Shloka 69
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
अवर्तन्त द्विजाग्ग्राणां दारेषु भरतर्षभ । भरतश्रेष्ठ! फिर तो स्वेच्छाचारी वैश्य और शाटद्र श्रेष्ठ द्विजोंकी स्त्रियोंके साथ अनाचार करने लगे ।। ६८ $ ।। अराजके जीवलोके दुर्बला बलवत्तरै:
avartanta dvijāgrāṇāṁ dāreṣu bharatarṣabha |
Vāsudeva sprach: „O Stier unter den Bharatas! Wenn die Herrschaft zusammenbricht und das Gesetz nicht gewahrt wird, beginnen Männer der niederen Stände—ohne Zügel—die Frauen der vornehmsten Brāhmaṇas zu schänden. Wo die Ordnung fällt, wird der Schwache zur Beute des Starken, und soziale wie sittliche Grenzen werden zertreten.“
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage warns that when righteous rule and enforcement of dharma collapse (arājaka), moral restraints erode: the strong exploit the weak, and even protected social institutions like marriage and the honor of the virtuous are violated. It underscores the king’s duty to uphold order and protect the vulnerable.
Vāsudeva describes symptoms of a lawless society: people of lower status, acting without restraint, begin committing sexual misconduct against the wives of eminent brāhmaṇas—an example used to illustrate how anarchy leads to widespread social and ethical breakdown.