Shloka 16
द्विविद-वधः, यज्ञ-विध्वंस-निवारणम्, बलदेव-पराक्रम-समाहारः
ततः समुत्थाय बलो जगृहे मुसलं रुषा सो ऽपि शैलशिलां भीमां जग्राह प्लवगोत्तमः
tataḥ samutthāya balo jagṛhe musalaṃ ruṣā so 'pi śailaśilāṃ bhīmāṃ jagrāha plavagottamaḥ
Then Balarāma sprang up and, in wrath, seized his mace; and the foremost of the monkey-heroes, in turn, grasped a fearsome crag—an enormous slab of mountain-stone.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
FAQs
In this verse the musala functions as Balarāma’s emblem of irresistible strength and the enforcement of order—heroic power mobilized to subdue disruptive forces.
Parāśara narrates it as a rapid, reciprocal arming: Balarāma rises in anger and takes up his mace, while the vanara-hero counters by lifting a massive mountain-rock, intensifying the confrontation.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the episode belongs to the Vishnu-centered narrative world where divine sovereignty is expressed through Vishnu’s associates—Balarāma’s decisive action signals the restoration of dharma under that supreme order.