SB 10.18.26 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तमुद्वहन् धरणिधरेन्द्रगौरवं महासुरो विगतरयो निजं वपु: । स आस्थित: पुरटपरिच्छदो बभौ तडिद्‌‌द्युमानुडुपतिवाडिवाम्बुद: ॥ २६ ॥

Verse text

tam udvahan dharaṇi-dharendra-gauravaṁ mahāsuro vigata-rayo nijaṁ vapuḥ sa āsthitaḥ puraṭa-paricchado babhau taḍid-dyumān uḍupati-vāḍ ivāmbudaḥ

Synonyms

tam — Him, Lord Baladeva ; udvahan — carrying high ; dharaṇi — dhara — indra — like the king of the mountains, Sumeru ; gauravam — whose weight ; mahā — asuraḥ — the great demon ; vigata — rayaḥ — losing his momentum ; nijam — his original ; vapuḥ — body ; saḥ — he ; āsthitaḥ — becoming situated in ; puraṭa — golden ; paricchadaḥ — having ornaments ; babhau — he shone ; taḍit — like lightning ; dyu — mān — flashing ; uḍu — pati — the moon ; vāṭ — carrying ; iva — just as ; ambu — daḥ — a cloud .

Translation

As the great demon carried Balarāma, the Lord became as heavy as massive Mount Sumeru, and Pralamba had to slow down. He then resumed his actual form — an effulgent body that was covered with golden ornaments and that resembled a cloud flashing with lightning and carrying the moon.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

As the great demon carried Balarāma, the Lord became as heavy as massive Mount Sumeru, and Pralamba had to slow down. He then resumed his actual form—an effulgent body that was covered with golden ornaments and that resembled a cloud flashing with lightning and carrying the moon. KB 10.18.26 The demon was undoubtedly very strong and powerful, but he was carrying Balarāma, who is compared to a mountain; therefore he began to feel the burden, and thus he assumed his real form. When he appeared in his real feature, he was decorated with a golden helmet and earrings and looked just like a cloud with lightning carrying the moon.

Purport

Here the demon Pralamba is compared to a cloud, his golden ornaments to lightning within that cloud, and Lord Balarāma to the moon shining through it. Great demons can assume various forms by exerting their mystic power, but when the Lord’s spiritual potency curtails their power, they can no longer maintain an artificial form and must again manifest their actual, demoniac body. Lord Balarāma suddenly became as heavy as a great mountain, and although the demon tried to carry Him high on his shoulders, he could not go on.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Only with great difficulty was he able to carry Balrama (ut vahan ) because Balarama became heavier than mount sumeru. He became heavy when he saw Pralambha taking him off to a different place. Being unable to carry Balarama he slowed down. Instead of showing his strength in that false body as a cowherd, he showed a huge body dressed in gold, which was like the moon shining through a cloud lit by lightning.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Balarāma became heavier than Mount Meru. When Pralamba went beyond the designated place, Balarāma laughed, became astonished and then worried. Then he became heavy. Pralamba then carried him up higher his shoulders (udvahan). Though he was a big demon, he lost speed. Then he resumed his demon body. asahan rauhiṇeyasya sa bhāraṁ dānavottamaḥ vavṛdhe sa mahākāyaḥ prāvṛṣīva balāhakaḥ Unable to carry the weight of Balarāma, Pralamba increased in size. His huge body was like a monsoon rain cloud. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 5.9.17

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Balarāma became heavier than Mount Meru because that was his nature, or he manifested special weight at that time on understanding that Pralamba was a demon. The demon carried Balarāma high on his shoulder instead of on his back, in order to breathe properly. Or he carried him high in the sky because he was a powerful demon (mahāsuraḥ). But still he lost his speed and then returned to his demon body. asahan rauhiṇeyasya sa bhāraṁ dānavottamaḥ vavṛdhe sa mahākāyaḥ prāvṛṣīva balāhakaḥ Unable to carry the weight of Balarāma, Pralamba increased in size. His huge body was like a monsoon rain cloud. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 5.9.17 In comparing the demon to a cloud, it is hinted that his complexion was blackish.