Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.54.8
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesUnderstanding the Battlefield Description
“Lying all around were thighs, legs and fingerless hands, along with hands clutching swords, clubs and bows, and also the heads of horses, donkeys, elephants, camels, wild asses and humans.”
What the purport teaches
- The battlefield was strewn with severed limbs and the heads of humans and animals. Some hands still clutched swords, clubs and bows.
- The purport explains that karabhāḥ means the portion of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers.
- Karabhāḥ can also mean an elephant’s trunk. Thus the verse implies that the thighs on the battlefield resembled elephants’ trunks.
Try this today
Write down the two meanings of karabhāḥ given in the purport.
Ask yourself
How does the explanation of karabhāḥ clarify the verse’s description?
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.