Shloka 41
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
स शून्यमाश्रमं रम्यमापवस्य महात्मन: । ददाह पवनेनेद्धश्षित्रभानु: सहैहय:
sa śūnyam āśramaṃ ramyam āpavasya mahātmanaḥ | dadāha pavaneneddhaś citrabhānuḥ sahaihayaiḥ ||
Vāsudeva said: “Citrabhānu (Agni), fanned into a blaze by the wind, burned down the deserted yet lovely hermitage of the great-souled Āpava, together with the Haihayas.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical breach involved in harming a hermitage and an ascetic’s refuge: power (fire) amplified by external forces (wind) becomes destructive when directed by hostility, reminding that dharma includes protecting peaceful, sacred spaces and the vulnerable.
Vāsudeva narrates that Agni, called Citrabhānu, intensified by the wind, burns the deserted but beautiful hermitage belonging to the great-souled Āpava, doing so in association with the Haihayas.