Shloka 736
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
प्रसाद्य कश्यपं देवी वरयामास भूमिपम् | कश्यपजीने ऊरुसे इस पृथ्वीको धारण किया था; इसलिये यह उर्वी नामसे प्रसिद्ध हुई। उस समय पृथ्वीदेवीने कश्यपजीको प्रसन्न करके अपनी रक्षाके लिये यह वर माँगा कि मुझे भूपाल दीजिये
prasādya kaśyapaṃ devī varayāmāsa bhūmipam | kaśyapājine ūruse iyaṃ pṛthivī dhāritā tasmād urvī nāmnā prasiddhābhavat | tadā pṛthivīdevī kaśyapaṃ prasādya svārakṣārthaṃ varaṃ yayāce—“me bhūpālaṃ dehi” iti |
Having pleased the sage Kaśyapa, the Goddess (Earth) sought a boon: a protector-king. Because this Earth was borne upon Kaśyapa’s thigh, wrapped in his antelope-skin, she became renowned by the name Urvī. In that moment, Earth herself, after winning Kaśyapa’s favor, asked for her own safeguarding that a ruler be granted to her—so that order might be upheld and the world not fall into lawlessness.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames kingship as a dharmic necessity: the Earth herself seeks a ruler for protection, implying that governance exists to safeguard beings, uphold order, and prevent the descent into disorder (adharma).
Vāsudeva recounts how the Earth-goddess pleased the sage Kaśyapa and requested a boon—namely, a king (bhūpāla) to protect her. The text also explains the epithet ‘Urvī’ for Earth by linking it to her being borne on Kaśyapa’s thigh (ūru) while wrapped in his antelope-skin (ajina).