Srimad Bhagavatam – 10.78.28 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | Nov 14, 2025
Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesha-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
Sri-krishna-caitanya prabhu nityananda
Sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatham 10th Canto, Chapter-78; Verse 28.
ŚB 10.78.28
एतावदुक्त्वा भगवान् निवृत्तोऽसद्वधादपि ।
भावित्वात् तं कुशाग्रेण करस्थेनाहनत् प्रभु: ॥ २८ ॥
etāvad uktvā bhagavān
nivṛtto ’sad-vadhād api
bhāvitvāt taṁ kuśāgreṇa
kara-sthenāhanat prabhuḥ
Synonyms
etāvat — this much; uktvā — saying; bhagavān — the Personality of Godhead; nivṛttaḥ — stopped; asat — the impious; vadhāt — from killing; api — although; bhāvitvāt — because it was inevitable; tam — him, Romaharṣaṇa; kuśa — of kuśa grass; agreṇa — with the tip of a blade; kara — in His hand; sthena — held; ahanat — killed; prabhuḥ — the Lord.
Translation
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] Although Lord Balarāma had stopped killing the impious, Romaharṣaṇa’s death was inevitable. Thus, having spoken, the Lord killed him by picking up a blade of kuśa grass and touching him with its tip.
Purport
Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “Lord Balarāma had avoided taking part in the Battle of Kurukṣetra, and yet because of His position as an incarnation, the reestablishment of religious principles was His prime duty. Considering these points, He killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta simply by striking him with a kuśa straw, which was nothing but a blade of grass. If someone questions how Lord Balarāma could kill Romaharṣaṇa Sūta simply by striking him with a blade of kuśa grass, the answer is given in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by the use of the word prabhu, ‘master.’ The Lord’s position is always transcendental, and because He is omnipotent He can act as He likes without being obliged to follow the material laws and principles. Thus it was possible for Him to kill Romaharṣaṇa Sūta simply by striking him with a blade of kuśa grass.”
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So we see that Krishna, after killing Dantavakra and his brother Vidurata, he ceased to kill any more demons. We see also Balaram avoided killing others, and thus he avoided the battle of Kurukshetra. Yeah, now he kills Romaharṣaṇ, and then he kills a demon after that.
Devotee: He killed a demon?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, after this is the story of how he kills this Balbala, this demon who was disturbing the sacrifice [Laughs].
So, then it’s explained here that, well, it was inevitable that this happened. Somehow [Laughs] it’s the will of the Lord to happen, so therefore he killed him. Somehow or other the hypocrites or the Pretenders should not be allowed to propagate their false ideas. So, one type of disturbance people is, the demons. So, they forcibly do all sorts of sinful activities. The other people is, pretending to be followers of dharma, but they preach adharma. So, the Lord comes to re-establish Dharma. So, he destroys demons who destroy Dharma, and then he also destroys people who are preaching adharma. Therefore, this was one person, who was acting as the head person of a whole group of sages, yet he had the wrong conduct, so therefore Balaram killed him.
We see that in order to get knowledge, we have to have humility. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is said that, to understand the truth, one has to lie on the ground in front of the teacher. The Upanishads often speak of worshipping the Guru like God in order to get knowledge. So, these statements are made, so that the person who is receiving knowledge, takes a humble position. So, a person may want to get knowledge from another person, so then he can do all sorts of nice worship. Then he thinks, well, now I can get the knowledge, because I’ve done my worship. But if that person remains very proud, then the whole purpose of the worship is defeated, and still he cannot get the knowledge. This principle of course applies even in the material world. In the material world, to get material knowledge, you can also not be proud.
But then, there’s another factor in spiritual knowledge. Spiritual knowledge is non-different from the supreme Lord. So, if one has no humility in front of the Lord, how do we expect to get that knowledge? And thus, that humility is inherent in bhakti itself. So, in the Sikshastaka, Lord Caitanya says, we have to be humbler than a blade of grass. With that humility, if you chant the name of the Lord, you will get the proper effects. But if you maintain pride, you will not get the results. So, when we begin the practice of bhakti and we chant the name of the Lord, we automatically accept, I am the servant of the Lord, not that I am the master of the Lord. So, when we have that sense of humility in our approach to bhakti, then we will get proper results. And when we do Shravana, we are receiving information and knowledge about the Supreme Lord, same principle applies. But if we think, I can use this knowledge for my own advantage, I can use bhakti for my own purposes, then this is counter to the very principle of bhakti.
So, that sense of humility continues throughout all the stages of bhakti. And in Prema, it becomes even more intense. So, the topmost devotee is Radha, and she has the most humility. So, therefore, we see that, this humility is the essential part of bhakti itself. And it manifests more clearly as a person advances in bhakti. So, therefore, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, from the very beginning, if you want to chant constantly, then you have to be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree. So, we are humble, not just in front of the Lord. But we are humble in front of all living entities. And thus Lord Caitanya also says, the devotee gives respect to all of us.
So, that humility is very, very necessary. But we end up with a very contradictory situation, because we have one Jiva who acts as a teacher, and then he automatically gets respected by others [Laughs]. He acts as a teacher, so then he gets respected by others. He’s supposed to give respect to all living entities, but he’s getting the respect instead. So, of course, respect has to be given, because we have to get the knowledge. But then the person who’s the teacher or the guru, then he has to be very careful, because he can get all the respect, and then he’ll say, I don’t have to respect anybody [Laughs].
And this is what we see is the case with Romaharshan [Laughs]. So, because he was a speaker, he got respected, but then he was sitting on the high seat. He was sitting in a high position on his asana, on his Vyasasana, or whatever. So, Romaharshan was sitting on a higher seat. Of course, we cannot criticize [Laughs], because we have to respect the speaker [Laughs]. But then, he was actually a very low caste. He was a suta, son of a charioteer, or whatever, and he was speaking to Brahmins who were all higher positions. So, how is he supposed to adjust [Laughs]? So, the speaker therefore has to use his intelligence to adjust the principles, so that he doesn’t offend anybody [Laughs].
So, Romaharshan has been given responsibility for preserving and passing on knowledge of Puranas, Mahabharata, and other works. If he’s to pass on that knowledge, he should understand the contents of that knowledge. But the problem is, when Balarama came, he didn’t even recognize Balarama as Supreme Lord. What kind of knowledge is that [Laughs]? So, if you know all the Puranas, but you don’t know that Balarama is Supreme Lord, then all your knowledge is useless [Laughs]. How can you pass on knowledge to other people? How can you sit on the Vyasasana in the Namisharana and teach the sages [Laughs]? So, therefore, Balarama says, all this is useless [Laughs]. Therefore, he killed him.
So, usually, of course, we see Balarama or Krishna, when they kill a demon, they may use their fist or some weapon. Here, Balarama just touched him with a piece of kusa grass. A kusa grass is very special. It is used for sacrificial ceremonies. It is said that when Varaha avatar appeared he went into the ocean, he picked up the earth, then he shook his body to fell up the water, then the hairs fell up, that became the kusa grass [Laughs]. Often we see the descriptions that the sages are sitting in an asana, made of kusa grass. And when they offer oblations to the fire, they often also offer kusa grass. They also make rings out of kusa grass. They wear the rings, yubiwa (ring in japanese) [Laughs]. So, Balarama took one little blade of that grass, and the very tip of the grass, he touched him, and he died [Laughs].
In this verse the last word is Prabhu. So, we usually translate that as master or Lord. So, of course, we say the original meaning of the word comes from Prabhava. And Prabhava means power. It also means capability, ability to do something. So, therefore, Prabhu means one who can do anything [Laughs]. So, Balarama is Prabhu. He can do anything. So, he can kill using a weapon, using his hand, or using kusa grass. It doesn’t matter [Laughs]. The Lord has unlimited power. And he can use that power whenever he wants. That means, if he wants to do something, he has infinite choices of how to do it [Laughs]. So, in this way the Lord shows his great power. Just by the touch of pure kusa grass, Romaharshan died.
Hare Krsna !
Q&A
1.) When we are in a situation, where I have to teach, how I can maintain the humility as a teacher ?
So, that is, of course, a good question. And it can be dangerous. Some people become teachers, then they become gurus. Guru is just a word, but when they get that title ‘Guru’, then they assume even greater power [Laughs]. So, if we say that person is a guru, then the expectation is that, you worship him. And you follow anything he says. That, of course, is important for getting knowledge, but it’s also dangerous.
So, when we’re in a position of a teacher, guru, but we have impurities. Then there’s a danger, that those impurities can contaminate us. When we grow the bhakti creeper, and then Lord Caitanya says weeds can grow up. Then He list the weeds. Just as you have a garden, then you know what is the plant and you look around, you see, here is a weed and you recognize different plants, to cut off the weeds. So, among the weeds are puja and Pratishtha – worship, and position. These are weeds [Laughs].
Therefore, we’re devotees, and we’re supposed to get rid of our anarthas, etc., but if we’re not careful, then, especially if you’re a guru or a teacher, then the anarthas of puja and pratishtha can be there, and you get contaminated by the weeds. Therefore, we have to be careful. In order to preach, we have to give knowledge, we have to take the position of a teacher. At the same time, we have to be careful. We have to see what weeds are there and pull them out.
Devotee: Means, we should be watching ourselves ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah
2.) Hare Krsna Maharaj, Dandavat Pranams. Maharaj, in your Tokyo visit, you actually stressed upon the shiksha, so can we call our shiksha guru as Guru Maharaj? Is it appropriate?
Yes, there’s no problem. They’re just titles, they’re just ways of address. And injunction of scripture is that you have to address a guru with respect. And any word that can indicate that respect is fine.
3.) Sometimes we see Prabhupada’s behavior, sometimes he’s very strong against mayavadi, the preaching. And even sometimes he stopped the mayavadi, instead of mayavadi speaker speaks, he started immediately kirtan. And I read, yeah, he was maybe, maybe Bhanu Maharaj was there, he came to Kobe [not clear] and programed mayavadi speaking, Prabhupada couldn’t tolerate, he completely destroyed the whole program, very disturbed. He couldn’t tolerate that. That kind of behavior, sometimes Prabhupada showing this, you know, very heavy, you know, yeah, speech, speak out, you know, for atheist, for mayavadis, maybe, you know, only he can do, we should not imitate like Prabhupada ? or we should follow like, you know, footstep of the Prabhupada and relate to this point. We have to be very careful how to preach.
For atheist, the Prabhupada also did the opposite sometimes [Laughs]. So sometimes there was a mayavadi came into the room and then he said, offer your respects to them [Laughs]. All the devotees offer respects and they were surprised. Offer your respects to mayavadi.
Another time, Prabhupada was taken to some temple or whatever, little temple. There was a big picture of some bogus guru there, maybe the Sai Baba or something like that. Prabhupada didn’t say anything. He just offered respects to the deity. But he didn’t disturb whoever’s the temple was.
4.) Maharaj, how to understand if somebody has pride?
Well, it’s not too difficult to see pride in other persons. That will manifest in how he treats other people.
It may be difficult to figure out, if you had pride [Laughs]. The problem with maya is, we don’t know where maya is. That’s the nature of maya [Laughs]. So, if you’re in Tamo-gun, then you really don’t know anything about your situation. If you’re in Sattva-gun, you have greater ability to distinguish things.
And that’s why those in Sattva-guna are advisors for the people in Rajoguna, Tamoguna, in the Varanasa system [Laughs]. Now when we don’t have such a system, then its little more difficult [Laughs] and nobody wants to take advice from other people [Laughs].
However, in devotional service, then we do have sadhu-sangha. Generally, sadhu-sangha means association among devotees of equal level. And they should be able to talk freely with each other. And they encourage each devotee to improve the bhakti and reduce the anarthas.
Thank you very much Maharaj,
Devotees: HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki Jai !!! Srila Prabhupad Ki Jai!!! Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatham Ki Jai!!!