Balarāma, Elder Brother of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa

Balarāma is the elder brother of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. He is the son of Vasudeva by Rohiṇī, and an aṃśa (a part) of Ādiśeṣa, the first divine serpent who is the bed of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. He is also called Baladeva, Halāyudha and Saṅkarṣaṇa. He is one of the great heroes of the Yādava clan. In the Vaiṣṇava tradition he is counted as the eighth avatāra of Bhagavān Viṣṇu.

He has three main names. Saṃkarṣaṇa means he was drawn (saṃkarṣita) from the womb of Devakī to the womb of Rohiṇī. Rāma means he gives joy to all. Bala means he is the foremost among the strong. In the childhood of Kṛṣṇa in Gokula and Vṛndāvana, Balarāma was his constant companion. He played beside him, guarded the gopa community, and killed several asuras, among them Pralambāsura and Dhenukāsura.

He was born to Vasudeva and Rohiṇī, so he is Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother by a different mother. From childhood he showed great strength. His weapons are the halā (plough) and the musala (club), and they give him the names Halāyudha and Musaladhara. He is a master of gadā-yuddha (mace fighting). He taught both Duryodhana and Bhīma this art.

Birth and the move to Rohiṇī

Devakī carried Balarāma as her seventh child. The child in her womb was Śeṣa, the aṃśa of Bhagavān Viṣṇu who serves as his resting place. But Kaṃsa had killed the first six children, and he would destroy the seventh too.

Bhagavān Viṣṇu told Yogamāyā to move the child. She was to draw the growing child out of Devakī’s womb and place it in the womb of Rohiṇī. Rohiṇī was another wife of Vasudeva. She lived safely in Gokula, at Nanda’s settlement, beyond Kaṃsa’s reach. Yogamāyā did this by her divine power. To the world, Devakī seemed to have lost the child, and people mourned. In truth the child was kept safe.

Balarāma was born to Rohiṇī in the safety of Gokula. Because he was drawn (saṃkarṣita) from one womb to another, he was named Saṃkarṣaṇa. Because he was born in Rohiṇī’s line, he is also called Rohiṇeya.

The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the 10th Skandha, Chapters 1–2.

His names and their meanings

Garga Muni held the secret naming ceremony (nāmakaraṇa) in the cowshed (gośālā) at Nanda’s house. There the three names of Rohiṇī’s son were given:

Saṃkarṣaṇa: he who was drawn from one womb to another.
Rāma: he who brings delight (ramayati) to all beings.
Bala: the greatest among the strong.

He is also called Balarāma (the mighty one who brings joy) and Halāyudha (the one whose weapon is the plough), a name linked with his weapon as a grown man. In the writings about Dvārakā he is Rohiṇī-suta, the son of Rohiṇī.

This is from the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skandha, Chapter 8.

Companion in childhood

All through Kṛṣṇa’s childhood in Gokula and Vṛndāvana, Balarāma was with him as elder brother and friend. Balarāma was fair (śveta-varṇa), and Kṛṣṇa was dark (kṛṣṇa-varṇa). The two brothers matched each other like the moon and the dark sky. When they were old enough, they were given the work of herding cows. Each morning they took the calves, and later the cows, to the pastures of Vṛndāvana, and brought them home in the evening.

The Bhāgavata marks Balarāma by his clear awareness of Kṛṣṇa’s divine nature. When Brahmā hid all the gopa boys and calves, Balarāma alone saw that something was odd. He saw that all the mothers showed a strange new love for “Kṛṣṇa”. He understood that something of the highest divine importance was happening, though the whole picture was not at first clear even to him. When asuras threatened and the people were in danger, Balarāma stayed calm, knowing that Kṛṣṇa would win.

This is from the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skandha, Chapters 8–16.

Slayer of asuras in Vṛndāvana

In the first half of the 10th Skandha, Balarāma destroyed two great asura enemies.

Dhenukāsura was a donkey-asura. He held the Tālavana palm grove and had driven out all life from it. The gopa boys wanted to go into the grove for the ripe tāla fruits, and Balarāma went in first. When Dhenukāsura charged, Balarāma caught him by the hind legs. He whirled him round and threw him into the top of a palm tree with deadly force. Then he killed all of Dhenukāsura’s kin, the other donkey-asuras, in the same way. In the end every palm tree in the Tālavana held an asura’s body in its crown.

Pralambāsura slipped into the group of gopa boys in disguise. During a game of carrying each other, he tried to carry Balarāma away. The asura ran off with Balarāma on his back and grew into his true asura form. Balarāma struck him on the head with one blow of his fist, with the power of Ādiśeṣa himself, and killed him at once.

This is from the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skandha, Chapters 15 and 18.

Balarāma in the wider story of Kṛṣṇa

In the Agni Purāṇa’s account of the Kṛṣṇa avatāra, Balarāma goes with Kṛṣṇa to Mathurā when Akrūra calls them. He fights the champion wrestler Muṣṭika while Kṛṣṇa fights Cāṇūra. He is present through all that happens at Mathurā.

In the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa’s account, he is also present through the main events of Vṛndāvana and the Govardhana episode. Balarāma saw the freeing of the twin arjuna trees, through the mortar to which Yaśodā had tied Kṛṣṇa. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa says that Nārada was the one who gave the śāpa (curse) to Nalakūbara and Maṇigrīva.

These are from the Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 12, and the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 14.

Śaṅkhacūḍa and the gem-crest (Chapter 34)

The gopas went on a pilgrimage to Ambikāvana. While the gopas slept and the gopīs were gathered near Kṛṣṇa, the asura Śaṅkhacūḍa appeared. He was a servant of Kubera and wore a gem-crest on his head. He began to carry off groups of gopīs who had wandered into the forest. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma ran after him.

Kṛṣṇa ran ahead and killed Śaṅkhacūḍa. As the asura fell, Kṛṣṇa took the shining gem-crest from his head and gave it to Balarāma. It was a sign of Kṛṣṇa’s love for his brother. He gave the prize of the asura’s death not to himself but to his elder brother.

This is from the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skandha, Chapter 34.

The death of Muṣṭika at Mathurā (Chapter 44)

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were brought to Kaṃsa’s wrestling arena in Mathurā. Kaṃsa had set two champion wrestlers, Cāṇūra and Muṣṭika, to fight and kill them. Kṛṣṇa was matched against Cāṇūra, and Balarāma against Muṣṭika. Muṣṭika was a strong enemy. Balarāma struck him with his fist with the full force of Ādiśeṣa. Muṣṭika fell and died, vomiting blood. The two brothers then killed the other wrestlers, and Kṛṣṇa killed Kaṃsa himself.

This is from the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skandha, Chapter 44.

The gurukula at Sāṇḍīpani’s āśrama (Chapter 45)

After the events in Mathurā, Vasudeva and Devakī were freed and Ugrasena was made king again. Then Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma both took the sacred thread (upanayana). This began their stage of brahmacarya (student life). They went together to the āśrama of the great ṛṣi Sāṇḍīpani Muni in the city of Avantī, to learn.

Under Sāṇḍīpani, both brothers learned sixty-four branches of knowledge, in sixty-four days, one subject each day. These included the four Vedas, the Dharmaśāstra, the sixty-four arts and the science of weapons. Their guru-dakṣiṇā (gift to the teacher) was the return of Sāṇḍīpani’s dead son. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma went down to the realm of Yama and brought the boy back to life.

This is from the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skandha, Chapter 45.

Balarāma as Ādiśeṣa

The Bhāgavata and the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa both name Balarāma as an aṃśa of Ādiśeṣa, the eternal divine serpent who is the couch of Bhagavān Viṣṇu in Vaikuṇṭha. Ādiśeṣa has always lived near Bhagavān Viṣṇu and keeps his awareness of him in every avatāra.

This is from the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skandha, Chapters 1–2.

Balarāma in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Parva

Śeṣa and the transfer of the child

The Viṣṇu Parva of the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa gives its own account of Balarāma’s birth and identity. In Chapter 2, Bhagavān Viṣṇu himself tells Yoganidrā the plan:

“The seventh foetus, which is Candra’s aṃśa, will take shape in Devakī’s womb; he will be my elder brother (anna). Transfer that seventh child from Devakī’s womb into Rohiṇī’s womb. He will be known as Saṃkarṣaṇa.”

The text says Devakī seemed to lose the child, and the news spread that her garbha (womb-child) was lost. In truth the child lived and grew to birth in Rohiṇī’s womb in the safety of Gokula. The Hari Vaṃśa names Balarāma Saṃkarṣaṇa both for this transfer and because he is one with Ādiśeṣa, the divine serpent whose work of saṃkarṣaṇa (drawing together and dissolution) he carries out.

In Chapter 6, the Hari Vaṃśa tells of the naming. When Nanda settled both children in Gokula, the elder was named Saṃkarṣaṇa and the younger was called Kṛṣṇa. Balarāma is another name for Saṃkarṣaṇa, and the text uses the two names for the same person throughout.

Slaying Pralambāsura

The Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa tells of the death of Pralambāsura among Balarāma’s early deeds. Kaṃsa had sent Pralamba, with Hayagrīva, Keśi, Dhenuka and others, with orders to go about in disguise and kill those who supported the divine cause (Chapter 1). The Hari Vaṃśa tells of Pralamba’s death at Balarāma’s hands as part of the removal of Kaṃsa’s asura allies in Vṛndāvana.

The journey to Mathurā with Akrūra

Akrūra came to Nanda’s settlement in the evening, and he found Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa together. The Hari Vaṃśa (Chapter 26) tells of Akrūra’s inner vision of Kṛṣṇa at the door of the cowshed. It names both brothers as the aim of his mission and of his devotion. The next morning Balarāma-Kṛṣṇau, the two brothers together, rode on Akrūra’s chariot.

At the Yamunā, Akrūra went down into the water for his Vaiṣṇava-mantra bath and had the vision of Nāgaloka. The Hari Vaṃśa says that in the cosmic vision in the water, Akrūra saw Kṛṣṇa as Viṣṇu on Śeṣa. Beside him he saw a form as bright as the moon (candra-samāna-śarīra), saṃkarṣaṇa-vat, like Saṃkarṣaṇa. So both divine brothers appeared in their cosmic forms in Akrūra’s vision: Kṛṣṇa as Viṣṇu and Balarāma as Śeṣa.

Killing Muṣṭika and other wrestlers at Mathurā

At the arena in Mathurā, the Hari Vaṃśa (Chapter 31) says that Kaṃsa matched Muṣṭika against Balarāma while Kṛṣṇa fought Cāṇūra. The fight was long and fierce. Balarāma fought Muṣṭika for a long time before he gave the last blow, a crushing strike of his fist to the skull. Muṣṭika fell. The Hari Vaṃśa also says that after the main wrestlers were killed, Balarāma killed Kaṃsa’s brother with his own hands. This shows Balarāma’s own part in ending the line of Kaṃsa at Mathurā.

After all that followed the death of Kaṃsa, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma went together to their father’s house, glad that their parents were free.

At Gomanta Parvata: kādamba wine and the divine consorts

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were at Gomanta Parvata, a peak of the Sahya range. Balarāma walked on the mountain and found a kādamba tree from which a stream of wine, fermented by itself, was flowing. He called the apsarās who lived on the mountain and drank the wine with great joy. He offered it to Kṛṣṇa too.

The divine consorts of Balarāma, Madirā, Kānti and Lakṣmī, then came down from Svarga to the mountain. So did the divine crown of Bhagavān Viṣṇu, carried by Garuḍa from the realm of Bali. On Gomanta, Balarāma first received his divine nāgali (plough-weapon, Saṃvartaka) and musala (club, Senanda). They appeared from the earth as his own weapons.

This is from the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Parva, Chapters 40–41.

Dragging the Yamunā at Vraja

After the battles at Karavīra-pura, Balarāma went back to Vraja for a visit. The gopas and gopīs welcomed him with their usual love. Balarāma was drunk with kādamba wine and was walking by the river. He told the Yamunā to come to him so that he could play in her waters.

The Yamunā did not obey, because she was flowing on the course set for her. Balarāma struck the river with his plough (nāgali) and forced her to flow where he wished. He cut a new channel through the earth. The power of the plough flung her waters in every direction. The Yamunā came before him in the form of a frightened woman and fell at his feet. She said: “I have been overpowered! O Rāma! Release me. I take refuge in you.” Balarāma was pleased and set her free. The Yamunā flowed on in her new course, where Balarāma had directed.

This is from the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Parva, Chapter 47.

Water play at Piṇḍāraka

The Yādavas held a pilgrimage and festival at Piṇḍāraka, a holy tīrtha on the western seacoast. Balarāma was devoted only to his consort Revatī. He drank wine, wore a divine garland of flowers, and played in the water of the ocean with Revatī (jala-krīḍā). The apsarās whom Kṛṣṇa had called by his divine command also joined the festival. It also had the Bhālikya Saṃgīta, a divine concert of music, performed in Kṛṣṇa’s presence.

This is from the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Parva, Chapter 90.

Balarāma in the Mahābhārata: the Sarasvatī tīrtha-yātrā (Śalya Parva)

The decision to go on pilgrimage

The war at Kurukṣetra came to its eighteenth and last day. Balarāma was in an impossible position. Both Duryodhana and Bhīmasena were his own students in gadā-yuddha. He had taught both and loved both. He could not fight against either side.

His answer was to go on a tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) along the river Sarasvatī. He set out on the day the fighting began, the day of Puṣya nakṣatra, so that he would be away when his two best students fought each other. He left with the ṛtvik brāhmaṇas (the priests of the yajña), his friends and the Vṛṣṇi warriors. He spent 42 nights on the road, from Puṣya to Śravaṇa. He came back on the day of Śravaṇa nakṣatra, the very day of the gadā-yuddha.

The tīrthas of the Sarasvatī

Balarāma’s pilgrimage covered the whole river Sarasvatī. He began where it meets the ocean at Prabhāsa in the west, and ended at its mountain source at Plakṣa-Prasravaṇa in the Himālaya in the east. He visited tīrtha after tīrtha, and each has its own story of how it began:

Prabhāsa: Soma (the moon) bathed here after Dakṣa’s śāpa and got back his light. So the tīrtha is called “the illuminating one”.
Camasod-bheda (also called Trita-kūpa): Trita Ṛṣi was pushed into a well by his brothers. He did an imagined yajña in the depths of the well to keep himself alive.
Vinaśana: the Sarasvatī goes underground here, because she did not wish to be seen by śūdras and Ābhīras.
Subhūmika, Gandharva-tīrtha and Gargabhrata: tīrthas linked with apsarās, gandharvas and ṛṣis of old.
Śoṇitoda and Pṛthodaka: Ruṣaṅku Ṛṣi reached paramapada (the highest state) here. Viśvāmitra also won his brahminhood here.
Kapālamocana: skulls fall from those who carry them as a śāpa. It is linked with Paraśurāma, and is a Śaiva tīrtha.
Yayāti-tīrtha: King Yayāti performed great yajñas here.
Nāgadhanva: the home of Vāsuki, king of serpents, visited by 14,000 ṛṣis and devas.
Sthāṇu tīrtha (Taijasamanda): Śiva set it up by tapas. Here Kārttikeya was installed as commander of the devas (deva-senāpati abhiṣeka), and Varuṇa was consecrated as lord of the waters (jala-adhipati).
Agni tīrtha: Agni hid in the Śamī tree under Bhṛgu’s śāpa until the devas found him.
Brahma-Yoni tīrtha: Brahmā made many tīrthas here.
Kaubera tīrtha: Kubera did tapas here. He gained all wealth, the friendship of Śiva, the Puṣpaka vimāna and his son Nalakūbara.
Bhadara-pācana: Śrutāvatī, the daughter of Bharadvāja, cooked jujube fruits while her legs burned in the fire. Arundhatī likewise cooked for 12 years. The place is now a supreme tīrtha.
Indra tīrtha: Indra performed 100 yajñas here and received the title Śatakratu.
Rāma tīrtha: Paraśurāma did tapas here after he had given the whole earth to Kaśyapa.
Āditya tīrtha: Sūrya did tapas here, Vyāsa reached paramayoga-siddhi here, and Bhagavān Viṣṇu bathed here after the battle with Madhu and Kaiṭabha.
Vṛddha-kanyā tīrtha: a woman made by the tapas of Kuṇirgarga lived here for many years. At last she received the saṃskāra (rite) of marriage through Śṛṅgavanta.
Sārasvata tīrtha: named for Sārasvata Ṛṣi, who kept the Vedas safe in a 12-year drought.
The sacred land of Kurukṣetra: Balarāma heard the account of King Kuru ploughing this field. The place of the gadā-yuddha is described.
Plakṣa-Prasravaṇa: the mountain source of the Sarasvatī. Here Balarāma sang a stotra (hymn of praise) to the river.
Kārapavana tīrtha and the Mitra-Varuṇa āśrama: Nārada came here carrying his vīṇā and told Balarāma of the gadā-yuddha that was about to happen.

Balarāma’s stotra to the Sarasvatī

At Plakṣa-Prasravaṇa he had come from the river’s meeting with the ocean to its mountain source. Balarāma looked back over the whole length of the holy river and sang its praise:

“What joy equals dwelling on the Sarasvatī? What quality equals the Sarasvatī? Those who reach the Sarasvatī go to Svarga. The Sarasvatī is remembered in all times. The Sarasvatī is the most sacred of all rivers. The Sarasvatī grants auspiciousness to all the worlds. Those who reach the Sarasvatī do not remember their great pāpa (sins), neither in this life nor in the next, nor do they suffer.”

Return to see the gadā-yuddha

Nārada reached the Mitra-Varuṇa āśrama, near Kārapavana. He told Balarāma in full about the war at Kurukṣetra and the gadā-yuddha that was about to take place. Balarāma at once got into his chariot and went back to Kurukṣetra. He arrived just as the fight between Bhīma and Duryodhana was beginning.

He watched the fight closely. Bhīmasena struck Duryodhana below the navel, against the set rules of gadā-yuddha. In anger Balarāma raised his plough to step in. Kṛṣṇa held him back. He reminded Balarāma of Bhīma’s sworn oath, and said that a vow made for dharma comes before the rules of combat. Balarāma was still angry at the breaking of the rules. He left, would not stay for the end, and went back to the west. This is the last place where he is seen in the Śalya Parva.

This is from the Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Gadā Parva, Chapters 35–60.

Identity as Śeṣa and Ananta (Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 147)

In the Puruṣa-māhātmya chapter of the Umā-Maheśvara Saṃvāda, Śiva describes Balarāma, also called Saṃkarṣaṇa, Hali or Bala. He is as fair as a snow mountain. Śiva says he is none other than the cosmic serpent Ādiśeṣa, also called Ananta. His banner is a golden tāla tree with three crests. His head has a thousand hoods, covered with great serpents. Every divine weapon comes to him the moment he thinks of it.

Śiva says that Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa) and this serpent-Rāma are one and the same avyaya (undying) being, seen in two forms. Garuḍa, son of Kaśyapa Prajāpati, once asked the gathered devas to help him see the full size of Viṣṇu as Śeṣa. Even he could not find its limit. Śeṣa is shown holding Bhūdevī within his coils in perfect bliss, and dwelling within the being of Kṛṣṇa himself.

This is from the Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 147.

The abduction of Subhadrā (Ādi Parva)

In the Mahābhārata, Balarāma was the elder brother of Subhadrā and was first charged with her honour. On the road back to Dvārakā, Arjuna carried Subhadrā away on Kṛṣṇa’s advice, in the rākṣasa form of marriage. Balarāma was furious. He stood in the great assembly of the leaders of the Vṛṣṇis, Andhakas and Bhojas and told of his anger. Arjuna had been received as an honoured guest at their table, and had paid back their welcome with this insult. Balarāma called for revenge.

The assembly roared in support and rose to take up arms. Then Kṛṣṇa spoke, calm and firm. He said that Arjuna had not dishonoured them but had paid them the highest honour. Arjuna had not treated the Vṛṣṇis as merchants selling a daughter. He had not waited for a svayaṃvara (the bride’s own choice of husband), which might have gone against him. He had come with his own worth and taken Subhadrā as a hero of equal rank takes a wife, as kṣatriya dharma allows. Who in the three worlds was Arjuna’s equal in birth, courage and nobility?

Balarāma was won over, and his anger turned. He then sent the most remarkable wedding gift of all: a thousand war-elephants, fully equipped, to Arjuna at Indraprastha.

This is from the Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 220–221.

The dawn rite (Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 126)

In the Rahasya-Dharma cycle of the Anuśāsana Parva, Balarāma teaches a small household rahasya (secret teaching). When a man gets up at dawn, he should touch in turn the cow, ghee, curd, mustard and kollu (a grain). By this he is freed from pāpa (sin). This is one part of a longer cycle of teachings.

This is from the Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 126 (Deva-Rahasya).

Leaving the body as the great white serpent (Mausala Parva, Chapters 3–4)

The appointed hour for the destruction of the Yādavas came upon the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas at Prabhāsa. Balarāma had gone to the tīrtha with his kin. He took part in the great drinking festival on the seashore and sat beside Kṛṣṇa as the quarrel began that would destroy the clan. As the killing went on, through the cursed muṣala, Balarāma left the slaughter. He sat apart under a tree, alone in thought, lost in yoga. (Mausala Parva, Chapter 3.)

Kṛṣṇa had finished the destruction and came at last into the forest to look for his elder brother. He saw Balarāma sitting in yoga. He saw a great white serpent come out of Balarāma’s mouth. It had a thousand hoods, a body as vast as the mountains, and a red mouth. This was Ananta, the first Ādiśeṣa, whose aṃśa Balarāma had always been.

Balarāma left his human body. As the serpent-king he went to the great ocean and entered it. There the Ocean itself came out to welcome him. So did the divine serpents Karkoṭaka, Vāsuki, Takṣaka and Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the serpent-king, and many fierce and splendid nāgas. The holy rivers and Varuṇa also came in person. They received him with arghya and pādya (offerings of water) and every honour, and took him back to his own eternal place.

So the brother who had come into the world as Ādiśeṣa returned to the cosmic waters. His earthly līlā (divine play) was complete, just before Kṛṣṇa’s own going up to his highest abode. (Mausala Parva, Chapter 4.)

Going down to Rasātala to carry the earth (Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapter 5)

At the end of the Mahābhārata, Sauti told where all the great ones went at last. Once more the eternal role of Balarāma was shown. Balarāma is Ananta, Ādiśeṣa, the first serpent on whom the worlds rest.

When his earthly līlā was complete, he went down to Rasātala, by the command of Brahmā and through the strength of his own yoga (yoga-bala). There he took up again his cosmic burden, holding the earth on his hoods. Other heroes merged into their ruling devas. Balarāma took up again his everlasting task as the support of creation itself. He stays in the lower waters as Śeṣa-Ananta.

This is from the Mahābhārata, Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapter 5.

In the Saubhavadha account (Vana Parva)

In the Saubhavadha Upākhyāna of the Vana Parva, Balarāma is named among the senior Yādava heroes at Dvārakā when Śālva attacked with the Saubha vimāna. While Kṛṣṇa was away, the whole Yādava army defended Dvārakā under the direction of the senior warriors.

The Mahābhārata shows a rich character in Balarāma. He was deeply righteous and a loyal brother to Kṛṣṇa. He was also close to Duryodhana, who was his student in gadā-yuddha. As the Kurukṣetra war drew near, he was in an impossible position. In the end he went on a tīrtha-yātrā along the Sarasvatī rather than fight on either side.

This is from the Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 14–16.

Sources

Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skandha, Chapters 1–2, 8–18, 34, 44–45
Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 12
Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapters 12, 14
Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Parva, Chapters 1, 2, 6, 26–27, 30–31, 40–41, 47, 90
Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 220–221
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 14–16
Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Gadā Parva, Chapters 35–60
Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 126, 147
Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapters 3–4
Mahābhārata, Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapter 5