Śrī Balarāma and his consort Revatī Devi

Śrī Balarāma and his consort Revatī Devi

Baladeva's marriage with Revatī

Revatī is the daughter of King Kakudmī and the consort of Balarāma, the elder brother of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Kakudmī, also called Raivata, meaning son of Revata, is a described to be the king of Kuśasthalī. He is the son of Revata, and the father of Revatī. His account is given the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

The Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes the dynasty of Śaryāti, another son of Manu, and also tells about Sukanyā, Ānarta, and Revatī. Ānarta had one son, whose name was Revata. Revata had one hundred sons, of whom the eldest was Kakudmī. Kakudmī was advised by Lord Brahmā to offer his beautiful daughter, Revatī, to Baladeva (Balarāma), the elder brother of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. As ordered by Lord Brahmā, Raivata, the opulent ruler of Ānarta Province, gave his daughter Raivatī in marriage to Balarāma.

Taking his own daughter, Revatī, Kakudmī went to Lord Brahmā in Brahmaloka, which is transcendental to the three modes of material nature, and inquired about a husband for her. It appears that Brahmaloka, the abode of Lord Brahmā, is also transcendental, above the three modes of material nature (apāvṛtam). (SB 9.3.29 )

After hearing his words, Lord Brahmā, who is most powerful, laughed loudly and said to Kakudmī: O King, all those whom you may have decided within the core of your heart to accept as your son-in-law have passed away in the course of time. (SB 9.3.31 )

Twenty-seven (27) catur-yugas have already passed. Those upon whom you may have decided are now gone, and so are their sons, grandsons and other descendants. You cannot even hear about their names. (SB 9.3.32 )

Note: One cycle of the four yugas (Satya-, Treta-, Dwapara-, Kali-yuga) constitute one chatur yuga. Thus, 1 chatur yuga = 12,000 divine years = 4,320,000 human years. King Kakudmi’s visit to Brahma-loka took 27 chatur-yugas, or 116.640.000 human years.

O King, leave here and offer your daughter to Lord Baladeva, who is still present. He is most powerful. Indeed, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose plenary portion is Lord Viṣṇu. Your daughter is fit to be given to Him in charity. (SB 9.3.33 )

Lord Baladeva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who hears and chants about Him is purified. Because He is always the well-wisher of all living entities, He has descended with all His paraphernalia to purify the entire world and lessen its burden. (SB 9.3.34 )

Having received this order from Lord Brahmā, Kakudmī offered obeisances unto him and returned to his own residence. He then saw that his residence was vacant, having been abandoned by his brothers and other relatives, who were living in all directions because of fear of such higher living beings as the Yakṣas. (SB 9.3.35 )

Thereafter, the King gave his most beautiful daughter in charity to the supremely powerful Baladeva and then retired from worldly life and went to Badarikāśrama to please Nara-Nārāyaṇa. (SB 9.3.36 )

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The Viṣṇu Purāṇa narrates the tale of Revatī as follows:

A natural concern for the fathers of qualified daughters is to find a suitable groom for their beloved daughters. The same concern also made King Kakudmī, a great emperor in one of the previous Satya Yugas, decide to go and seek the advice of Lord Brahmā.

Revatī was the only daughter of Kakudmī. Feeling that no human could prove to be good enough to marry his lovely and talented daughter, Kakudmī took Revatī with him to Brahmāloka—the abode of lord Brahmā.

When they arrived, Brahmā was listening to a musical performance by the gandharvas, so they waited patiently until the performance was finished. Then, Kakudmī bowed humbly, made his request and presented his shortlist of candidates. Brahmā laughed, and explained that time runs differently on different planes of existence and that during the short time they had waited in Brahmāloka to see him, 27 chatur-yugas had passed on Earth and all the candidates had died long ago. Brahmā added that Kakudmī was now alone as his friends, ministers, servants, wives, kinsmen, armies and treasures had now vanished from Earth and he should soon bestow his daughter to a husband as Kali Yuga was near.

Kakudmī was overcome with astonishment and alarm at this news. However, Brahmā comforted him and added that Vishnu the Preserver was currently on Earth in the forms of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and he recommended Balarāma as a worthy husband for Revatī.

Kakudmī and Revatī then returned to earth, which they regarded as having left only just a short while ago. They were shocked by the changes that had taken place. Not only had the landscape and environment changed, but over the intervening 27 chatur-yugas, in the cycles of human spiritual and cultural evolution, mankind was at a lower level of development than in their own time. They noticed that due to the change of Yuga the humans had become shorter, less energetic and less intelligent than in Satya Yuga. The Bhagavata Purāṇa describes that they found the race of men had become "dwindled in stature, reduced in vigour, and enfeebled in intellect." The king's capital of Kuśasthalī had been renamed Dvārakā.

Kakudmī and Revatī found Balarāma, and proposed the marriage. Knowing Revatī to be his eternal consort, the most merciful Lord Balarāma gladly accepted to take her hand in marriage. Because she was from an earlier yuga, Revatī was far taller and larger than her husband-to-be, but Balarāma,known as Haladhara, tapped his plough (his characteristic weapon) on her shoulder, and she shrunk to the normal height of people in Balarāma's age. The marriage was then celebrated.

The wedding was then performed with great jubilation and transcendental bliss permeated the entire atmosphere. All the streets of the city were decorated with flower garlands and sandalwood scented water was sprinkled on the pathways. Auspicious items like water pots, banana trees, whole grains, fruits and other such paraphernalia were kept outside each and every house and doorway. Everyone dressed up in beautiful dresses and wore costly ornaments for the occasion and proceeded to witness the great marriage festival of Lord Balarāma. Amidst the chanting of vedic hymns and musical presentations, Lord Balarāma accepted Revatī devi as his lovely wedded wife and this gave unlimited pleasure to everyone present. Thus King Kakudmī became completely satisfied at heart.

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Yuga cycle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuga_cycle

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Since Baladeva is married to Revatī, He is called Revatī-ramaṇa

Praṇāma mantra of Śrī Baladeva

namaste haladhṛgrāma namaste muśalāyudha
namaste revatīkānta namaste bhaktavatsala

namaste balināṁ śreṣṭha namaste dharaṇīdhara
pralambāre namaste 'stu trāhi māṁ kṛṣṇapūrvaja

O Haladhara, who carries a plow (haladhṛgrāma), O You who hold a club (muśalāyudha), O husband of Revatī (revatīkānta), O You who are affectionate to Your devotees (bhaktavatsala),

O You who are the strongest of the strong (balināṁ), O You who support the Earth (in the form of Ananta-śeṣa) (dharaṇīdhara), O You who destroyed the demon Pralamba (pralambāra), O elder brother of Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-pūrvaja), I offer my obeisances unto You. Please protect me. (Brahmā Purāṇa 57.22–23)

sphurad-amala-kirīṭaṁ kiṅkiṇī-kaṅkaṇārhaṁ
calad-alaka-kapolaṁ kuṇḍala-śrī-mukhābjam
tuhina-giri-manojñaṁ nīla-meghāmbarāḍhyaṁ
hala-musala-viśālaṁ kāma-pālaṁ samīḍe

I glorify Lord Balarāma, decorated with a glittering crown, bracelets, tinkling ornaments, moving locks of hair on His cheeks, splendid earrings on His handsome lotus face, and garments dark like monsoon clouds, holding a great club and plow, fulfilling all desires, and handsome like a mountain of ice and snow. (Garga-saṁhita 8.13.4)

Lord Baladeva - the protector of devotees of the Lord

Because Lord Baladeva is as powerful as Lord Kṛṣṇa and can bestow spiritual power to the devotees, He is therefore known as Baladeva. In the Vedas also it is enjoined that no one can know the Supreme Lord without being favored by Baladeva. Bala means spiritual strength not physical. Some less intelligent persons interpret bala as the strength of the body. But no one can have spiritual realization by physical strength. Physical strength ends with the end of the physical body, but spiritual strength follows the spirit soul to the next transmigration, and therefore the strength obtained by Baladeva is never wasted. The strength is eternal, and thus Baladeva is the original spiritual master of all devotees. (SB 1.11.16-17, Purport)

One who considers the jīva-śakti and the viṣṇu-tattva to be on an equal level is considered a condemned soul of the world. Śrī Rāma, or Balarāma, is the protector of the devotees of the Lord. Baladeva acts as the spiritual master of all devotees, and by His causeless mercy the fallen souls are delivered. Śrī Baladeva appeared as Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu during the advent of Lord Caitanya, and the great Lord Nityānanda Prabhu exhibited His causeless mercy by delivering a pair of extremely fallen souls, namely Jagāi and Mādhāi. Therefore it is particularly mentioned herein that Balarāma is the protector of the devotees of the Lord. By His divine grace only one can approach the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and thus Śrī Balarāma is the mercy incarnation of the Lord, manifested as the spiritual master, the savior of the pure devotees. (SB 1.14.28-29, Purport)

The intimate relationship between Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva

Whenever Kṛṣṇa appears in the material world, He is accompanied by His associates and paraphernalia. Five thousand years ago when Kṛṣṇa descended into the material world, He was first preceded by Baladeva. Only after Baladeva give His mercy did Kṛṣṇa descend, such is the intimate relationship between Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva.

Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Baladeva is Kṛṣṇa's immediate expansion. Both Lord Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva appeared as sons of Vasudeva, so both of Them may be called Vāsudeva. From another point of view, because Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vṛndāvana, all the forms of Kṛṣṇa that appear elsewhere are His expansions. Vāsudeva is Kṛṣṇa's immediate expansion, so Vāsudeva is not different from Kṛṣṇa. It is to be understood that the Vāsudeva referred to in this verse of Bhagavad-gītā is Baladeva, or Balarāma, because He is the original source of all incarnations and thus He is the sole source of Vāsudeva. The immediate expansions of the Lord are called svāṁśa (personal expansions), and there are also expansions called vibhinnāṁśa (separated expansions). (BG 10.37)

Lord Balarāma is the first expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa appearing as His elder brother eight days before Kṛṣṇa’s appearance in this world. While Kṛṣṇa's complexion is like a dark bluish cloud, Balarāma's complexion is like a white autumn cloud. He assisted Lord Kṛṣṇa in His earthly pastimes of protecting the devotees and ridding the world of the misguided and demoniac. Whilst Kṛṣṇa is known for carrying a flute whose beautiful sound enchants His devotees, Balarāma holds a plough in His hand that represents His strength.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarāma is his second body. They are both one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Balarāma is the first bodily expansion of Kṛṣṇa, and He assists in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental pastimes. He is the source of the entire spiritual world and is the adi-guru, the original spiritual master.

He assumes five other forms to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa. He Himself helps in the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and He does the work of creation in four other forms called the catur-vyuha (four armed) forms known as Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Anirudha. He executes the orders of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the work of creation, and in the form of Lord Sesa He serves Śrī Kṛṣṇa in various ways. In all the forms He tastes the transcendental bliss of serving Kṛṣṇa. No one can approach Kṛṣṇa without first getting the mercy of Baladeva. Lord Balarāma exemplifies the service attitude to Kṛṣṇa. His only mission is to please Kṛṣṇa by rendering service to Him, whether it is in the creation of the material worlds, maintaining the spiritual world or as His personal paraphernalia.

Balarāma - Baladeva

The extraordinary beauty of Balarāma

Lord Balarāma is sixteen years old, full of the luster of youth and has a fair complexion the color of crystal. He wears blue garments and a garland of forest flowers. His handsome hair is tied in a graceful topknot. Splendid earrings adorn His ears and His neck is splendidly decorated with garlands of flowers and strings of jewels. Splendid armlets and bracelets ornament Blaram’s graceful and very strong arms and His feet are decorated with jeweled anklets.

Lord Balarāma’s beauty is enhanced by the earrings touching His cheeks. His face is decorated with tilaka made from musk, and His broad chest is ornamented with a garland of gunja. Balarāma’s voice is very grave and His arms are very long, touching His thighs. The splendor of Lord Balarāma’s form eclipses many millions of glistening rising moons, and the slightest scent of His boundless strength is sufficient to destroy many armies of demons. Although He knows the supernatural power of His younger brother, Kṛṣṇa, still, out of love for Him, He never leaves Kṛṣṇa alone in the forest even for a moment. Balarāma is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s dearest friend and is a great reservoir of many kinds of pastimes.

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