FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.79.33

ఈద‍ృగ్విధాన్యసఙ్ఖ్యాని బలస్య బలశాలిన: । అనన్తస్యాప్రమేయస్య మాయామర్త్యస్య సన్తి హి ॥ ౩౩ ॥
īdṛg-vidhāny asaṅkhyāni
[eedrig-vidhaany asankhyaani]
balasya bala-śālinaḥ
[balasya bala-shaalinah]
anantasyāprameyasya
[anantasyaaprameyasya]
māyā-martyasya santi hi
[maayaa-martyasya santi hi]
īdṛk - vidhāni — of this sort asaṅkhyāni — uncountable balasya — of Lord Balarāma bala - śālinaḥ — mighty anantasya — unlimited aprameyasya — immeasurable māyā — by His illusory energy martyasya — who appears as if a mortal santi — there are hi — indeed .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
īdṛg-vidhāny asaṅkhyāni
īdṛk - vidhāni
of this sort
asaṅkhyāni
uncountable
balasya bala-śālinaḥ
balasya
of Lord Balarāma
bala - śālinaḥ
mighty
anantasyāprameyasya
anantasya
unlimited
aprameyasya
immeasurable
māyā-martyasya santi hi
māyā
by His illusory energy
martyasya
who appears as if a mortal
santi
there are
hi
indeed .
  • anantasya — of the unlimited
    Genitive of Ananta — Balarāma is Ananta-deva, the thousand-hooded serpent on whom Viṣṇu reclines. The epithet quietly identifies Saṅkarṣaṇa with His own bed: the support of the cosmos and the brother of Kṛṣṇa are one Person.
  • māyā-martyasya — who appears as a mortal by His illusory potency
    Compound: māyā (illusory power) + martya (mortal). The classical Gauḍīya formula for the avatāra's appearance — Bhagavān seems martya only because His own yogamāyā lets Him. Realists can mistake Him for human; bhaktas see through māyā to the Person behind it.
  • aprameyasya — of the immeasurable
    From a (not) + pra + √mā, 'unable to be measured.' Balarāma cannot be weighed by intellect, ritual or category. The verse pre-empts the reader's temptation to summarize what they have just read — 'these are only some of His līlās.'
  • bala-śālinaḥ — of the mighty
    Compound: bala (strength) + śālin (possessing). A play on His name — Balarāma is bala-śālī because bala is in His very name. Gauḍīyas note that His name means both 'He whose strength gives delight' and 'the personification of bala' — He is strength taking pleasure in itself.
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.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Countless other such pastimes were performed by mighty Balarāma, the unlimited and immeasurable Supreme Lord, whose mystic Yogamāyā power makes Him appear to be a human being.
Commentary

There are many stories about Balarama whose human form was his svarupa (maya martyasya). Svarupa can be equated with the word maya because the sruti says, " the lord is endowed with his eternal energy called maya arising from his svarupa."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Like this, Balarāṁa performed unlimited other activities since he was endowed with great prowess (bala-śālinaḥ), he was completely continuous ( and therefore could perform unlimited activities), he had inconceivable powers (aprameyasya), which made the activities astonishing, and he had a spiritual form of a human being endowed with great mercy (māyā), which made everything most sweet. The cause of all of this was that he was the strongest (balaḥ) of all. The descriptive terms are successively superior. This was certain (hi). Proof was not necessary.

Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomShanti (Peace / Tranquility)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
Concepts
Yoga

The chapter pauses to breathe: 'there are countless such pastimes of Balarāma, the unlimited, the immeasurable, who by Māyā appears to be a mortal.' Everything just told is a single bead drawn from an endless string. The Saṅkarṣaṇa who supports infinite universes contracts His infinity into a Yadu prince — but the contraction is a courtesy, not a diminution; the chapter we just read is a sliver of His unbounded conduct.

📝 My note

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