Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.79.6
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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nirbhinna-lalāṭaḥ
—
his forehead cracked open
Compound: nirbhinna (split apart) + lalāṭa (forehead). The forehead is the seat of the tilaka, the mark of allegiance — a brāhmaṇa-tormentor's lalāṭa never bore Viṣṇu's mark and is now split open by Viṣṇu's brother.
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vajra-hataḥ
—
struck by a lightning bolt
Compound: vajra (Indra's thunderbolt) + hata (struck). The simile pulls the next verse with it — verse 7 will compare Balarāma to Indra after killing Vṛtra. The poet is preparing the abhiṣeka by first painting the kill in Indra's colors.
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ārta-svaram
—
a sound of agony
Compound: ārta (afflicted) + svara (sound). The demon's last utterance is a cry of pain — the opposite of the brāhmaṇas' Vedic mantras that this same arena will soon hear again. Sound, in the Bhāgavatam, is always either kīrtana or its parody.
According to the ācāryas, the demon appeared reddish with blood, like a mountain red with oxide.
Red with blood, he fell like a mountain colored with ore struck by a thunder bolt.
Blood flowed from his forehead in streams (sam—utsṛjan). The example of the lightning is given to indicate that with just one blow the demon with a huge body fell over. When a mountain is struck by lightning, red minerals gush from the mountain like blood. The demon fell over with a loud noise.
- Where do I want a permanent end to a recurring disturbance — and what would lightning-strike clarity require?
- How do I let myself acknowledge a real finish when it comes?
Balvala falls cracked-open like a red hill split by lightning — what looked like a mountain of force collapses in one stroke. Demonic mass always looks unbreakable until Bhagavān's club arrives; then the visible bulk of the asura becomes the visible measure of how thoroughly he has been undone.
My note
Source: vedabase.io