Shloka 8

Devanagari script

स भवान्‌ कथयत्वद्य यथा रामेण निर्जिता: । आहवे क्षत्रिया: सर्वे कथं केन च हेतुना,अतः हम आपसे यह जानना चाहते हैं कि परशुरामजीने किस प्रकार और किस कारणसे समस्त क्षत्रियोंकों युद्धमें पपाजित किया था। आप वह सब वृत्तान्त आज मुझे बताइये

Transliteration

sa bhavān kathayatv adya yathā rāmeṇa nirjitāḥ | āhave kṣatriyāḥ sarve kathaṃ kena ca hetunā ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Pray tell me today how all the Kṣatriyas were defeated in battle by Rāma (Paraśurāma). In what manner did it happen, and for what cause? I wish to hear that entire account from you.”

Word by Word

• {'saḥ': 'he (that person)', 'bhavān': 'you (honorific)', 'kathayatu': 'may (you) tell, narrate', 'adya': 'today, now', 'yathā': 'how, in what way', 'rāmeṇa': 'by Rāma (instrumental)

• here Paraśurāma', 'nirjitāḥ': 'conquered, defeated', 'āhave': 'in battle, in combat', 'kṣatriyāḥ': 'Kṣatriyas, warrior-rulers', 'sarve': 'all', 'katham': 'how?', 'kena': 'by what (means)?', 'ca': 'and', 'hetunā': 'by what cause/reason (instrumental)'}

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Rāma (Paraśurāma)
• Kṣatriyas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models dhārmic inquiry: before judging a severe act (the defeat of all Kṣatriyas), one should ask for the manner (katham/yathā) and the cause (hetu). Ethical evaluation in the Mahābhārata is grounded in understanding motive, context, and means.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira requests a detailed narration of how Paraśurāma (called Rāma) overcame the Kṣatriyas in battle, asking both the method and the reason behind that conflict.