Text 68] The Advent of Lord Krsna: Introduction 99
There have been many similar instances, and Karnsa was the same type
of king. Karnsa did not hesitate to kill his nephews and imprison his
sister and his father. For demons to do such things is not astonishing.
Nonetheless, although Karnsa was a demon, he was aware that Lord
Visnu cannot be killed, and thus he attained salvation. Even partial
understanding of the activities of Lord Visnu makes one eligible for
salvation. Kamsa knew a little about Krsna—that He could not be
killed—and therefore he attained salvation although he thought of
Visnu, Krsna, as an enemy. What then is to be said of one who knows
Krsna perfectly from the descriptions of sdstras like Bhagavad-gita ? It is
therefore the duty of everyone to read Bhagavad-gitd and understand
Krsna perfectly. This will make one’s life successful.
TEXT 68
AAAS THA AT ATT AT TTT |
MIR Bay ah: A AVeIT scl
Gtmdnam iha sanjatarn
janan prag visnuné hatam
mahasuram kadlanemim
yadubhih sa vyarudhyata
dtmanam—personally; iha—in this world; sarjatam—born again;
janan—understanding well; prak—previously, before this birth; vis-
nunéd—by Lord Visnu; hatam—was killed; mahd-asuram—a great
demon; kélanemim—by the name Kalanemi; yadubhih—with the mem-
bers of the Yadu dynasty; sah—he (Kamsa); vyarudhyata—acted
inimically.
TRANSLATION
In his previous birth, Karnsa had been a great demon named
Kalanemi and been killed by Visnu. Upon learning this informa- |
tion from Narada, Karnsa became envious of everyone connected
with the Yadu dynasty.
PURPORT
Persons who are demons, enemies of the Supreme Personality of God-
head, are called asuras. As stated in Bhagavad-gitd, the asuras, because
