Shloka 86
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
तेषामपचितिश्लैव मया कार्या महामुने । न हाहं कामये नित्यमतिक्रान्तेन रक्षणम् । वर्तमानेन वर्तेयं तत् क्षिप्रं संविधीयताम्
teṣām apacitiś caiva mayā kāryā mahāmune | na hy ahaṁ kāmaye nityam atikrāntena rakṣaṇam | vartamānena varteyaṁ tat kṣipraṁ saṁvidhīyatām ||
O great sage, I must indeed repay my debt of gratitude to them by honoring these descendants of those kings. I do not wish, at any time, to be protected by a kṣatriya who has transgressed the bounds of dharma. Let me live under the guardianship of one who abides in the present rule of righteousness; therefore, please arrange this without delay.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Protection and authority are legitimate only when grounded in dharma: one should not accept guardianship from a ruler who has violated moral limits, and one should actively repay obligations (apaciti) through respectful conduct toward benefactors and their descendants.
Vāsudeva addresses a sage, stating that he must honor the descendants of certain kings as a repayment of gratitude, and he requests swift arrangements so that protection/guardianship is entrusted to a kṣatriya who remains within dharma rather than one who has transgressed it.