The nine Baladevas
The elder half-brother in each of the nine triads. He does not kill, and he is the only one of the three who is saved.
Each Baladeva is paired with a Vāsudeva, his younger half-brother, and the two are hostile to a Prativāsudeva across many lives. The Vāsudeva does the killing. The Baladeva does not.
Eight of the nine are liberated. The ninth, Balarāma, goes to a heaven - and the tradition names him among the souls who will return as Tīrthaṅkaras of the coming caubīsī.
He is the weakest of the three by the ladder - half a Vāsudeva, a quarter of a Cakravartin. He is also the only one of the three who gets out.
The eighth is Rāma and the ninth is Balarāma, which is to say that the two figures a reader is most likely to recognise are, in this reckoning, the ones who did not fight.
Measurements and counts
| Count | 9 |
|---|---|
| Relation | elder half-brother of the Vāsudeva |
| Strength | half a Vāsudeva |
| Liberated | 8 of 9 |
| The ninth | Balarāma - a heaven |
| Eighth | Rāma |
| Kills | no one |