Shloka 5
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
तमुग्रतपसं दृष्टवा सहस्राक्ष: पुरंदर: । समर्थ पुत्रजनने स्वयमेवान्वपद्यत
tam ugratapasaṃ dṛṣṭvā sahasrākṣaḥ puraṃdaraḥ | samarthaḥ putrajanane svayam evānvapadyata ||
Als er den Weisen in furchtbarer Askese sah, erkannte Purandara—Indra mit den tausend Augen, Herr der Weltenhüter—dass er fähig war, einen mächtigen Sohn zu zeugen. Darum trat Indra selbst in ihn ein und wurde als sein Sohn geboren. O König, jener Sohn Kuśikas wurde unter dem Namen Gādhi berühmt.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Intense tapas (austerity) is portrayed as spiritually efficacious: it can draw divine participation and yield extraordinary outcomes, such as the birth of an exceptional son. The passage also implies that power and virtue in lineage are connected to disciplined self-restraint and merit.
Vāyudeva explains that Indra, impressed by a sage’s formidable austerities and his capacity to beget a mighty son, voluntarily incarnated as that sage’s son. The child born in Kuśika’s line became famous as Gādhi.