Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.50.18
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesA Challenge Conceals Doubt
“You, Rāma, should gather Your courage and fight with me, if You think You can do it. You may either give up Your body when it is cut to pieces by my arrows, and thus attain to heaven, or else kill me.”
What the purport teaches
- Jarāsandha challenges Rāma to gather His courage and fight, if He thinks He can.
- He presents two alternatives: Rāma may die under his arrows and attain heaven, or He may kill Jarāsandha.
- According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, Jarāsandha suspected that Lord Balarāma’s body was indestructible. He therefore offered Balarāma’s killing him as what might be a more practical alternative.
Try this today
Reread the challenge alongside the purport, noticing Jarāsandha’s suspicion about Lord Balarāma’s indestructible body.
Ask yourself
How does the purport change your understanding of Jarāsandha’s confident challenge?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.