancing. This is an instance of fatigue caused by dancing
- Their bodily effulgence the brothers were dissipating all the darkness of the world, as if They were mountains of sapphire & silver. Without hesitating, Akrura immediately got down from his chariot and fell flat, just like a rod, before Krsna & Balarama
- There is no difference between the bodily forms of Sri Krsna and Balarama except that Their bodily colors are different. Similarly, Sri Narayana in Vaikuntha has four hands, whereas Krsna has only two
- These two are one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Lord Balarama is the first bodily expansion of Krsna, and He assists in Lord Krsna's transcendental pastimes
- They (Krsna and Balarama) were actually smeared with saffron and sandalwood pulp by Their mothers, but due to crawling over muddy clay, They would simultaneously smear Their bodies with clay
W
- When no more trees were available, Dvivida took help from the hills and threw large pieces of stone, like rainfall, upon the body of Balarama. Lord Balarama, in a great sporting mood, began to smash those big pieces of stone into mere pebbles
- When the butter and milk were kept in a dark room, Krsna and Balarama would go there and make the place bright with the valuable jewels on Their bodies. On the whole, Krsna and Balarama engaged in stealing butter and milk
- When the Lord manifests His (Krsna's) vilasa expansions they are all somewhat different in their bodily features. Lord Balarama is the first vilasa expansion of Lord Krsna, and the four-handed Narayana forms in Vaikuntha expand from Balarama
- While the elderly gopis go about their household affairs, Krsna and Balarama sometimes go into a dark room, brightening the place with the valuable jewels and ornaments on Their bodies and taking advantage of this light by stealing - SB 10.8.30