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 said: “Their fathers, and likewise their grandfathers, were slain in battle for my sake by Rāma (Paraśurāma), whose deeds know no fatigue. Remembering this, one should understand the deep, inherited burden of violence and obligation that war creates—how acts done ‘for another’s cause’ can bind later generations to fear, resentment, or duty.”
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.