| YouTube Channel

बालाकि (bAlAki)

 
Apte
English
बालाकिः [bālākiḥ],
N.
 of an ancient sage
दृप्तबालाकिर्हानूचानो गार्ग्य आस Bṛi. Up.
Monier Williams Cologne
English
बा॑लाकि
m.
 metron.
fr.
 बलाका,
ŚBr.
 (cf. g. बाह्व्-आदि).
Monier Williams 1872
English
बालाकि बालाकि, इस्, m. a metronymic from
Balākā.
पुराणम्
English
बालाकि / BĀLĀKI. A hermit. He is called gārgya also as he is a son of garga. He acquired much knowledge and so he became arrogant. Because of this some called him Dṛptabālāki.
Once the hermit went to the King of kāśī and told him that he would impart to him the knowledge of brahma. The king replied that he would give thousand cows in return. bālāki declared that the sun-god was brahmā. The king said that he had known it. Everything that bālāki said had been known to the king earlier. So, in the end bālāki had to become the disciple of the King. Then the King took him to a man who was sleeping. The King called the sleeping man. But he did not wake up. The King woke him up and then asked the hermit, where he had gone when he was sleeping. bālāki could not say where men go when they are sleeping and where they return from when they wake up. The king said “In our sleep we attain ‘Sārūpya’ (assimilation to god). But we are not aware of it. Though we get eternal bliss we do not know it. If we can get eternal bliss when we keep awake that is ‘Ātmajñāna’ (knowledge of Supreme Soul). As the flames emanate from fire, and as the spider weaves its net and sits in its centre, the soul creates everything, controls everything and pervades everything.” (Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad).
Vedic Reference
English
Bālāki, Bālākyā. See Dṛpta-bālāki and Kāśyapī-bālākyā-
māṭharī-putra.
वाचस्पत्यम्
Sanskrit
बालाकि
पु०
 बलाकाया अपत्यम् वा० इञ् । “दृप्तबालाकिर्हानूचानो गार्ग्य आस” वृ० उ० उक्ते गार्ग्ये ऋषिभेदे ।