Text 36
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
ātmā vai putra utpanna
iti vedānuśāsanam
tasmād asya bhaved vaktā
āyur-indriya-sattva-vān
śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Lord said; ātmā — one’s self; vai — indeed; putraḥ — the son; utpannaḥ — born; iti — thus; veda-anuśāsanam — the instruction of the Vedas; tasmāt — therefore; asya — his (son); bhavet — should be; vaktā — the speaker; āyuḥ — long life; indriya — strong senses; sattva — and physical power; vān — possessing.
The Supreme Lord said: The Vedas instruct us that one’s own self takes birth again as one’s son. Thus let Romaharṣaṇa’s son become the speaker of the Purāṇas, and let him be endowed with long life, strong senses and stamina.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī quotes the following Vedic verse to illustrate the principle enunciated here by Lord Balarāma:
aṅgād aṅgāt sambhavasi
hṛdayād abhijāyase
ātmā vai putra-nāmāsi
sañjīva śaradaḥ śatam
“You have taken birth from my various limbs and have arisen from my very heart. You are my own self in the form of my son. May you live through a hundred autumns.” This verse appears in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (14.9.8.4) and the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (6.4.8).