Chapter 79 · Class prep
A printable handout for teaching this chapter. For each verse with Personal Guidance, you'll see Prabhupāda's translation, the essence, two or three practical applications, and a discussion prompt. Press ⌘P / Ctrl P to print as a handout.
BG 79.1
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, on the new-moon day, O King, a fierce and frightening wind arose, scattering dust all about and spreading the smell of pus everywhere.
Essence. On the new-moon day, a fierce wind arose scattering dust and the smell of pus. Predictable opposition has a recognizable atmosphere; the wise notice the change in air before the demon appears.
BG 79.2
Next, onto the sacrificial arena came a downpour of abominable things sent by Balvala, after which the demon himself appeared, trident in hand.
Essence. A downpour of abominable things preceded Balvala's trident-wielding appearance. Some opposition arrives with deliberate filth; the strategy is to disgust before defeating.
BG 79.3-4
The immense demon resembled a mass of black carbon. His topknot and beard were like molten copper, and his face had horrible fangs and furrowed eyebrows. Upon seeing him, Lord Balarāma thought of His club, which tears to pieces His enemies’ armies, and His plow weapon, which punishes the demons. Thus summoned, His two weapons appeared before Him at once.
Essence. Balarāma thought of His club and plow, and they appeared immediately. Tools of righteousness come at the thought of the one trained in them; readiness is the relationship between practitioner and instrument.
BG 79.5
With the tip of His plow Lord Balarāma caught hold of the demon Balvala as he flew through the sky, and with His club the Lord angrily struck that harasser of brāhmaṇas on the head.
Essence. Balarāma caught Balvala mid-flight with His plow and struck him with His club. The mid-air capture shows the Lord's power moves at the speed of attack; we are not waiting for the demon to land.
BG 79.6
Balvala cried out in agony and fell to the ground, his forehead cracked open and gushing blood. He resembled a red mountain struck by a lightning bolt.
Essence. Balvala fell with his forehead cracked, like a red mountain struck by lightning. The image is vivid because the defeat is permanent; we should not be subtle about the end of a long disturbance.
BG 79.7
The exalted sages honored Lord Rāma with sincere prayers and awarded Him infallible blessings. Then they performed His ritual bath, just as the demigods had formally bathed Indra when he killed Vṛtra.
Essence. The sages honored Balarāma with prayers and gave Him a ritual bath, as the demigods did Indra after Vṛtra. Significant victories deserve ritual marking; bathing the victor is part of completing the work.
BG 79.8
They gave Lord Balarāma a Vaijayantī garland of unfading lotuses in which resided the goddess of fortune, and they also gave Him a set of divine garments and jewelry.
Essence. They gave Him a Vaijayantī garland in which Lakṣmī resides, plus divine garments and jewelry. Gratitude expressed in beautiful objects is its own language; the gift carries the giver's reverence.
BG 79.9
Then, given leave by the sages, the Lord went with a contingent of brāhmaṇas to the Kauśikī River, where He bathed. From there He went to the lake from which flows the river Sarayū.
Essence. Given leave by the sages, Balarāma went with brāhmaṇas to the Kauśikī, then to the Sarayū lake. Pilgrimage moves with company; the sages don't send Him alone, and they bless the going.
BG 79.10
The Lord followed the course of the Sarayū until He came to Prayāga, where He bathed and then performed rituals to propitiate the demigods and other living beings. Next He went to the āśrama of Pulaha Ṛṣi.
Essence. Following the Sarayū to Prayāga, Balarāma bathed and worshiped, then visited Pulaha Ṛṣi's āśrama. Sacred rivers and saintly ashrams are both visited; the Lord touches both nature and community.
BG 79.11-15
Lord Balarāma bathed in the Gomatī, Gaṇḍakī and Vipāśā rivers, and also immersed Himself in the Śoṇa. He went to Gayā, where He worshiped His forefathers, and to the mouth of the Ganges, where He performed purifying ablutions. At Mount Mahendra He saw Lord Paraśurāma and offered Him prayers, and then He bathed in the seven branches of the Godāvarī River, and also in the rivers Veṇā, Pampā and Bhīmarathī. Then Lord Balarāma met Lord Skanda and visited Śrī-śaila, the abode of Lord Giriśa. In the southern provinces known as Draviḍa-deśa the Supreme Lord saw the sacred Veṅkaṭa Hill, as well as the cities of Kāmakoṣṇī and Kāñcī, the exalted Kāverī River and the most holy Śrī-raṅga, where Lord Kṛṣṇa has manifested Himself. From there He went to Ṛṣabha Mountain, where Lord Kṛṣṇa also lives, and to the southern Mathurā. Then He came to Setubandha, where the most grievous sins are destroyed.
Essence. Balarāma bathed in Gomatī, Gaṇḍakī, Vipāśā, Śoṇa; worshiped at Gayā even with father alive (on his father's order); met Paraśurāma at Mahendra; bathed in the seven branches of Godāvarī. Sustained pilgrimage builds something a single visit cannot.
BG 79.16-17
There at Setubandha [Rāmeśvaram] Lord Halāyudha gave brāhmaṇas ten thousand cows in charity. He then visited the Kṛtamālā and Tāmraparṇī rivers and the great Malaya Mountains. In the Malaya range Lord Balarāma found Agastya Ṛṣi sitting in meditation. After bowing down to the sage, the Lord offered him prayers and then received blessings from him. Taking leave from Agastya, He proceeded to the shore of the southern ocean, where He saw Goddess Durgā in her form of Kanyā-kumārī.
Essence. At Setubandha, Balarāma gave ten thousand cows; at Malaya He bowed to Agastya, prayed, received blessings. Charity and bowing both mark the pilgrim's path — generosity and humility alternate.
BG 79.18
Next He went to Phālguna-tīrtha and bathed in the sacred Pañcāpsarā Lake, where Lord Viṣṇu had directly manifested Himself. At this place He gave away another ten thousand cows.
Essence. At Phālguna-tīrtha and Pañcāpsarā Lake — places where Viṣṇu had manifested — Balarāma gave another ten thousand cows. Where the Lord has shown Himself, generosity overflows; sacred sites invite proportionate offering.
BG 79.19-21
The Supreme Lord then traveled through the kingdoms of Kerala and Trigarta, visiting Lord Śiva’s sacred city of Gokarṇa, where Lord Dhūrjaṭi [Śiva] directly manifests himself. After also visiting Goddess Pārvatī, who dwells on an island, Lord Balarāma went to the holy district of Śūrpāraka and bathed in the Tāpī, Payoṣṇī and Nirvindhyā rivers. He next entered the Daṇḍaka forest and went to the river Revā, along which the city of Māhiṣmatī is found. Then He bathed at Manu-tīrtha and finally returned to Prabhāsa.
Essence. He visited Kerala, Trigarta, Gokarṇa, Pārvatī's island, Śūrpāraka, Tāpī, Payoṣṇī, Nirvindhyā, the Daṇḍaka forest. Pilgrimage crosses cultures and traditions; the pilgrim honors many sacred ways.
BG 79.22
The Lord heard from some brāhmaṇas how all the kings involved in the battle between the Kurus and Pāṇḍavas had been killed. From this He concluded that the earth was now relieved of her burden.
Essence. From brāhmaṇas, Balarāma heard that the kings of the Kuru-Pāṇḍava war had all been killed; the earth was relieved of her burden. The larger plan was unfolding even while He was on pilgrimage; we are not always at the visible center of the work.
BG 79.23
Wanting to stop the club fight then raging between Bhīma and Duryodhana on the battlefield, Lord Balarāma went to Kurukṣetra.
Essence. Balarāma went to Kurukṣetra to stop the club fight between Bhīma and Duryodhana. Even on pilgrimage, the Lord interrupts His path when a specific situation calls Him; we are responsive, not rigid.
BG 79.24
When Yudhiṣṭhira, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna and the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva saw Lord Balarāma, they offered Him respectful obeisances but said nothing, thinking “What has He come here to tell us?”
Essence. Yudhiṣṭhira, Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, and the twins offered respects silently — wondering what Balarāma had come to say. Sometimes deep respect for someone's mixed loyalties means waiting for them to speak.
BG 79.25
Lord Balarāma found Duryodhana and Bhīma with clubs in their hands, each furiously striving for victory over the other as they circled about skillfully. The Lord addressed them as follows.
Essence. Balarāma found Duryodhana and Bhīma circling skillfully, each striving for victory. He addressed them directly. Skilled opposition deserves direct address; we don't whisper around the fight.
BG 79.26
[Lord Balarāma said:] King Duryodhana! And Bhīma! Listen! You two warriors are equal in fighting prowess. I know that one of you has greater physical power, while the other is better trained in technique.
Essence. 'You two are equal — one in physical power, one in technique.' Balarāma named each one's specific strength as part of his case. Honoring each side's gift is part of stopping a useless fight.
BG 79.27
Since you are so evenly matched in fighting prowess, I do not see how either of you can win or lose this duel. Therefore please stop this useless battle.
Essence. 'You are evenly matched; I see no way for either of you to win. Therefore, stop this useless battle.' Sometimes the wise read says: there is no win here, so put down the weapons.
BG 79.28
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] They did not accept Lord Balarāma’s request, O King, although it was logical, for their mutual enmity was irrevocable. Each of them constantly remembered the insults and injuries he had suffered from the other.
Essence. Neither accepted Balarāma's request — their enmity was irrevocable, each rehearsing the other's insults. When grudges are rehearsed, even logical appeals from a beloved figure cannot stop the fight.
BG 79.29
Concluding that the battle was the arrangement of fate, Lord Balarāma went back to Dvārakā. There He was greeted by Ugrasena and His other relatives, who were all delighted to see Him.
Essence. Concluding the battle was Kṛṣṇa's arrangement, Balarāma returned to Dvārakā, welcomed by family. Sometimes the wise withdraw when their counsel has been refused; further presence would only prolong what cannot be helped.
BG 79.30
Later Lord Balarāma returned to Naimiṣāraṇya, where the sages joyfully engaged Him, the embodiment of all sacrifice, in performing various kinds of Vedic sacrifice. Lord Balarāma was now retired from warfare.
Essence. Balarāma returned to Naimiṣāraṇya, where sages engaged Him — now retired from war — in Vedic sacrifices. After hard work and warfare, the Lord turns to ritual offering. We don't fight forever.
BG 79.31
The all-powerful Lord Balarāma bestowed upon the sages pure spiritual knowledge, by which they could see the whole universe within Him and also see Him pervading everything.
Essence. Balarāma bestowed pure spiritual knowledge — the universe within Him, He pervading everything. The deepest gift of the Lord is the seeing by which we perceive the unity He embodies.
BG 79.32
After executing with His wife the avabhṛtha ablutions, the beautifully dressed and ornamented Lord Balarāma, encircled by His immediate family and other relatives and friends, looked as splendid as the moon surrounded by its effulgent rays.
Essence. After the avabhṛtha with His wife, Balarāma — finely dressed, surrounded by family — shone like the moon among rays. Ritual completion shared with loved ones makes the offering whole.
BG 79.33
Countless other such pastimes were performed by mighty Balarāma, the unlimited and immeasurable Supreme Lord, whose mystic Yoga-māyā power makes Him appear to be a human being.
Essence. Countless other pastimes of Balarāma, whose Yoga-māyā makes Him appear human. The Lord performs more than we record; reverence acknowledges what we cannot enumerate.
BG 79.34
All the activities of the unlimited Lord Balarāma are amazing. Anyone who regularly remembers them at dawn and dusk will become very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Viṣṇu.
Essence. Anyone who regularly remembers Balarāma's activities at dawn and dusk becomes dear to Viṣṇu. The rhythm of dawn-and-dusk remembrance is short to schedule and large in effect.