Shloka 5
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
स तेषु रुधिराम्भ:सु हदेषु क्रोधमूर्च्छित: । पितृन् संतर्पयामास रुधिरेणेति नः श्रुतम्,क्रोधसे आविष्ट होकर परशुरामजीने उन रक्तरूप जलसे भरे हुए सरोवरोंमें रक्ताउ्जलिके द्वारा अपने पितरोंका तर्पण किया, यह बात हमने सुनी है
sa teṣu rudhirāmbhaḥsu hradeṣu krodha-mūrcchitaḥ | pitṝn santarpayāmāsa rudhireṇeti naḥ śrutam ||
Sañjaya said: “We have heard that, overcome by a frenzy of wrath, he (Paraśurāma) went to those lakes whose waters were blood, and there he offered libations (tṛpaṇa) of blood to satisfy his ancestors.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral danger of krodha (wrath): when anger overwhelms discernment, even sacred duties like pitṛ-tarpaṇa can be performed in a distorted, violent manner. It underscores how inner states shape the ethical quality of ritual action.
Sañjaya reports a tradition about Paraśurāma: after acts of extreme violence, he is said to have gone to lakes filled with blood and performed ancestral libations there using blood, intending to satisfy his forefathers.