Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 22: Khara and Others Depart to kill Rāma
Text 3.22.3
न रामं गणये वीर्यान्मानुषं क्षीणजीवितम्।
आत्मदुश्चरितैः प्राणान्हतो योऽद्य विमोक्ष्यति॥
na rāmaṁ gaṇaye vīryān mānuṣaṁ kṣīṇa-jīvitam
ātma-duścaritaiḥ prāṇān hato yo ’dya vimokṣyati
na = don’t; rāmam = Rāma; gaṇaye = I care for; vīryāt = because of my prowess; mānuṣam = a human; kṣīṇa-jīvitam = of diminished lifespan; ātma-duścaritaiḥ = by His mischievous activities; prāṇān = His life-airs; hataḥ = will be destroyed; yaḥ = who; adya = today; vimokṣyati = and who will give up.
Because of my prowess, I don’t care for Rāma, a human of diminished lifespan, who will be destroyed by His mischievous activities and who will give up His life-airs today.
NOTE. Since Khara’s nature was demoniac, he was unable to clearly understand the nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In his purport to Bhagavad-gītā 7.14, Prabhupāda quotes Śrīla Yāmunācārya thus:
tvāṁ śīla-rūpa-caritaiḥ parama-prakṛṣṭaiḥ
sattvena sāttvikatayā prabalaiś ca śāstraiḥ
prakhyāta-daiva-paramārtha-vidāṁ mataiś ca
naivāsura-prakṛtayaḥ prabhavanti boddhum
“My dear Lord, devotees like Vyāsadeva and Nārada know You to be the Personality of Godhead. By understanding different Vedic literatures, one can come to know Your characteristics, Your form and Your activities, and one can thus understand that You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance, the demons, the nondevotees, cannot understand You. They are unable to understand You. However expert such nondevotees may be in discussing Vedānta and the Upaniṣads and other Vedic literatures, it is not possible for them to understand the Personality of Godhead.” (Stotra-ratna 12)