FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.15.28

బల: ప్రవిశ్య బాహుభ్యాం తాలాన్ సమ్పరికమ్పయన్ । ఫలాని పాతయామాస మతఙ్గజ ఇవౌజసా ॥ ౨౮ ॥
balaḥ praviśya bāhubhyāṁ
[balah pravishya baahubhyaam]
tālān samparikampayan
[taalaan samparikampayan]
phalāni pātayām āsa
[phalaani paatayaam aasa]
mataṅ-gaja ivaujasā
[matan-gaja ivaujasaa]
balaḥ — Balarāma praviśya — entering bāhubhyām — with His two arms tālān — the palm trees samparikampayan — making shake all around phalāni — the fruits pātayām āsa — He made fall matam - gajaḥ — a maddened elephant iva — just as ojasā — by His strength .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
balaḥ praviśya bāhubhyāṁ
balaḥ
Balarāma
praviśya
entering
bāhubhyām
with His two arms
tālān samparikampayan
tālān
the palm trees
samparikampayan
making shake all around
phalāni pātayām āsa
phalāni
the fruits
pātayām āsa
He made fall
matam - gajaḥ
a maddened elephant
mataṅ-gaja ivaujasā
iva
just as
ojasā
by His strength .
  • balaḥ — Balarāma
    Bala — strength personified. Gauḍīya: Balarāma is the source of all strength (bala) in the universe; the universe's bala flows from His. Here the verse uses the bare name balaḥ — He IS strength, in this moment incarnate as a shake.
  • bāhubhyām — with His two arms
    Dual instrumental of bāhu (arm). Two arms — Vraja-form, not four-armed Viṣṇu-form. Gauḍīya: the two-armed cowherd form is Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma's eternal Vraja-rūpa; even when killing demons, They do not need Viṣṇu's four arms.
  • tālān — the palm trees
    Accusative plural of tāla (palm). Gauḍīya note: the tāla tree is famously immovable — it lacks branches, its trunk is straight and rigid. To shake one bare-handed is already extra-ordinary; to shake many at once is overtly īśa-ceṣṭita.
  • matam-gajaḥ — a maddened elephant
    matta (intoxicated) + gaja (elephant). Gauḍīya: the comparison to a mad elephant is Vraja's idiom for unstoppable strength; Balarāma's strength is elephant-class but without the elephant's destructive intent.
  • ojasā — by His strength
    Instrumental of ojas — vital power, vigor. Gauḍīya: ojas in Vedic anatomy is the finest essence of vitality. Balarāma's ojas is sourceless; His arms move the trees with the same casualness with which He breathes.
Lord Balarāma entered the Tāla forest first. Then with His two arms He began forcefully shaking the trees with the power of a maddened elephant, causing the tāla fruits to fall to the ground.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Lord Balarāma entered the Tāla forest first. Then with His two arms He began forcefully shaking the trees with the power of a maddened elephant, causing the tāla fruits to fall to the ground.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Balarāma entered first since he was requested first. Kṛṣṇa took a secondary role in order to glorify Balarāma. Because the trees were clustered together, by shaking one, they all shook. By his will, he made the fruits fall at a distance, not on his head. Or, his two arms became many and simultaneously he shook all the trees everywhere (sam--parikampayan).

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Balarāma went first because he was the elder or out of affection for his younger brother. Or Kṛṣṇa took a secondary role in order to glorify Balarāma. By shaking one tree, all the trees shook since they were close together. Or with his two arms he was able to grab many trees at once. He shook them completely (sam) and everywhere (pari) because he had great power. Or he shook in this way in order to make the fruits everywhere fall all over quickly or with strength (aujasā). He did this like a mad elephant. This indicates that he made them fall easily.

Concepts
Jiva

A maddened elephant entering a fruit grove shakes loose every ripe thing in minutes. Balarāma walks into Tālavana exactly so — bāhubhyām samparikampayan, shaking the palms with His two arms, fruits raining down. The Lord of strength enacts the verb tāla-shake; He alone has the bala to do this without the trees themselves breaking.

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