Balarama

Quick Facts

About Balarama

Elder brother of Krishna, incomparable master of the mace and plough. He taught both Bhima and Duryodhana, refused to take sides in the war, and went on pilgrimage along the Saraswati while his kinsmen fought.

In Their Words

Both are my students; I will not raise my plough for either.

Balarama

Traits

• mighty
• impartial
• hot-tempered
• honest

Story Appearances

• The Theft of RukminiBrother who counseled peace❧ 28 min
• Duryodhana's Last StandWitness enraged by the unfair blow❧ 28 min
• The Great DepartureDeparted before Krishna❧ 26 min

Stories Featuring Balarama

79 further tales on this site name Balarama, in canonical reading order.

• The Divine ChildThe Divine descends whenever dharma declines and adharma rises. Krishna's childhood miracles remind us that God...Adi Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Divine ChildKrishna's life is the Mahabharata's answer to the question: What does God look like when God walks among us? The answer...Adi Parva ‧ 28 min
• The Boy God of VrindavanKrishna's Childhood Among the CowherdsAdi Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Demons of VrindavanThe Hunt That FailedAdi Parva ‧ 7 min
• Brahma Steals the CalvesThe Creator's TestAdi Parva ‧ 5 min
• The Slaying of KamsaThe Prophecy FulfilledAdi Parva ‧ 7 min
• Krishna at Sandipani's AshramThe Fee Paid to DeathAdi Parva ‧ 6 min
• The Bride From Another AgeA princess of a former yuga wed across the agesAdi Parva ‧ 10 min
• The Impossible ChallengeDestiny works in mysterious ways. The rejected princes of Hastinapura, believed dead, revealed themselves as the...Adi Parva ‧ 21 min
• Arjuna's Wandering YearThree Wives in Three KingdomsAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Heir ApparentA crown promised, a second fee demanded, and the conquests that frightened a blind kingAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• Vidura's Embassy to PanchalaThe envoy sent to bring the Pandavas home from Drupada's courtAdi Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Weighing of the BharataThe gods put the epic in a balance against the four Vedas, and Sauti recites the eighteen booksAdi Parva ‧ 24 min
• Kurukshetra Before the WarWhy the field was already holyAdi Parva
• The Chariot at RaivatakaAn abduction the bride drove herselfAdi Parva
• Naimisha, the Forest Where the Epic Is ToldThe audience hall of the MahabharataAdi Parva
• Krishna Takes Leave of IndraprasthaThe farewell on the road to Dwaraka, and the promise to returnSabha Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worthVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Blind King Counts the OddsA father adds up his enemies and hears whose fault it wasVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by forceVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Choice at DwarakaTen crore soldiers on one side of the bed, one unarmed man on the otherUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Braid She Refused to BindDraupadi answers Bhima's peace with her own hairUdyoga Parva ‧ 20 min
• What Kunti Sent Instead of ComfortA mother counts her sons aloud, then tells them to fightUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• Rukmi, Whom Nobody WantedThe pride that made a man uselessUdyoga Parva
• The First EnvoyDrupada's old priest carries the claim to HastinapuraUdyoga Parva
• The Race for AlliesHow eighteen armies were bought before a shot was firedUdyoga Parva
• Eighteen Days of DestructionThe Kurukshetra War teaches that there is no such thing as a 'clean' war. Even a war fought for the most righteous...Bhishma Parva ‧ 31 min
• The Banners and the BowsSanjaya names every standard on the fieldDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Women in the TentSubhadra, Draupadi and Uttaraa on the night Abhimanyu diedDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Order Yudhishthira GaveA king overrules the guard his brother postedDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• What Krishna Had Already DoneArjuna asks, and gets a list he did not expectDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The King Put Off His ChariotSatyaki kills Duryodhana's horses and driver, cuts his bow at the handle, and the king escapes on Kritavarma's carDrona Parva ‧ 13 min
• Balarama's PilgrimageForty-Two Days on the Sarasvati While the World BurnedShalya Parva
• Shalya Alone Against FiveThe last commander's one unanswerable morningShalya Parva ‧ 20 min
• The River With Seven NamesWherever she was called, she cameShalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Head That Would Not Let GoWhy the ford on the Sarasvati is called KapalamochanaShalya Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Pupil Who Could Not LearnYears in a teacher's house, and nothing to show for themShalya Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Kingdom Poured on the FireA sage is mocked with dead cattle and burns a realm with themShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Head That Followed IndraA treaty kept to the letter and broken in every other wayShalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Anointing of the War GodEvery god brings a gift to a six-day-old commanderShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Duel on the Southern BankTwo pupils of one teacher settle a war with clubsShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Verdict at the Fallen KingBalarama's plough, Duryodhana's indictment, and the flowers that fell from the skyShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Errand Before the GriefKrishna drives to Hastinapura to reach a mother before her curse doesShalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Lords of the Waters and the TreasuresBalarama walks the Sarasvati past the fords where Varuna, Kubera, Indra and Surya won what they holdShalya Parva ‧ 18 min
• Saraswati, the Vanishing RiverThe river of sages that hides in the sandShalya Parva
• The Boy Who Kept the VedasA twelve-year famine strips the Vedas from sixty thousand sages - except one boy fed by a riverShalya Parva
• The Maiden Who Cooked the JujubesBadarapachana Tirtha - The Fire She Fed With HerselfShalya Parva
• The Old Maiden's BargainAn ascetic's lifetime of tapas cannot buy her heaven until she takes a husband for one nightShalya Parva
• The Teacher of MacesBalarama between his two pupilsShalya Parva
• The Last ReportThree men bring good news to a dying kingSauptika Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Weapon He Could Not LiftAshvatthama's bargain on the Dwaraka shoreSauptika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Weapon Not Made of SteelKrishna tells Narada what his own kinsmen do to himShanti Parva ‧ 18 min
• How Vishnu Got the DiscusUpamanyu tells Krishna where Sudarsana came from, and Krishna climbs Himavat to ask Mahadeva for a sonAnushasana Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Mysteries of Religion, Part OneThe deities, the Pitris and the Rishis each give up a duty whose reason is secretAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The News Krishna Held BackA grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses itAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Sacrifice of Profuse GoldYudhishthira gives away the earth and is given it backAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 19 min
• Arjuna's Hymn at PartingOn the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go homeAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Iron MacesBook 16 - The Curse That Destroyed Krishna's PeopleMausala Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Omens of DwarakaA City Watches Its Own Death ApproachMausala Parva ‧ 17 min
• Balarama Returns to the SeaThe Serpent Leaves by the Mouth It Came FromMausala Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Death of VasudevaKrishna's Father Outlives EveryoneMausala Parva ‧ 16 min
• Arjuna Empties DwarakaOne bowman escorts a dead city inland, and the sea walks behind himMausala Parva ‧ 18 min
• Uddhava Takes His LeaveThe one Yadava who left Prabhasa before the grass turned to ironMausala Parva ‧ 12 min
• Prabhasa, Where the Sea Meets the EndThe shore tirtha of the YadavasMausala Parva
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Flight to DwarakaThe City Built in the SeaHarivamsa
• The City of DoorsDwaraka DescribedHarivamsa
• Hamsa and DimbhakaThe Two Who Could Not Be KilledHarivamsa
• The Second Theft of the SyamantakaShatadhanva's RideHarivamsa
• The Eight Queens of DwarakaThe Marriages of KrishnaHarivamsa
• The Demon of a Thousand IllusionsThe Fall of NikumbhaHarivamsa
• The Actor Spies of DwarakaPradyumna and PrabhavatiHarivamsa
• The False VasudevaPaundraka, the King Who Dressed as GodHarivamsa
• Samba and the Dragged CityBalarama's Plough at the Walls of HastinapuraHarivamsa
• The Ape at the GatesBalarama and DvividaHarivamsa
• Balarama and the YamunaThe River Dragged by the PloughHarivamsa
• Devaki and the Six Who Came BeforeA mother's arms filled for one eveningHarivamsa
• Yashoda's Second FarewellThe mother of the heart at SyamantapanchakaHarivamsa
• Mathura, Cradle of KrishnaThe city of the prison and the festivalHarivamsa

Places in Balarama's Story

Drawn from the stories Balarama appears in.

• Kampilyaकाम्पिल्य
• Ekachakraएकचक्र
• Mathuraमथुरा
• Yamunaयमुना
• Gokulगोकुल
• Vrindavanवृंदावन
• Govardhanaगोवर्धन
• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Dwarakaद्वारका
• Kundinapuraकुंडिनपुर
• Chediचेदि
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर

Related Characters

Others counted among the Sages & Others.

• ✦Sage Kanva
• ◎Eklavya
• ★Shukracharya
• ♛Vrishaparva
• ♛Yadu
• ✧Princess Amba