Balarama Goes to Vrindavana

In the sixty fifth chapter, Balarama goes to Vrndavana, associates with his friends and plays with his gopis. Why did Krsna, the great ocean of prema, not go to Vraja? The Yadus thought "The gopis are famous for their outstanding love. His parents have intense love for him. Controlled by their love, how will Krsna give them up and return to us? He is dependent upon his pastimes which increase prema in Vraja." Thus they prevented Krsna from leaving. But Balarama, whose very life was Krsna, could also not give him up and go alone to Vraja. This verse therefore mentions that he had such eagerness (utkanthah) that his discrimination and sense control disappeared.

I praise again and again, Balrama who, though situated in eternal bliss, gave up even Krsna and went to Vraja because of the pain of separation. He was embraced by elder gopis the age of his mother. He greeted his parents, and they greeted him with words of blessing according to their parental love.

"Everywhere we hear that you along with your brother are the lords of the universe. Then why do you not protect your elderly parents?" Saying this first, Nanda and then Yasoda placed him on their lap, kissed him and embraced him with tears in their eyes.

After greeting the elder cowherd men, Balarama was welcomed by the younger men, according to proper order. According to age, friendship and relationship, he associated intimately with them with smiles, hand shaking and embraces. Having rested after eating, he again sat down comfortably, and they asked him about his welfare. He, his voice choked with prema for his own cowherd friends, also asked about their welfare. Those cowherd men had completely renounced the carrying out of their daily bodily functions. Since the day that Krsna left, out of their nature, they did not even carry out the functions such as sleeping and eating.

The elder cowherd men asked, "Are our friends the Yadavas well?"

The men of the same age asked, "Do you remember us?"

When the gopis smiled, it was a sign of their unmada, or madness in prema. Otherwise how would it it be possible for such extremely shy girls suffering such intense pain of separation from Krsna, smile in front of Baladeva? Baladeva, comprehending that it was a sign of their mahabhava, gave them great respect, rather than disregarding them. Thus they are described as being worshiped by him (adrtah), by his affectionate glance (rama sandarsana), as he understood that they were the dearmost of his younger brother, and were filled with love for Krsna.

Honored by him, they asked, "Is Krsna happy there?"

Balarama said, "How could he be happy there being separated from you?" They replied, "He has many beautiful women in the city. How could he suffer separation from us village girls? Certainly he must be happy."

"Well, maybe he does not remember us. But does he remember his friends, paternal and maternal relatives, and his mother and father, Yasoda and Nanda or not? We know that the women of the city, more expert in the pastimes of conjugal love than us, are giving him more happiness. But he must remember us for making flower garlands, smearing sandalwood on his body, making fans, beds and canopies of flowers and young leaves.” With that intention they ask, "Does he sometimes remember the services we did for him? We do not know if his strong arms (mahabaho) are still spread with kumkum and unguents with the cessation of his devotion to us."

"But, most beloved gopis, Krsna, full of love for you, always remembers you."

""No, we do not have faith in his love, since he rejected us, who were solely devoted to him." This they express in a verse and a half.

"Though we gave everything up for him, he gave us up immediately and left."

"Why did you let him go then? And why did you not go with him?"

"But he just tore up our bonds of love (sauhrdah) like a blade of grass and left. Tell us what we should have done."

"But because you are maintaining your life without him, you also must have broken your ties of love with him."

"Though we had cut the rope of love, because he said that he would return repeatedly through a messenger, again the knots of love were tied. Because of that, he made the life airs which were leaving the body return."

"But if you believe he will return, then why are you so disturbed?"

"Since he did not come even today, we now consider that whatever he said was false."

"But why did you believe what he said at all?"

"How could unintelligent, straightforward women like us not believe such words from him?"

"I suppose we uncultured women are unintelligent, but how can the city women being very intelligent believe his words?"

That is expressed in this verse. Other gopis speak to bring out the conclusion.

“Though he speaks lies, it is very exciting and astonishing when those words come from his mouth (citra kathasya). Not being able to give up the taste of those talks, they continue to listen. There is also another reason. They are afflicted by love caused and increasing at every moment by his beautiful smiling glances.”

Other gopis, agitated by love in the mood of jealousy, spoke to the gopis who had just spoken.

“Time passes for both him and us, but the difference is that he passes time happily and we pass our time suffering. We are also different from other women because whereas they live in his presence and die in his absence, we neither live nor die. This must be our fate. What can be done about it?"

After piercing the gopis' hearts with the five arrows of his sweet smile, sweet talks, sweet glance, his stance in walking and his embrace, Krsna had disappeared on them. Now should they perhaps just die? Completely distressed, they began to cry right in front of Baladeva.

It should be understood that Krsna sent Baladeva and Uddhava with messages because they were both his friends, without consideration of their other sentiments of servitude (uddhava) and parental love (Baladeva). Krsna sent many messages not one: some were philosophical, some were apologetic and sweet, and some were dignified. These messages were heart felt (hrdayam gamaih) which could not be revealed publicly because of their confidential nature.

Balarama showed his boldness by saying "Dear gopis, I will go to Dvaraka and bring him here even by force. I am not completely dependent on him like Uddhava." In this way he was expert in conciliation (nananuaya kovidah).

Madhu month is caitra and madhava month is vaisakha. Sridhara Swami argues that these gopis with whom Baladeva enjoyed were different from those who enjoyed with Krsna, because they were too young and immature when Krsna performed his rasa lila.

Jiva Goswami says that during the pastime of killing Sankhachuda demon and the holi pastmes, there is specific mention of Balarama's own group of gopis. It was with these gopis that Balarama enjoyed during these two months.

He enjoyed in a garden on the Yamuna which was bright with the rays of the full moon in the form of blooming white lotuses, served by breeze fragrant with lotuses, made to bloom by the moon, at the place know as Rama ghata, far from the place where Krsna performed his rasa lila.

The goddess of liquor, Varuni, was the daughter of Varuna. She was falling forth in streams from a hole in the trunk of a kadamba tree (vrska kothara). According to Hari Vamsa she said to him, "I have been sent before you by my father Varuna."

Sridhara swami says that varuni is a type of liquor that arose along with the nectar of the devas. The varuni made the forest even more fragrant than before.

His face appeared frosty (praleya) with drops of perspiration.

She did not respect his words because she thought that the words of a drunk person had no authority. For this reason she disregarded him and did not come, thinking, "If he calls me, wanting to enjoy in the water, then let him come to me."

Because you did not come being called by me (ahuta), I will divide you into a hundred parts with the tip of my plow.

27.This Yamuna in the form of a river is the wife of the ocean, and is an expansion of Kalindi (the wife of Krsna in Dvaraka), and is not Kalidni personally. Hari Vamsa says, "He replied to the wife of the ocean."

By one of your portions, Sesa , you carry the earth.

You should release me as I was ignorant of your status as Mahasankarsana.

Kanti is particular form of Laksmi. The Visnu Purana says, "Laksmi presented Balarama with a lotus garland which did not fade and a pair of garments blue like the ocean." The authorities say that she is the wife of Sankarsana in the second caturvyuha expansion.

Putting on the clothing and the necklace, and anointed with sandalwood, he looked resplendent like Airavata (varunah).

Yamuna is even today marked with paths made by his dragging his plow.

All the nights passed as if they were one night since each night brought a new experience of joy.