Å›rutvÄ yuddhodyamaá¹ rÄmaḥ
kurūṇÄá¹ saha pÄṇá¸avaiḥ
tÄ«rthÄbhiá¹£eka-vyÄjena
madhya-sthaḥ prayayau kila
Å›rutvÄ - hearing; yuddha - for battle; udyamam - the preparations; rÄmaḥ - Lord BalarÄma; kurūṇÄm - of the Kurus; saha - with; pÄṇá¸avaiḥ - the PÄṇá¸avas; tÄ«rtha - in holy places; abhiá¹£eka - of bathing; vyÄjena - on the pretext; madhya-sthaḥ - neutral; prayayau - He departed; kila - indeed.
Lord BalarÄma then heard that the Kurus were preparing for war with the PÄṇá¸avas. Being neutral, He departed on the pretext of going to bathe in holy places.
Both Duryodhana and Yudhiá¹£á¹hira were dear to Lord BalarÄma, and so to avoid an awkward situation He departed. Furthermore, after killing the demon VidÅ«ratha, Lord Kṛṣṇa put aside His weapons, but Lord BalarÄma still had to kill Romahará¹£aṇa and Balvala to finish relieving the earth of her burden of demons.
