Balram

[aklujkar at unixg.ubc.ca]

I may not be getting the exact intention behindLeona Anderson's question
(>Specifically, how would you interpret the use of this god as a symbol of
a contemporary, pro-Hindutva agrarian movement?<), but isn't Balaraama's
association with a plough and with diverting the waters of Yamunaa a
sufficient basis for anyone wanting to associate him with agriculture? A
verse quoted in Raaja-;sekhara's Kaavya-miimaa.msaa (halam agu balasyaiko
'na.dvaan ... prabhavati k.r.sir naadyaapy e.saa.m dvitiiya-gava.m vinaa)
already shows such an association, albeit in a non-serious way.