1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter

Canto

Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 10 · Chapter 72: The Slaying of the Demon Jarāsandha

10.72.29 10.72.31

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.72.30

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.72.30inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

एवमावेदितो राजा जहासोच्चै: स्म मागध: ।

आह चामर्षितो मन्दा युद्धं तर्हि ददामि व: ॥ ३० ॥

evam āvedito rājā

jahāsoccaiḥ sma māgadhaḥ

āha cāmarṣito mandā

yuddhaṁ tarhi dadāmi vaḥ

Translation

[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] Thus challenged, Magadharāja laughed out loud and contemptuously said, “All right, you fools, I’ll give you a fight!

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Contempt Cannot Make the Lord Foolish

1
Jarāsandha laughed and contemptuously agreed to fight. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that he felt satisfied, thinking his enemies had humiliated themselves by dressing as brāhmaṇas.
2
Jarāsandha imagined that begging charity had diminished their heroism. He challenged whether they still had the courage to fight.
3
The ācārya explains that the goddess of learning intends the words to mean that Lord Kṛṣṇa and the Pāṇḍavas are “never foolish.” They had chosen the best tactic for ending the cruel Jarāsandha’s rule once and for all.

Key points from the purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments that Jarāsandha felt inner satisfaction because he thought that his enemies had been humiliated by having to dress like brāhmaṇas to approach him.
Thus the ācārya understands Jarāsandha’s mind as follows: “O weak ones, forget the botheration of fighting.
By dressing yourselves as brāhmaṇas begging charity, you have made your heroism set like the sun, but if somehow you have not lost your courage, I will give you battle.”

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

War and pride → Justice and protection. The public expression of divine power comes to the foreground.

Chapters 70–79 of Canto 10: Kingship, Jarāsandha and royal challenges. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 72: The Slaying of the Demon Jarāsandha

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

At that point Lord Kṛṣṇa discarded His disguise and asked Jarāsandha to fight Him in one-to-one combat. But Jarāsandha refused, claiming that Kṛṣṇa was a coward because He had once fled the battlefield.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.72