etÄvad uktvÄ bhagavÄn
nivá¹›tto 'sad-vadhÄd api
bhÄvitvÄt taá¹ kuÅ›Ägreṇa
kara-sthenÄhanat prabhuḥ
etÄvat - this much; uktvÄ - saying; bhagavÄn - the Personality of Godhead; nivá¹›ttaḥ - stopped; asat - the impious; vadhÄt - from killing; api - although; bhÄvitvÄt - because it was inevitable; tam - him, Romahará¹£aṇa; kuÅ›a - of kuÅ›a grass; agreṇa - with the tip of a blade; kara - in His hand; sthena - held; ahanat - killed; prabhuḥ - the Lord.
[Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« continued:] Although Lord BalarÄma had stopped killing the impious, Romahará¹£aṇa’s death was inevitable. Thus, having spoken, the Lord killed him by picking up a blade of kuÅ›a grass and touching him with its tip.
ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda writes: “Lord BalarÄma had avoided taking part in the Battle of Kuruká¹£etra, and yet because of His position as an incarnation, the reestablishment of religious principles was His prime duty. Considering these points, He killed Romahará¹£aṇa SÅ«ta simply by striking him with a kuÅ›a straw, which was nothing but a blade of grass. If someone questions how Lord BalarÄma could kill Romahará¹£aṇa SÅ«ta simply by striking him with a blade of kuÅ›a grass, the answer is given in the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam 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 Romahará¹£aṇa SÅ«ta simply by striking him with a blade of kuÅ›a grass.â€
