TEXT 12
sri-garga uvaca
ayam hi rohini-putro
ramayan suhrdo gunaih
akhyasyate rama iti
baladhikyad balam viduh
yadunam aprthag-bhavat
sankarsanam usanty api
SYNONYMS
sri-gargah uvacaGargamuni said; ayamthis; hiindeed; rohini-putrahthe son of Rohini; ramayanpleasing; suhrdahall His friends and relatives; gunaihby transcendental qualities; akhyasyatewill be called; ramahby the name Rama, the supreme enjoyer; itiin this way; bala-adhikyatbecause of extraordinary strength; balam viduhwill be known as Balarama; yadunamof the Yadu dynasty; aprthak-bhavatbecause of not being separated from you; sankarsanamby the name Sankarsana, or uniting two families; usantiattracts; apialso.
TRANSLATION
Gargamuni said: This child, the son of Rohini, will give all happiness to His relatives and friends by His transcendental qualities. Therefore He will be known as Rama. And because He will manifest extraordinary bodily strength, He will also be known as Bala. Moreover, because He unites two familiesVasudevas family and the family of Nanda MaharajaHe will be known as Sankarsana.
PURPORT
Baladeva was actually the son of Devaki, but He was transferred from Devakis womb to that of Rohini. This fact was not disclosed. According to a statement in the Hari-vamsa:
Gargamuni did disclose to Nanda Maharaja that Balarama would be known as Sankarsana because of uniting two familiesthe yadu-vamsa and the vamsa of Nanda Maharajaone of which was known as ksatriya and the other as vaisya. Both families had the same original forefather, the only difference being that Nanda Maharaja was born of a vaisya wife whereas Vasudeva was born of a ksatriya wife. Later, Nanda Maharaja married a vaisya wife, and Vasudeva married a ksatriya wife. So although the families of Nanda Maharaja and Vasudeva both came from the same father, they were divided as ksatriya and vaisya. Now Baladeva united them, and therefore He was known as Sankarsana.

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