Shloka 1
भीष्मस्वप्न-स्मृत्युपाख्यानम् | Bhīṣma’s Dream-Linked Recollection of the Paraśurāma Combat
ऑपन--#ह< बक। है २ >> भीष्म और परशुरामके युद्धमें नारदजीद्वारा बीच-बचाव षडशीरत्याधेकशततमो< ध्याय: अम्बाकी कठोर तपस्या राम उवाच प्रत्यक्षमेतल्लोकानां सर्वेषामेव भाविनि । यथाशकक््त्या मया युद्ध कृतं वै पौरुषं परम्,परशुराम बोले--भाविनि! यह सब लोगोंने प्रत्यक्ष देखा है कि मैंने (तेरे लिये) पूरी शक्ति लगाकर युद्ध किया और महान् पुरुषार्थ दिखाया है
Rāma uvāca: pratyakṣam etad lokānāṁ sarveṣām eva bhāvini | yathāśaktyā mayā yuddhaṁ kṛtaṁ vai pauruṣaṁ param ||
Rāma (Paraśurāma) said: “O Bhāvini (Ambā), all people have witnessed this directly—that, to the full extent of my power, I fought this battle and displayed the highest measure of manly valor.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharma as accountable action: one must exert oneself fully in a righteous cause, and that effort is validated not by private claims but by public, evident conduct (pratyakṣa). It also highlights the ethical idea that fulfilling one’s pledged duty—fighting to the best of one’s ability—matters even when outcomes remain constrained by fate or prior vows.
After the famed combat between Bhīṣma and Paraśurāma (with Nārada’s intervention in the broader episode), Paraśurāma addresses Ambā, stating that everyone has seen his exertion: he fought with all his strength and displayed supreme valor on her behalf, implying that he has done what he could as her supporter in the conflict.