SB 10.8.12 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीगर्ग उवाच अयं हि रोहिणीपुत्रो रमयन् सुहृदो गुणै: । आख्यास्यते राम इति बलाधिक्याद्बलं विदु: । यदूनामपृथग्भावात् सङ्कर्षणमुशन्त्यपि ॥ १२ ॥

Verse text

śrī-garga uvāca ayaṁ hi rohiṇī-putro ramayan suhṛdo guṇaiḥ ākhyāsyate rāma iti balādhikyād balaṁ viduḥ yadūnām apṛthag-bhāvāt saṅkarṣaṇam uśanty api

Synonyms

śrī — gargaḥ uvāca — Garga Muni said ; ayam — this ; hi — indeed ; rohiṇī — putraḥ — the son of Rohiṇī ; ramayan — pleasing ; suhṛdaḥ — all His friends and relatives ; guṇaiḥ — by transcendental qualities ; ākhyāsyate — will be called ; rāmaḥ — by the name Rāma, the supreme enjoyer ; iti — in this way ; bala — ādhikyāt — because of extraordinary strength ; balam viduḥ — will be known as Balarāma ; yadūnām — of the Yadu dynasty ; apṛthak — bhāvāt — because of not being separated from you ; saṅkarṣaṇam — by the name Saṅkarṣaṇa, or uniting two families ; uśanti — attracts ; api — also .

Translation

Garga Muni said: This child, the son of Rohiṇī, will give all happiness to His relatives and friends by His transcendental qualities. Therefore He will be known as Rāma. And because He will manifest extraordinary bodily strength, He will also be known as Bala. Moreover, because He unites two families — Vasudeva’s family and the family of Nanda Mahārāja — He will be known as Saṅkarṣaṇa.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Gargamuni said: This child, the son of Rohiṇī, will give all happiness to His relatives and friends by His transcendental qualities. Therefore He will be known as Rāma. And because He will manifest extraordinary bodily strength, He will also be known as Bala. Moreover, because He unites two families—Vasudeva's family and the family of Nanda Mahārāja—He will be known as Saṅkarṣaṇa. KB 10.8.12 He informed Nanda Mahārāja that the son of Rohiṇī would be very pleasing to His family members and relatives and therefore would be called Rāma. In the future He would be extraordinarily strong and therefore would be called Baladeva. Garga Muni said further, “Because your family and the family of the Yadus are so intimately connected and attracted, His name will also be Saṅkarṣaṇa.” This means that Garga Muni awarded three names to the son of Rohiṇī—namely Balarāma, Saṅkarṣaṇa and Baladeva. But he carefully did not disclose the fact that Balarāma had also appeared in the womb of Devakī and was subsequently transferred to the womb of Rohiṇī. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are real brothers, being originally sons of Devakī.

Purport

Baladeva was actually the son of Devakī, but He was transferred from Devakī’s womb to that of Rohiṇī. This fact was not disclosed. According to a statement in the Hari-vaṁśa: pratyuvāca tato rāmaḥ sarvāṁs tān abhitaḥ sthitān yādaveṣv api sarveṣu bhavanto mama vallabhāḥ Garga Muni did disclose to Nanda Mahārāja that Balarāma would be known as Saṅkarṣaṇa because of uniting two families — the yadu-vaṁśa and the vaṁśa of Nanda Mahārāja — one of which was known as kṣatriya and the other as vaiśya. Both families had the same original forefather, the only difference being that Nanda Mahārāja was born of a vaiśya wife whereas Vasudeva was born of a kṣatriya wife. Later, Nanda Mahārāja married a vaiśya wife, and Vasudeva married a kṣatriya wife. So although the families of Nanda Mahārāja and Vasudeva both came from the same father, they were divided as kṣatriya and vaiśya. Now Baladeva united them, and therefore He was known as Saṅkarṣaṇa.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Gargamuni speaks. "O Nanda, because Vasudevas’s and your linage are the same, and Balarama will unite your two families, he will be called Sankarsana. The Hari vamsa says, "Amongst all the Yadus you are most dear to me." Garga did not reveal here that Balarama was transfered (akarsana) from the womb of Devaki to Rohini and thus given the name Sankarsana for that reason.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Some versions had vai instead of hi. Pointing out the child with his finger or touching him, Garga said, “This child (ayam), known as the son of Rohiṇī, will give joy to his friends.” The word asya to indicate Kṛṣṇa is used in the same context. He will be known as “son of Rohiṇī.” He will give joy to friends like Vasudeva and you, Nanda. My giving him the name Rāma is only a pretense. He will spontaneously be known by this name in the future. Giving the other names also is only a pretense. The present tense viduḥ (know) is in the present tense, since the act of knowing will be very soon. They will know him as Bala because of his strength. Because of having fathers in Vasudeva and Nanda (yadūnām), he will be known as Saṅkarṣaṇa because of being pulled into two families. That Vasudeva and Nanda are called Yadus is stated by Balarāma when he went from Dvārakā to Vraja. pratyuvāca tato rāmaḥ sarvān tan abhitaḥ sthitān yadaveṣvapi sarveṣu bhavanto mama bāndahvāḥ Balarāma then replied to Nanda and others standing around him, “Among all the Yadavas, you are my friends.” Hari-vaṁśa Garga said “I am the priest among the Yadus (including Nanda).” The word api at the end of the verse indicates that Balarāma would be known by other names also. Sometimes uta (certainly) is seen instead of api. The meaning is as follows. Because he will give pleasure to the ātmārāmas (suhṛdaḥ--persons with pure hearts) he will be called Rāma. Viduḥ in the present can also indicate that the name is eternal. People will always know him as Balarāma. From the word api, it is suggested that there is another meaning for the name Saṅkarṣaṇa (he who was transferred from the womb).

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Pointing out Balarāma with his finger or touching him with his hand (ayam—this child), he speaks. That is also indicated in the next verse when the word asya is used for Kṛṣṇa. He will give happiness by qualities like kindness and honesty. Hi or vai indicates it is well known from scripture. He will be called Rāma by friends or the public because he gives happiness by his qualities. By showing the derivation of the name he shows that he is not arbitrarily making a name on his own. That is understood for naming Kṛṣṇa also. Because he has exceptional power or more power than other people, he is called Bala. Because he is raised by you he is your son. It is said vrajeśa-sutayoḥ: the two sons of Nanda. It is also said in this verse that Balarāma is the son of Rohiṇī (rohiṇyāḥ putraḥ), not the son of Vasudeva. At the same time, by birth they are Yadus. Thus Balarāma draws the two families together: saṅkarṣaṇa.