Shloka 9
Paraśurāma Avenges Jamadagni; Restoration Through Sacrifice; Viśvāmitra’s Line and Devarāta (Śunaḥśepha)
येऽर्जुनस्य सुता राजन् स्मरन्त: स्वपितुर्वधम् । रामवीर्यपराभूता लेभिरे शर्म न क्वचित् ॥ ९ ॥
ye ’rjunasya sutā rājan smarantaḥ sva-pitur vadham rāma-vīrya-parābhūtā lebhire śarma na kvacit
হে রাজা পরীক্ষিত! কার্তবীর্যার্জুনের পুত্রেরা পরশুরামের অতুল বীর্যে পরাভূত হয়ে সর্বদা পিতৃহত্যার স্মৃতি বহন করত; তাই তারা কখনও শান্তি বা সুখ লাভ করতে পারেনি।
Jamadagni was certainly very powerful due to his austerities, but because of a slight offense by his poor wife, Reṇukā, he ordered that she be killed. This certainly was a sinful act, and therefore Jamadagni was killed by the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna, as described herein. Lord Paraśurāma was also infected by sin because of killing Kārtavīryārjuna, although this was not very offensive. Therefore, whether one be Kārtavīryārjuna, Lord Paraśurāma, Jamadagni or whoever one may be, one must act very cautiously and sagaciously; otherwise one must suffer the results of sinful activities. This is the lesson we receive from Vedic literature.
FAQs
This verse says that Arjuna’s sons, constantly remembering their father’s killing and their defeat by Paraśurāma, could not attain peace anywhere—showing how unresolved grief and fixation on loss disturb the mind.
In the narrative of Canto 9, Chapter 16, Paraśurāma’s extraordinary valor overwhelms the Kṣatriyas; Arjuna’s sons are portrayed as unable to retaliate and left psychologically broken after their father’s fall.
The verse warns against repeatedly replaying trauma and defeat; peace comes by processing loss, releasing revenge-driven fixation, and grounding the mind in higher dharma and devotion rather than in resentment.