English
He witnessed the combat between Dur-yodliana and Bhima, and beheld the foul blow struck by the latter, which made him so indignant that he seized his weapons, and was with difficulty restrained by K?/sh?2-a from falling upon the Pa?i(iavas. He died just before Kr/slw^a, as he sat under a banyan tree in the outskirts of Dwaraka. Another view is held as to the origin of Bala-rama. Accord- ing to this he was an incarnation of the great serpent <S'esha, and when he died the serpent is said to have issued from his mouth. The " wine-loving " Bala-rama (Madhu-priya or Priya-madhu) was as much addicted to wine as his brother K^isliTia was devoted to the fair sex. He was also irascible in temper, and sometimes quarrelled even with K?■^sh?^a : the Pura?zas represent them as having a serious difference about the Syamantaka jewel. He had but one wife, RevatI, daughter of King Raivata, and was faithful to her. By her he had two sons, Msa/fha and Ulmuka. He is represented as of fair complexion, and, as Nlla- vastra, ' clad in a dark-blue vest.' His especial weapons are a club {khetaka or saunanda), the ploughshare (halo), and the pestle (musala), from which he is called Phala and Hala, also Hala- yudha, ' plough-armed ; ' Hala-bh?'it, ' plough-bearer ; ' Langali and Sankarsha/ia, ' ploughman ; ' and Musali, ' pestle-holder. ' As he has a palm for a banner, he is called Tala-dhwaja. Other of his apjDellations are Gupta-chara, ' who goes secretly ;' Kam- pala and Samvartaka. B ALA-RAM A YAiV^A. A di-ama by Raja-5ekhara. It has been printed. BALEYA. A descendant of Bali, a Daitya. BALHI. A northern country, Balkh. Said in the Maha- bharata to be famous for its horses, as Balkh is to the present time. 42 BALHIK AS— BARBARAS. BALHIKAS, BAHLlKAS. "Always associated Avith the people of the north, west, and ultra-Indian provinces, and usnally considered to represent the Bactrians or people of Balkh." — TFilson. BALL A good and virtuous Daitya king. He was son of Yirochana, son of Prahlada, son of HiraTzya-kasipu. His wife was VindhyavalL Through his devotion and penance he defeated Indra, humbled the gods, and extended his authority over the three worlds. The gods appealed to Yishwu for protection, and he be- came manifest in his Dwarf Avatara for the purpose of restrain- ing Bah. This dwarf craved from Bali the boon of three steps of ground, and, ha"vdng obtained it, he stepped over heaven and earth in two strides ; but then, out of respect to Bali's kindness and his grandson Prahlada's virtues, he stopped short, and left to him Patala, the infernal regions. Bali is also called Maha-bali, and his capital was Maha-bali-pura. The germ of the legend of the three steps is found in the itig-veda, where Yishmi is represented as taking three steps over earth, heaven, and the lower regions, typifying perhaps the rising, culmination, and setting of the sun. BALI, BALIIST. The monkey king of Kishkindhya, who was slain by Rama, and whose kingdom was given to his brother Su-griva, the friend and ally of Rama. He was supposed to be the son of Indra, and to have been born from the hair (bdla) of his mother, whence his name. His wife's name was Tara, and his sons Angada and Tara. BAiVA. A Daitya, eldest son of Bali, who had a thousand arms. He was a friend of Siva and enemy of Vishmi. His daughter tJsha fell in love with Aniruddha, the grandson of KnshTia, and had him conveyed to her by magic art. K?'/sh7ia, Bala-rama, and Pradyumna went to the rescue, and were resisted by Bawa, who was assisted by Siva and Skanda, god of war. S'lYB, was overpowered by Krishna ; Skanda was wounded ; and the many arms of Bawa were cut off by the missile weapons of Kn'shwa. iS'iva then interceded for the life of Bawa, and K?"islma granted it. He is called also Vairochi. BANGA. Bengal, but not in the modern application. In ancient times Banga meant the districts north of the Bhagirathi — Jessore, Krishwagar, &c. See Anu. BARBARAS. Name of a people. " The analogy to * bar- barians ' is not in sound onlv, but in all the authorities these are BARHISHADS—BHAGA VAD-GITA. 43 classed with borderers and foreigners and nations not Hindu." ■ — JVilson. BAEHISHADS. A class of Pitrfs, wlio, wlien alive, kept np the household flame, and presented ofl'erings with fire. Some authorities identify them with the months. Their dwelling is Vaibhraja-loka. See Pit?-2*s. BAUDHAYANA. A writer on Dharma-sastra or law. He was also the author of a Siitra work. BHADRA. Wife of Utathya (q.v.). BHADRACHARU. A son of K?'isliwa and RukminL BHADRA-KALl. Name of a goddess. In modern times it applies to Durga. BHADRA/S'WA. i. A region lying to the east of Meru. 2. A celebrated horse, son of UchchaiA-sravas. BHAGA. A deity mentioned in the Yedas, but of very indistinct personality and powers. He is supposed to bestow wealth and to preside over marriage, and he is classed among the Adityas and Yiswedevas. BHAGA-NETRA-GHNA (or -HAN). ' Destroyer of the eyes of Bhaga.' An appellation of ^S'iva. BHAGAYAD-GiTA. 'The song of the Divine One.' A celebrated episode of the Maha-bharata, in the form of a metrical dialogue, in which the divine Kr/shwa is the chief speaker, and expounds to Arjuna his philosophical doctrines. The author of the work is unknown, but he " was probably a Brahman, and nominally a Yaishwava, but really a philosopher and thinker, whose mind was cast in a broad mould." This poem has been interpolated in the Maha-bharata, for it is of much later date than the body of that epic ; it is later also than the six Dar^awas or philosophical schools, for it has received insjjiration from them all, especially from the Sankhya, Yoga, and Yedanta. The second or third century a.d. has been pro]30sed as the probable time of its appearance. Krishwa, as a god, is a manifestation of Yish?iu ; but in this song, and in other places, he is held to be the supreme being. As man, he was related to both the Pa?z<:?avas and the Kauravas, and in the great war between these two families he refused to take up arms on either side. But he consented to act as the Paw^ava Arjuna's charioteer. AVlien the opposing hosts were drawn up in array against each other, Arjuna, touched with compunction for the approaching slaughter 44 BHAGAVAD-GIIA—BHAGAVATA PUR ANA. of kindred and friends, appeals to KWsliTia for guidance. This gives the occasion for the philosophical teaching. " The poem is divided into three sections, each containing six chapters, the philosophical teaching in each being somewhat distinct," bnt "undoubtedly the main design of the poem, the sentiments expressed in which have exerted a powerful influence throughout India for the last 1600 j^ears, is to inculcate the doctrine of Bhakti (faith), and to exalt the duties of caste above all other obligations, including those of friendship and kindred." So Arjuna is told to do his duty as a soldier Avitliout heeding the slaughter of friends. " In the second division of the poem the Pantheistic doctrines of the Yedanta are more directly inculcated than in the other sections. Iv?"^sh7za here, in the plainest lan- guage, claims adoration as one with the great universal spirit pervading and constituting the universe." The language of this poem is exceedingly beautiful, and its tone and sentiment of a very lofty character, so that they have a striking effect even in the prose translation. It was one of the earliest Sanskrit works translated into English by Wilkins ; but a much more perfect translation, with an excellent introduction, has since been pub- lished by Mr. J. Cockburn Thompson, from which much of the above has been borrowed. There are several other translations in French, German, &c. BHAGAYATA PURAYA The Pura?ia "in which ample details of duty are described, and which opens with (an extract from) the Gayatri ; that in which the death of the Asura V?-itra is told, and in which the mortals and immortals of the Saraswata Kalpa, with the events that then happened to them in the world, are related, tliat is celebrated as tlie Bhagavata, and consists of 18,000 verses." Such is the Hindu description of this work. " The Bhagavata," says Wilson, " is a work of great celebrity in India, and exercises a more direct and powerful influence upon the opinions and feelings of the people than perhaps any other of the Purawas. It is placed fiftli in all the lists, but the Padma ranks it as the eighteenth, as the extracted substance of all the rest.