Shloka 64
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
दक्षिणामश्वमेधान्ते कश्यपायाददत् ततः । इस प्रकार शक्तिशाली परशुरामजीने इस पृथ्वीको इक्कीस बार क्षत्रियोंसे हीन करके अश्वमेध यज्ञ किया और उसकी समाप्ति होनेपर दक्षिणाके रूपमें यह सारी पृथ्वी उन्होंने कश्यपजीको दे दी ।।
dakṣiṇām aśvamedhānte kaśyapāyādadat tataḥ | sa kṣatriyāṇāṁ śeṣārthaṁ kareṇoddiśya kaśyapaḥ ||
Vāsudeva sprach: Am Ende des Aśvamedha gab er daraufhin Kaśyapa die dakṣiṇā, die rituelle Opfergabe. So vollzog der mächtige Paraśurāma, nachdem er die Erde einundzwanzigmal der Kṣatriyas beraubt hatte, das Pferdeopfer; und als es vollendet war, schenkte er Kaśyapa diese ganze Erde als dakṣiṇā. Danach ging Kaśyapa, in der Absicht zu regeln, was hinsichtlich der verbliebenen Kṣatriyas zu tun sei, entsprechend vor.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the dharmic principle that power and conquest must be restrained and ultimately subordinated to higher order: after violent retribution, Paraśurāma performs a Vedic rite and relinquishes sovereignty by giving the earth as dakṣiṇā to a sage, emphasizing expiation, detachment, and the ethical necessity of placing rule under brahminical/ṛṣi-guided dharma.
Vāsudeva recounts that Paraśurāma, after repeatedly eliminating kṣatriya rulers, performs an Aśvamedha and, at its completion, gives the entire earth to the sage Kaśyapa as the sacrificial fee; Kaśyapa then turns his attention to how the remaining kṣatriyas are to be dealt with/regulated in what follows.