Shloka 31

साम्ब-हरणम्, बलदेवस्य रोषः, हस्तिनापुर-आकर्षणम्

Devanagari script

इत्य् उक्त्वा मदरक्ताक्षः कर्षणाधोमुखं हलम् प्राकारवप्रे विन्यस्य चकर्ष मुसलायुधः

Transliteration

ity uktvā madaraktākṣaḥ karṣaṇādhomukhaṃ halam prākāravapre vinyasya cakarṣa musalāyudhaḥ

Translation

असे बोलून मदाने रक्त झालेल्या नेत्रांचा तो बलवान, हलाची धार खाली करून प्राकाराच्या वप्रावर ठेवून, मुसळ (गदा) धारण करून ते ओढू लागला व तटबंदी फाडू लागला।

Word by Word

इतिthus

उक्त्वाhaving spoken

मदरक्ताक्षःhe whose eyes were red with intoxication

कर्षणाधोमुखम्the plough turned downward for dragging

हलम्the plough

प्राकारवप्रेon the rampart/embankment

विन्यस्यhaving set (it) down

चकर्षhe dragged/pulled

मुसलायुधःhe whose weapon was a club

Speaker

Sage Parashara (narrating to Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Balarama

Hala (plough weapon)

Musala (mace)

Fortress rampart (prākāra-vapra)

FAQs

What is the significance of Balarama’s plough (hala) in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse the hala is not agricultural but sovereign and cosmic: Balarama uses it to physically uproot a city’s defenses, symbolizing divine power that reorders space and society when dharma is resisted.

How does Sage Parashara frame this act within the narrative?

Parashara presents it as a direct continuation of Balarama’s declaration (“having spoken thus”), emphasizing immediate, decisive action—speech followed by world-altering deed—typical of avatara narratives.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Even when the verse names Balarama’s weapons rather than Vishnu explicitly, the Purana’s theology reads such acts as the Supreme Lord’s governance expressed through his manifestations—protecting order by subduing opposition.