Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.8.12

śrī-garga uvāca

ayam hi rohinī-putro

ramayan suhrido gunaih

ākhyāsyate rāma iti

balādhikyād balam viduh

yadūnām aprithag-bhāvāt

sańkarshanam uśanty api

SYNONYMS

śrī-gargah uvāca — Gargamuni said; ayam — this; hi — indeed; rohinī-putrah — the son of Rohinī; ramayan — pleasing; suhridah — all His friends and relatives; gunaih — by transcendental qualities; ākhyāsyate — will be called; rāmah — by the name Rāma, the supreme enjoyer; iti — in this way; bala-ādhikyāt — because of extraordinary strength; balam viduh — will be known as Balarāma; yadūnām — of the Yadu dynasty; aprithak-bhāvāt — because of not being separated from you; sańkarshanam — by the name Sańkarshana, or uniting two families; uśanti — attracts; api — also.

TRANSLATION

Gargamuni said: This child, the son of Rohinī, 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 Sańkarshana.

PURPORT

Baladeva was actually the son of Devakī, but He was transferred from Devakī's womb to that of Rohinī. This fact was not disclosed. According to a statement in the Hari-vamśa:

pratyuvāca tato rāmah

sarvāms tān abhitah sthitān

yādaveshv api sarveshu

bhavanto mama vallabhāh

Gargamuni did disclose to Nanda Mahārāja that Balarāma would be known as Sańkarshana because of uniting two families — the yadu-vamśa and the vamśa of Nanda Mahārāja — one of which was known as kshatriya 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 kshatriya wife. Later, Nanda Mahārāja married a vaiśya wife, and Vasudeva married a kshatriya wife. So although the families of Nanda Mahārāja and Vasudeva both came from the same father, they were divided as kshatriya and vaiśya. Now Baladeva united them, and therefore He was known as Sańkarshana.

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