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Balarama (, ) is a Hindu god, and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana.
The first two epithets associate him with hala ( langala, "plough") from his strong associations with farming and farmers, as the deity who used farm equipment as weapons when needed, and the next two refer to his strength.
Originally an agri-cultural deity, Balarama is mostly described as an incarnation of Shesha, the serpent associated with the deity Vishnu while some Vaishnava traditions regard him as the eighth avatar of Vishnu, with Jayadeva’s Gitagovinda (c.1200) "incorporating Balarama into the pantheon" as the ninth of the Dashavatara of Vishnu.
Balarama's significance in Indian culture has ancient roots. His image in artwork is dated to around the start of the common era, and in coins dated to the second-century BCE. In Jainism, he is known as Baladeva, and has been a historically significant farmer-related deity. (2025). 9780773457232, Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 9780773457232
Balarama's legend appears in many Parva (books) of the Mahabharata. Book Three (Vana Parva) states about Krishna and him that Balarama is an avatar of Vishnu, while Krishna is the source of all avatars and existence. In some art works of the Vijayanagara Empire, temples of Gujarat and elsewhere, for example, Baladeva is the eighth avatar of Vishnu, prior to the Buddha (Buddhism) or Arihant (Jainism).
Balarama finds a mention in Kautilya's Arthashastra (4th to 2nd century BCE), where according to Hudson, his followers are described as "ascetic worshippers" with shaved heads or braided hair.
Balarama, as Baladewa, is an important character in the 11th-century Javanese text Kakawin Bhāratayuddha, the Kakawin poem based on the Mahabharata.
Coins dated to about 185-170 BCE belonging to the Indo-Greek King Agathocles show Balarama's iconography and Greek inscriptions. Balarama-Samkarshana is typically shown standing with a gada in his right hand and holding a plough in his left. On the other side of these coins is Vāsudeva-Krishna holding the conch and chakra.
At Chilas II archeological site dated to the first half of 1st-century CE in northwest Pakistan, near Afghanistan border, are engraved two males along with many Buddhist images nearby. The larger of the two males hold a plough and club in his two hands. The artwork also has an inscription with it in Kharosthi script, which has been deciphered by scholars as Rama-Krsna, and interpreted as an ancient depiction of the two brothers Balarama and Krishna. The early Balarama images found in Jansuti (Mathura, Uttar Pradesh) and two at Tumain (Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh) are dated to 2nd/1st-century BCE and these show Balarama holding a Hala (plough) and a musala (pestle) in his two hands.
In all of these early depictions, Balarama-Samkarsana seems to hold a senior position over Vāsudeva-Krishna. On the coins of Agathocles of Bactria, Balarama is on the front of the coin (the side with a legend in Greek), whereas Vāsudeva-Krishna is on the reverse (Brahmi side). At Chilas, Balarama is shown taller and bigger than Vāsudeva-Krishna. The same relationship is also visible in the hierarchy of the Vrishni heroes.
In some Indian ancient arts and texts, Balarama (Sankarsana) and Krishna (Vasudeva) are two of the five heroes ( Pancaviras of the Vrishnis). The other three differ by the text. In some those are "Pradyumna, Samba and Aniruddha", in others "Anadhrsti, Sarana and Viduratha". The 1st-century Mora well inscription near Mathura, dated between 10 and 25 CE, mention the installation of five Vrishni heroes in a stone temple.
The earliest surviving southeast Asian artwork related to Balarama is from the Phnom Da collection, near Angkor Borei in Cambodia's lower Mekong Delta region.Nancy Dowling (1999), A new date for the Phnom Da images and its implications for early Cambodia , Asian Perspectives, University of Hawaii Press, Volume 38, Number 1, pages 54–57
He was named Rama, but because of his great strength, he was called Balarama, Baladeva, or Balabhadra, meaning Strong Rama. He was born on Shraavana Purnima, which coincides with the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
Balarama spent his childhood as a cow herder with his brother Krishna. He killed Dhenuka, an asura sent by Kamsa, as well as Pralamba and Mushtika wrestlers sent by the king. When Krishna was killing Kamsa, Balarama slew his mighty commander, Kalavakra. After the evil king was slain, Balarama and Krishna went to the ashrama of sage Sandipani at Ujjain for their education. Balarama married Revati, the daughter of King Kakudmi.Pargiter, F.E. (1922, reprint 1972). Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p. 135 He had two sons - Nishatha and Ulmuka, and a daughter - Shashirekha also known as Vatsala.
Balarama is the celebrated tiller, one of the embodiments of agriculture along with livestock with whom Krishna is associated with. The plough is Balarama's weapon. In the Bhagavata Purana, he uses it to fight asuras, dig a way for Yamuna river to bring it closer to Vrindavan, and he also availed it to drag the entire capital of Hastinapura into the Ganga river.
Some scriptures describe a great white snake that left the mouth of Balarama, in reference to his identity as Ananta-Sesha, a form of Vishnu. The place where he departed is situated near Somnath Temple in Gujarat.
The local people of Veraval believe about the cave near the temple place, that the white snake who came out of Balarama's mouth got into that cave and went back to Patala .
In Hindu texts, Balarama almost always supports Krishna in form and spirit. However, there are occasions where the dialogues between Balarama and Krishna present different viewpoints, with Krishna's wisdom establishing him to be the ultimate divinity. Balarama's constant symbolic association with Krishna makes him the protector and supporter of dharma.
In the Jagannath tradition, one particularly popular in eastern and central regions of India, he is more often called Balabhadra. Balarama is one in the triad, wherein Balarama is shown together with his brother Jagannath (Krishna) and sister Subhadra (Subhadra). Jagannath is identifiable from his circular eyes compared to an oval of Shubhadra and almond-shaped eyes of the abstract icon for Balarama. Further, Balarama's face is white, Jagannath's icon is dark, and Subhadra icon is yellow. The third difference is the flat head of Jagannath icon, compared to the semi-circular carved head of abstract Balarama. The shape of Balabhadra's head, also called Balarama or Baladeva in these regions, varies in some temples between somewhat flat and semi-circular.
===Sculpture===
The Jainism tradition lists 63 Śalākāpuruṣa or notable figures which, amongst others, includes the twenty-four Tirthankaras and nine sets of triads. One of these triads is Krishna as the Vasudeva, Balarama as the Baladeva, and Jarasandha as the Prati-Vasudeva. In each age of the Jain cyclic time is born a Vasudeva with an elder brother termed the Baladeva. Between the triads, Baladeva upholds the principle of non-violence, a central idea of Jainism. The villain is the Prati-vasudeva, who attempts to destroy the world. To save the world, Vasudeva-Krishna has to forsake the non-violence principle and kill the Prati-Vasudeva. The stories of these triads can be found in the Harivamsa Purana (8thcentury CE) of Jinasena (not be confused with its namesake, the addendum to Mahābhārata) and the Trishashti-shalakapurusha-charita of Hemachandra.See Jerome H. Bauer "Hero of Wonders, Hero in Deeds: "Vasudeva Krishna in Jaina Cosmohistory" in
The story of Krishna's life in the Puranas of Jainism follows the same general outline as those in the Hindu texts, but in details, they are very different: they include Jain Tirthankaras as characters in the story, and generally are polemically critical of Krishna, unlike the versions found in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Vishnu Purana. For example, Krishna loses battles in the Jain versions, and his gopis and his clan of Yadavas die in a fire created by an ascetic named Dvaipayana. Similarly, after dying from the hunter Jara's arrow, the Jaina texts state Krishna goes to the third hell in Jain cosmology, while Balarama is said to go to the sixth heaven.
In other Jain texts, Krishna and Baladeva are stated to be a cousin of the twenty-second Tirthankara, Neminatha. The Jain texts state that Naminatha taught Krishna all the wisdom that he later gave to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. According to Jeffery D. Long, a professor of Religion known for his publications on Jainism, this connection between Krishna and Neminatha has been a historic reason for Jains to accept, read, and cite the Bhagavad Gita as a spiritually important text, celebrate Krishna-related festivals, and intermingle with Hindus as spiritual cousins.
Evidence related to early Jainism, states Patrick Olivelle and other scholars, suggests Balarama had been a significant farmer deity in Jain tradition in parts of the Indian subcontinent such as near the Mathura region. Jain texts such as the Kalpasutra describe the same idea of embryo transfer, as in Hindu texts for Balarama, for the 24th Tirthankara Mahavira; in the latter case, the embryo of a Brahmin woman is moved into the womb of a Kshatriya woman. Balarama, states Pratapaditya Pal, was one of the historic deities revered in Jainism along with Ambika, Lakshmi and others. As with the Hindu farmers, state Paul Dundas and other scholars, it is likely that Balarama was the patron deity of Jain farmers in the early centuries of the common era, because a large number of Balarama images have been found in early Jain arts.MNP Tiwari and K Giri (1985), Balarama – The Deity of Krsikarman in Jaina Art, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay, Volume 60, Issue 1, pages 122-125
. 2nd century CE, Art of Mathura.]]. Now exhibits at National Museum of Cambodia.]]
Temples
Outside Hinduism
Jainism
The Jain Puranas, notably, the Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita of Hemachandra, narrate hagiographical accounts of nine Baladevas or who are believed to be śalākāpuruṣas (literally torch-bearers, great personalities). Balarama was the ninth one., p. 5 Balarama along with Krishna are considered as cousins of the revered Tirthankara Neminatha (Aristanemi) by Jains., Quote: "Krsna (Vasudeva) and Baladeva or Balarama are regarded as cousin brothers of Neminatha".
Buddhism
Balarama images have been discovered in central Indian Buddhist sites, such as with Sanchi stupas at Andher, Mehgaon and Chandna. These are dated to around the start of the common era. The Ghata Jataka, one of the Jataka Tales that form part of Buddhist scriptures, depicts Krishna as a previous birth of Buddha's disciple Sariputta and has Balarama depicted as the previous birth of one of the Buddha's disciples.
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