Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.1.20
Nirodha· Winding upPower Does Not Establish Good Character
“The last of the Kāṇvas, Suśarmā, will be murdered by his own servant, Balī, a low-class śūdra of the Andhra race. This most degraded Mahārāja Balī will have control over the earth for some time.”
What the purport teaches
- Suśarmā, the last Kāṇva king, will be murdered by his own servant, Balī.
- Balī will control the earth for some time. The purport calls this so-called king a most impious, uncultured man.
- The purport presents this as a further description of how uncultured men infiltrated government administration.
Try this today
Reread Balī’s description and distinguish his position as ruler from his conduct.
Ask yourself
Do I mistake a position of authority for evidence of good character?
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.