Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.68.14-15
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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rāmaḥ
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Lord Balarāma
Balarāma is here called simply Rāma — the elder brother, the protector, an expansion of the Lord Himself. The same divine person who later as Lakṣmaṇa-in-Rāmāyaṇa served Rāma now serves Kṛṣṇa as His elder. Gauḍīya doctrine identifies Balarāma as Saṅkarṣaṇa, the first viṣṇu-tattva expansion.
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kali - mala - apahaḥ
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He who removes the contamination of Kali
An astonishing epithet given to Balarāma here. He is the very destroyer of quarrel; therefore He does not want this Kuru-Vṛṣṇi quarrel even though He has the strength to win it. The epithet predicts the chapter — He will end the quarrel without permitting a war.
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kalim
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a quarrel
Kali is etymologically 'strife.' The age of Kali is named for the dominance of strife. Balarāma refuses kali between the two families.
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hāstina - puram
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to Hastināpura
The Kuru capital — the city that by verse 41 He will tear from the earth. He goes there first as guest and elder; only when guest-status is dishonored will the plough rise.
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āditya - varcasā
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with effulgence like the sun
Balarāma's chariot blazes like the sun, He Himself surrounded by brāhmaṇas and elders like the moon by planets. The double simile (sun and moon together) signals that He arrives in full majesty, not as a petitioner.
Having pacified the Vrsnis, Balarama then went to Hastinapura, surrounded by brahmanas and elders, because he did not want a quarrel between the Kauravas and Vrsnis.
16, With a desire to know the intentions of Dhrtarastra, Balarama sent Uddhava.
The Kurus and the Vṛṣṇis were related through the marriage of Kuntī (a Vṛṣṇi married to a Kuru) and Rohiṇī (a Kuru married to a Vṛṣṇi). Balarāma did not want a quarrel between them since he was the remover of quarrel prominent in Kali-yuga. Or he was the destroyer of Duryodhana’s (Kali personified) pride (mala). But he did not want to kill him because of his merciful nature. This showed the difficulty in uprooting the fault of hatred towards the Lord and his devotees, even by the Lord himself.
He pacified Ugrasena and others, best of the Vṛṣṇis. He did not want a quarrel because he was the destroyer of quarrels and other faults in Kali-yuga. He discouraged them from going out of affection for his pupil Duryodhana. He gave pleasure to the Kurus and the Vṛṣṇis. Balarāma’s chariot moved fast like the sun. He arrived immediately. He was surrounded by brāhmaṇas, who would make the fools come to their senses. This also indicates that he did not desire to fight.
When the elder brother sees his younger relatives drawing swords against cousins, he steps between with the dignity of the sun beside the moon — Balarāma calming the Yadu fire, then driving His chariot toward Hastināpura not for war but for peace.
Throughout the Mahābhārata Balarāma plays the role of the elder who refuses partisanship. He taught both Bhīma and Duryodhana the gadā. When the great war was about to begin, He withdrew on pilgrimage rather than take a side (Mbh, Śalya-parva).
Here in Canto 10 we see the same character at its early best — not the warrior eager for blood, but the elder who wants Kuru and Vṛṣṇi to remain kin. Only when peace is refused will the plough come out.
My note
Source: vedabase.io