Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 42
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
आपतव्स्तु ततो रोषाच्छशापार्जुनमच्युत । दग्धे55श्रमे महाबाहो कार्तवीर्येण वीर्यवान्
āpatavastu tato roṣāc chaśāpārjunam acyuta | dagdhe ’śrame mahābāho kārtavīryeṇa vīryavān ||
Vāsudeva sprach: „Da verfluchte der mächtige Weise Āpava, vom Zorn entflammt, Arjuna, o Acyuta. Denn als seine Einsiedelei von Kārtavīrya verbrannt worden war, wurde der asketische Mann mit den starken Armen von wilder Wut ergriffen und sprach einen Fluch über Arjuna, den Sohn Kṛtavīryas.“
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical consequence of violating ascetic sanctuaries: when royal power harms a hermitage, it provokes the retaliatory force of tapas expressed as a curse. It warns that anger and violence—especially against the innocent and sacred—rebound upon the perpetrator through moral and spiritual law.
Vāsudeva recounts that the sage Āpava’s āśrama was burned by Kārtavīrya. Enraged by this outrage, Āpava pronounced a curse upon Arjuna, identified here as Kṛtavīrya’s son (Kārtavīryārjuna), setting in motion consequences for that royal line.