Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purânic . mpanionsduring their stay on earth, manyof the exploits in which Balaramashared have already been narratedin speaking of Krishna. Thereare a few legends,* however, re-ferring chiefly to Balarama. Balarama is an incarnation ofthe serpent Sesha,f who himselfwas part of Vishnu, and thus issaid to be a part of a part ofthat deity. When appealed to bythe distressed gods to appear onearth to save them from theiroppressor Kansa, Vishnu a yearbefore his own birth transferred, bvmeans of Yoganindra, the embryoof Balarama from Devaki to Rohini,another wife of Vasudev
Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purânic . mpanionsduring their stay on earth, manyof the exploits in which Balaramashared have already been narratedin speaking of Krishna. Thereare a few legends,* however, re-ferring chiefly to Balarama. Balarama is an incarnation ofthe serpent Sesha,f who himselfwas part of Vishnu, and thus issaid to be a part of a part ofthat deity. When appealed to bythe distressed gods to appear onearth to save them from theiroppressor Kansa, Vishnu a yearbefore his own birth transferred, bvmeans of Yoganindra, the embryoof Balarama from Devaki to Rohini,another wife of Vasudeva, residingat Gokula, to save it from thecruel anger and fear of Kansa, whohad ordered the destruction ofDevakis children as soon as theywere born, through whose eighth son it had been predicted thathe would meet with his death. When about a year old, thischild was placed under the care of a herdsman named Nandaand his wife Yasoda, the reputed parents of Krishna, that thetwo boys might be brought up together ; Vasudeva, on the night. BALARAMA. * Vishnu Purana, Book V. t Sesha (the end), or Ananta (endless), the serpent deity, has a thousandheads, and forms the couch on which Vishnu reposes during the intervals ofcreation. The world is said to rest on the head of Sesha, who stands upon atortoise ; when, therefore, the tortoise moves his feet, or Sesha yawns, earth-quakes result. It was this serpent that formed the rope at the churning ofthe ocean : and by fires that issue from his body the world is destroyed atthe end of each age, or Kalpa. He is sometimes called a son of Kasyapaand KadrUj a daughter of Daksha. 186 The Puranic Deities. of Krishnas birth, having carried him to the house of Nanda,and substituted him for the infant daughter of these people. Balarama was second only to Krishna in the possession ofmiraculous powers. One day, as he was with the young cow-keepers in a wood, his companions asked him to shake somefruit trees belonging to a demon named Dhenuka, that they
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