FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.23

एकोनविंशे विंशतिमे वृष्णिषु प्राप्य जन्मनी । रामकृष्णाविति भुवो भगवानहरद्भ‍रम् ॥ २३ ॥
ekonaviṁśe viṁśatime
[ekonavimshe vimshatime]
vṛṣṇiṣu prāpya janmanī
[vrishnishu praapya janmanee]
rāma-kṛṣṇāv iti bhuvo
[raama-krishnaav iti bhuvo]
bhagavān aharad bharam
[bhagavaan aharad bharam]
Word-for-word
ekonaviṁśe — in the nineteenth viṁśatime — in the twentieth also vṛṣṇiṣu — in the Vṛṣṇi dynasty prāpya — having obtained janmanī — births rāma — Balarāma kṛṣṇau — Śrī Kṛṣṇa iti — thus bhuvaḥ — of the world bhagavān — the Personality of Godhead aharat — removed bharam — burden.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ekonaviṁśe viṁśatime
ekonaviṁśe
in the nineteenth
viṁśatime
in the twentieth also
vṛṣṇiṣu prāpya janmanī
vṛṣṇiṣu
in the Vṛṣṇi dynasty
prāpya
having obtained
janmanī
births
rāma-kṛṣṇāv iti bhuvo
rāma
Balarāma
kṛṣṇau
Śrī Kṛṣṇa
iti
thus
bhuvaḥ
of the world
bhagavān aharad bharam
bhagavān
the Personality of Godhead
aharat
removed
bharam
burden.
In the nineteenth and twentieth incarnations, the Lord advented Himself as Lord Balarāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa in the family of Vṛṣṇi [the Yadu dynasty], and by so doing He removed the burden of the world.
Purport

The specific mention of the word bhagavān in this text indicates that Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa are original forms of the Lord. This will be further explained later. Lord Kṛṣṇa is not an incarnation of the puruṣa, as we learned from the beginning of this chapter. He is directly the original Personality of Godhead, and Balarāma is the first plenary manifestation of the Lord. From Baladeva the first phalanx of plenary expansions, Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha and Pradyumna, expands. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is Vāsudeva, and Baladeva is Saṅkarṣaṇa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The Lord appeared in the Vṛṣṇi dynasty in the two forms of Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa as the nineteenth and twentieth avatāras and relieved the burden of the earth.
Commentary

The word should be viṁśatitame instead of viṁśatime, but the syllable ta is dropped for metrical reasons. The Lord, appearing in the Vṛṣṇi dynasty as the nineteenth and twentieth avatāras, named Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa (rāma-kṛsṇau), relieved the burden of the earth.

Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa came as a divine pair to lift the world's burden together. Big spiritual work is often done in pairs and small communities, not by lone heroes.
Reflection Questions
  • Who is my 'Balarāma' — the companion making my own service possible?
  • Where am I trying to be the lone hero of a burden meant to be shared?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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