Shloka 85
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
एतेषां पितरश्रैव तथैव च पितामहा: । मदर्थ निहता युद्धे रामेणाक्लिष्टकर्मणा
eteṣāṃ pitaraś caiva tathaiva ca pitāmahāḥ | mad-arthaṃ nihatā yuddhe rāmeṇākliṣṭa-karmaṇā ||
Vāsudeva sprach: „Ihre Väter und ebenso ihre Großväter wurden im Kampf um meinetwillen von Rāma (Paraśurāma) erschlagen, dessen Taten keine Ermüdung kennen. Wer dessen gedenkt, soll die tiefe, vererbte Last von Gewalt und Verpflichtung begreifen, die der Krieg hervorbringt—wie Handlungen, die ‘für die Sache eines anderen’ getan werden, spätere Generationen an Furcht, Groll oder Pflicht binden können.“
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how violence undertaken ‘for someone’s sake’ (mad-artham) generates lasting moral and social consequences: it can create inherited grievances and obligations, reminding rulers and warriors to weigh causes and outcomes carefully within dharma.
Vāsudeva refers to earlier killings in war: the fathers and grandfathers of certain people were slain by Rāma (Paraśurāma), described as indefatigable in action. The statement frames present tensions against a background of past bloodshed and its lingering effects.