According to mythology, when Kansa came to know that he would die at the hands of his sister Devaki’s eighth child, he put his beloved sister in prison. At first he thought of keeping his children alive because according to the prophecy he was in danger from the eighth child, but Narada Muni had put it in his mind that either the first child or the eighth child caused the death of Kansa. Can So Kansa decided to kill all the children of Devaki and he brutally killed six children. But when Balarama came into the womb, destiny had decided something else.
Lord Balaram was an incarnation of Sheshnag and had to be born as an ally of Shri Krishna. Therefore, his birth as Shri Krishna’s elder brother was a wonderful and divine event. The story of his birth is described in Srimad Bhagwat Mahapuran, Harivansh Purana and other texts. According to the story, Devaki’s husband Vasudev ji had two wives- Devaki and Rohini. Fear of Kansa, the Yogamaya Shakti of Lord Vishnu, invited the seventh womb of Devaki and transferred it to Rohini’s womb. Therefore Balaram ji is also called Sankarshan avatar, which means “transfer of womb”.
Mother Rohini lived with Nand Baba in Gokul. Balaram ji was born from Rohini’s womb. Balaram grew up in the house of his younger brother Krishna and his wife Yashoda with his younger brother Krishna. Balaram ji’s color was fair, so he is also known as ‘Balabhadra’, ‘Baldau’ and ‘Dau Ji’. Balaram ji’s name has “Shakti” because he was very powerful. They used to run plows, so they are called “Haladhar”. He, along with Krishna, destroyed Kansa and assisted in the establishment of religion. Balaram ji did not fight in the Mahabharata, but followed religion by staying neutral. He is considered the protector of agriculture, power and religion. Balaram had seven brothers and a sister, Subhadra, Chitra. Balaram was married to Revathi, the daughter of Revat. It is said that Revathi was 21 hands long and Balabhadra ji pulled her out of the plow.
