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EDITORIAL  With The Help Of Sri Balarama BY SWAMI BV PARIVRAJAK EDITORIAL, Aug 6 (VNN) — Balarama helps us to purify our heart (Vrindavan) by killing two demons: Dhenuka and Pralamba. He killed many other demons such as Dvivida Gorilla, Balvala, the wrestlers in the arena of Kansa and others, but Dhenuka and Pralamba are particularly important for the sadhakas. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur explains in Sri Chaitanya Shikshamrita that the contaminations they represent have to be removed by dint of the devotee's own endeavours. When a devotee tries with enthusiasm to remove these impurities, then, by the mercy of Lord Balarama, they are cast far away. The killer of Dhenuka The vrindavan lila is very sweet and reassuring. Whenever any obstacle comes to disrupt the normal flow of life, Krishna and Balarama intervene with Their formidable prowess. The residents of Vrindavan have nothing to fear because Krishna and Balarama are always with them, assuring them all kinds of protection. The killing of Dhenukasura occurred right after the banishment of the Kaliya serpent from the Yamuna river. Once the cowherd boys had heard of a large grove where there were palmyras bearing delicious fruit, but dared not go there because it was guarded by Dhenuka, a demon in the form of an ass. The demon charged at Balarama when He began to gather the fruit. Balarama killed Dhenuka hurling him against one of the palmyras. The demon fell dead together with the tree's fruits. Thereafter the boys and cattle were able to frequent the grove. Dhenuka is the ass demon. He represents the bad mentality of overburdened load-carrying. If we are influenced by the Dhenuka me The killer of Pralamba According to the Brahma-vaivarta Purana, Pralamba was Sudarshana in his previous life. Sudarshan was one of the brothers of Suhotra, who became Bakasura in Braj lila. According to the Garga Samhita, Pralamba was Vijay, the son of a Gandharva king named Huhu. He was cursed by Kuvera to become a demon for stealing some flowers from one of his gardens. The killing of Pralamba occured during the rainy season, just after Krishna swallowed the two forest fires. The demon approached Krishna and Balarama when They were playing with all the other boys of Braj. Pralamba joined them in their games with a view to killing them, and passed unnoticed. The boys then started a new game called Īgame of the deer' (harinakridanam nama). They formed two teams and raced in pairs, skipping like deer, up to the bhandira tree. The bhandira was a gigantic banyan tree. It reached up to the sky and provided shade for Krishna and Balarama when they were out grazing the cattle. The boys enjoyed very much t My humble attempt to praise the mighty Sri Balarama ends with a verse from the Balarama Kavacha. This armor (kavacha) was given to the gopis of Vrindavan by Garga Muni. Later on, it was repeated to Duryodhan, who was a favorite of Balarama during the holocaust of Kurukshetra. kamat sada raksha tu dhenukarih krodhat sada mam dvivida prahari lobhat sada raksha tu balvalarir mohat sada mam kil magadharih O Dhenukari, killer of the ass-like demon, kindly protect me from lust. O Dvivida Prahari, killer of the gorilla demon, kindly protect me from anger. O Balvalari, killer of Balvala, kindly protect me from greed. O Magadhari, kindly protect me against illusion. Let us always remember Sri Balarama hurling the ass-demon on top of the palmyras of the Talvan forest! Let us always remember Sri Balaram while He smote down the Pralamba demon, the duplicitous nature hidden in the heart! The pastimes of Sri Balarama are endless and the source of truthfulness and beauty for the whole world. May the mercy of Sri Balarama flood the earth and sweep away the hearts of all from all undesirable contamination. May He enable us to distinguish truth from illusion for the benefit of everyone! May Sri Balarama be pleased! All glories, all glories to Sri Balarama!  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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