Devanagari
गर्भसङ्कर्षणात् तं वै प्राहु: सङ्कर्षणं भुवि
रामेति लोकरमणाद् बलभद्रं बलोच्छ्रयात् ॥ १३ ॥
Verse text
garbha-saṅkarṣaṇāt taṁ vai
prāhuḥ saṅkarṣaṇaṁ bhuvi
rāmeti loka-ramaṇād
balabhadraṁ balocchrayāt
Synonyms
garbha
—
saṅkarṣaṇāt — because He will be taken from the womb of Devakī to that of Rohiṇī
;
tam
—
Him (Rohiṇī-nandana, the son of Rohiṇī)
;
vai
—
indeed
;
prāhuḥ
—
people will call
;
saṅkarṣaṇam
—
by the name Saṅkarṣaṇa
;
bhuvi
—
in the world
;
rāma iti
—
He will also be called Rāma
;
loka
—
ramaṇāt — because of His special mercy in enabling people in general to become devotees
;
balabhadram
—
He will also be called Balabhadra
;
bala
—
ucchrayāt — because of extensive bodily strength .
Translation
The son of Rohiṇī will also be celebrated as Saṅkarṣaṇa because of being sent from the womb of Devakī to the womb of Rohiṇī. He will be called Rāma because of His ability to please all the inhabitants of Gokula, and He will be known as Balabhadra because of His extensive physical strength.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The son of Rohiṇī will also be celebrated as Saṅkarṣaṇa because of being sent from the womb of Devakī to the womb of Rohiṇī. He will be called Rāma because of His ability to please all the inhabitants of Gokula, and He will be known as Balabhadra because of His extensive physical strength.
KB 10.2.13
The Lord also declared to Yogamāyā, “My plenary expansion Ananta Śeṣa is within the womb of Devakī. On account of being forcibly attracted to the womb of Rohiṇī, He will be known as Saṅkarṣaṇa and will be the source of all spiritual power, or bala, by which one can attain the highest bliss of life, which is called ramaṇa. Therefore the plenary portion Ananta will be known after His appearance either as Saṅkarṣaṇa or as Balarāma.”
In the Upaniṣads it is stated, nāyam ātmā bala-hīnena labhyaḥ. The purport is that one cannot attain the supreme platform of self-realization without being sufficiently favored by Balarāma. Bala does not mean physical strength. No one can attain spiritual perfection by physical strength. One must have the spiritual strength which is infused by Balarāma, or Saṅkarṣaṇa. Ananta, or Śeṣa Nāga, is the source of the power which sustains all the planets in their different positions. Materially this sustaining power is known as the law of gravitation, but actually it is a display of the potency of Saṅkarṣaṇa. Balarāma, or Saṅkarṣaṇa, is the source of spiritual power, or the original spiritual master. Therefore Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, who is also the incarnation of Balarāma, is the original spiritual master. And the spiritual master is the representative of Balarāma, the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who supplies spiritual strength. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is confirmed that the spiritual master is the manifestation of the mercy of Kṛṣṇa.
Purport
These are some of the reasons why Balarāma is known as Saṅkarṣaṇa, Balarāma or sometimes Rāma. In the
mahā-mantra
— Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare — people sometimes object when Rāma is accepted as Balarāma. But although devotees of Lord Rāma may object, they should know that there is no difference between Balarāma and Lord Rāma. Here
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
clearly states that Balarāma is also known as Rāma (
rāmeti
). Therefore, it is not artificial for us to speak of Lord Balarāma as Lord Rāma. Jayadeva Gosvāmī also speaks of three Rāmas: Paraśurāma, Raghupati Rāma and Balarāma. All of them are Rāmas.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
He glories māyā by her relation to Gokula filled with the highest prema by speaking of another goal of Saṅkarṣaṇa’s appearance. Because of being pulled from the womb (vai is used for emphasis), and not because of withdrawing the universe during destruction in the form of Śeṣa, he will be known as Saṅkarṣaṇa. Being taken from the womb he will then give pleasure to all the people when he comes to Gokula. Thus he will be called Rāma. Because of his state of intense prema, because of his great strength of prema, he will be called Balabhadra. Instead of balabhadraṁ balocchrayāt sometimes balaṁ balavad uccrayāt is seen. This means “because he is stronger than the strong is called Bala. Rāmeti is a compound explained in the following sūtra: saha supā (Pāṇini 1.1.4)