Shloka 17

भाण्डीरवट-क्रीडा: प्रलम्बासुरवधः, मानुष्यलीला, एक-कारण-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

असहन् रौहिणेयस्य स भारं दानवोत्तमः ववृधे सुमहाकायः प्रावृषीव बलाहकः

Transliteration

asahan rauhiṇeyasya sa bhāraṃ dānavottamaḥ vavṛdhe sumahākāyaḥ prāvṛṣīva balāhakaḥ

Translation

Unable to endure the weight of Rauhiṇeya (Balarāma), that foremost of dānavas swelled into a vast form, like a monsoon cloud rising in the rainy season.

Word by Word

• असहन्: unable to bear
• असहन्: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सह् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नञर्थे ‘अ-’ उपसर्गसदृश नकार (privative) — ‘not bearing’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• रौहिणेयस्य: of Rauhiṇeya (Balarāma)
• रौहिणेयस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रौहिणेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• भारम्: burden, weight
• भारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दानवोत्तमः: the best of demons
• दानवोत्तमः: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय — ‘उत्तमो दानवः’

• ववृधे: grew, swelled
• ववृधे: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृध् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; ‘grew, increased’

• सुमहाकायः: of very huge body
• सुमहाकायः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/उपपद) + महा (प्रातिपदिक) + काय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय/उपपदसमास — ‘अतिमहान् कायः यस्य’ (descriptive)

• प्रावृषा: in the rainy season
• प्रावृषा: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रावृष् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपमान-प्रयोगे

• इव: like
• इव: Upama marker (उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमावाचक

• बलाहकः: a cloud
• बलाहकः: Upameya (Thing compared/उपमेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलाहक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: The Lord’s Vraja descent includes the destruction of asuras who menace the pastoral community, here through Balarāma’s overpowering divine strength.

Leela: Yuddha

Dharma Restored: Removal of violent intrusion into Vraja and reaffirmation that demonic power cannot bear divine presence.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Demonic pride expands under pressure, but it cannot withstand the weight of divine reality (bhagavat-sannidhi).

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: When ego inflates under stress, return to remembrance of the divine and humility; let devotion ‘bear the weight’ that pride cannot.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord and His śakti/associates are not symbolic only; their real presence acts within the world to subdue adharma.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Sakhya

Vyuha Form: Sankarshana

Characters & Entities

• Balarama (Rauhiṇeya)
• Danava (demon, likely Pralamba in context)

FAQs

What is the significance of comparing the demon’s growth to a monsoon cloud in the Vishnu Purana?

The simile conveys sudden, overwhelming expansion and looming menace—yet also implies that such force is seasonal and ultimately governed by a higher order, here embodied by Balarama’s superior power.

How does Sage Parāśara frame the conflict between Balarāma and the Dānava in this verse?

Parāśara emphasizes the demon’s inability to endure Balarāma’s ‘bhāra’ (overbearing might/presence), showing that adharma reacts by inflating itself, but only in response to the incarnate divine force.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Within Book 5’s Krishna narrative, Balarāma functions as a manifestation aligned with Vishnu’s divine order; the verse highlights that demonic power is reactive and subordinate to the Supreme’s governance of the world.