Shloka 36

अक्रूर-सत्कारः, मथुरायात्रा-विरहः, यमुनातटे दिव्यदर्शनम्, चतुर्व्यूह-नमस्कारः

Devanagari script

फणासहस्रमालाढ्यं बलभद्रं ददर्श सः कुन्दामलाङ्गम् उन्निद्रपद्मपत्रारुणेक्षणम्

Transliteration

phaṇāsahasramālāḍhyaṃ balabhadraṃ dadarśa saḥ kundāmalāṅgam unnidrapadmapatrāruṇekṣaṇam

Translation

He beheld Balabhadra, adorned with a garland of a thousand serpent-hoods—his body spotless and radiant like jasmine, and his eyes tinged red like the petals of a fully blossomed lotus.

Word by Word

• फणासहस्रमालाढ्यम्: adorned with a garland of a thousand serpent-hoods
• फणासहस्रमालाढ्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: फणा (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + माला (प्रातिपदिक) + आढ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative: 'adorned with a garland of a thousand hoods'), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifier) बलभद्रम्

• बलभद्रम्: Balabhadra (Balarāma)
• बलभद्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलभद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ददर्श: saw
• ददर्श: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-शब्द, पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• कुन्दामलाङ्गम्: with spotless limbs like jasmine
• कुन्दामलाङ्गम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + अमल (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (descriptive: 'limbs pure/white like jasmine'), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण बलभद्रम्

• उन्निद्रपद्मपत्रारुणेक्षणम्: having eyes reddish like petals of a fully-blown lotus
• उन्निद्रपद्मपत्रारुणेक्षणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उन्निद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + पद्म (प्रातिपदिक) + पत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अरुण (प्रातिपदिक) + ईक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्रधान समास (descriptive determinative: 'eyes reddish like petals of fully-blown lotus'), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण बलभद्रम्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Through Akrūra’s vision, the Lord discloses His divine associates and powers, revealing Balarāma as the manifest might sustaining the world-order.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: Revelation of divine sovereignty and the śeṣa/saṅkarṣaṇa principle that upholds cosmic stability.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord’s supreme reality is approachable through darśana granted to the purified mind, where His powers (śakti) and attendants become visible.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Cultivate inner purity and steady attention; treat sacred places and daily practice as occasions for deeper remembrance rather than mere routine.

Vishishtadvaita: Balarāma’s splendor as ‘sovereign power made visible’ aligns with the doctrine of the Lord’s inseparable śaktis and the vyūha principle (Saṅkarṣaṇa) within a personal Brahman.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Vyuha Form: Sankarshana

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Balabhadra (Balarama)
• Ananta/Shesha (implied by serpent-hoods)

FAQs

What is the significance of the “thousand serpent-hoods” imagery in the Vishnu Purana?

It signals Balabhadra’s association with Ananta/Śeṣa, the cosmic serpent who upholds the order of the universe, emphasizing divine sovereignty expressed through avatāra form.

How does Sage Parāśara explain divine recognition in the Krishna–Balarama narrative?

Through vivid marks (purity, lotus-like eyes, serpent symbolism), Parāśara frames recognition not as ordinary seeing but as perceiving the divine presence and its cosmic role within history.

What is the theological importance of Balabhadra in this context?

Balabhadra is presented as a manifest power of the Supreme (Vishnu), bearing cosmic symbolism (Śeṣa) while acting within the human narrative—linking transcendence with worldly līlā.