Shloka 37
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
ददौ स पृथिवीं सर्वा सप्तद्वीपां सपर्वताम् स्वबाह्वस्वबलेनाजौ जित्वा परमधर्मवित्
dadau sa pṛthivīṁ sarvāṁ saptadvīpāṁ saparvatām | svabāhv-asvabalenājau jitvā paramadharmavit ||
Vāsudeva said: Having conquered in battle, by the strength of his own arms, the entire earth with its seven continents and its mountains, that supremely dharma-knowing king bestowed it in gift—giving away what he had won, in accordance with the highest law of generosity and righteousness.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and victory are not presented as ends in themselves: the ideal ruler, though capable of conquering by personal valor, is praised as ‘parama-dharma-vit’ because he converts possession into righteous giving—using sovereignty as a means to uphold dharma through dāna (generosity) and restraint.
Vāsudeva describes a king who wins the whole earth—symbolically ‘with seven continents and mountains’—through his own martial strength, and then gives it away as a gift, highlighting the model of a universal ruler whose conquest culminates in charitable donation rather than mere enjoyment.