Shloka 20

Balarāma Visits Vraja: Consoling the Gopīs and Dragging the Yamunā

Devanagari script

तं गन्धं मधुधाराया वायुनोपहृतं बल: । आघ्रायोपगतस्तत्र ललनाभि: समं पपौ ॥ २० ॥

Transliteration

taṁ gandhaṁ madhu-dhārāyā vāyunopahṛtaṁ balaḥ āghrāyopagatas tatra lalanābhiḥ samaṁ papau

Translation

The wind carried to Balarāma the fragrance of that sweet, flowing liquor. Smelling it, He went there and drank together with His female companions.

Synonyms

• tam: that
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally with gandham

• gandham: fragrance
• gandham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• madhu-dhārāyāḥ: of the stream of liquor/mead
• madhu-dhārāyāḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhu (प्रातिपदिक) + dhārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; समासः: मधोः धारा

• vāyunā: by the wind
• vāyunā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• upahṛtam: carried (towards him)
• upahṛtam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upahṛta (कृदन्त; upa-√hṛ हृ)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; past passive participle (क्त) qualifying gandham

• balaḥ: Bala (Balarāma)
• balaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; epithet of Balarāma

• āghrāya: having smelled
• āghrāya: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√ghrā (घ्रा)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्) used as indeclinable: ‘having smelled’

• upagataḥ: having approached
• upagataḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upagata (कृदन्त; upa-√gam गम्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; past active participle (क्त) used adjectivally/predicatively with balaḥ

• tatra: there
• tatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (स्थानवाचक अव्यय)

• lalanābhiḥ: with the women
• lalanābhiḥ: Sahakārī (सहकारी/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lalanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural

• samam: together
• samam: Sahārtha (सहार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adverbial usage (क्रियाविशेषण) meaning ‘together/equally’

• papau: he drank
• papau: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pā (पा)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular

Characters & Entities

• Balarāma (Baladeva)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about Balarama drinking with the gopis in Canto 10?

This verse says that Lord Balarāma, drawn by the wind-borne fragrance of a flowing honey-like stream, approached the spot and drank there together with the young women.

Why did Śukadeva Gosvāmī describe Balarāma approaching the honey stream?

He is narrating Balarāma’s Vraja-style pastimes—how natural features of Vṛndāvana, even a fragrant honey-current, become part of the Lord’s līlā and His intimate social interactions.

Practical application of understanding Krishna and Balarama līlā in modern life?

Approach sacred texts with reverence and proper guidance, seeing the Lord’s pastimes as spiritually purifying narratives that draw the mind toward devotion rather than ordinary enjoyment.