śrī-bhagavān uvāca
ātmā vai putra utpanna
iti vedānuśāsanam
tasmād asya bhaved vaktā
āyur-indriya-sattva-vān
sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Supreme Lord said; atma -- one's self; vai -- indeed; putrah -- the son; utpannah -- born; iti -- thus; veda-anusasanam -- the instruction of the Vedas; tasmat -- therefore; asya -- his (son); bhavet -- should be; vakta -- the speaker; ayuh -- long life; indriya -- strong senses; sattva -- and physical power; van -- possessing.
The Supreme Lord said: The Vedas instruct us that one's own self takes birth again as one's son. Thus let Romaharshana's son become the speaker of the Puranas, and let him be endowed with long life, strong senses and stamina.
Srila Sridhara Svami quotes the following Vedic verse to illustrate the principle enunciated here by Lord Balarama:
angad angat sambhavasi
hridayad abhijayase
atma vai putra-namasi
sanjiva saradah satam
"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 Satapatha Brahmana (14.9.8.4) and the Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad (6.4.8).
