Shloka 1.74.4
परशुरामप्रादुर्भावः — The Appearance of Parasurama on the Return from Mithila
गवां शतसहस्राणि बहूनि मिथिलेश्वर:।कम्बलानां च मुख्यानां क्षौमकोट्यंबराणि च।।।।हस्त्यश्वरथपादातं दिव्यरूपं स्वलङ्कृतम् ।ददौ कन्यापिता तासां दासीदासमनुत्तमम् ।।।।
kaccit pitṛvadhāmarṣī kṣatraṃ notsādayiṣyati |
pūrvaṃ kṣatravadhaṃ kṛtvā gatamanyur gatajvaraḥ |
kṣatrasyotsādanaṃ bhūyo na khalv asya cikīrṣitam ||
Could it be that, still inflamed by the slaying of his father, he intends once more to exterminate the kṣatriyas? Formerly, after killing the kṣatriyas, his anger and fevered anguish had subsided—surely he does not wish again to destroy the kṣatriya order.
The king of Mithila and father of the brides gave a hundred thousand cows, excellent woollen carpets, crores of silk garments, four divisions of elephants, horses, chariots and infantry and well-decorated, excellent male and maid-servants shining in celestialbeauty.
Unchecked vengeance threatens dharma by collapsing social order; the sages implicitly uphold restraint and the restoration of balance over repeated cycles of retaliation.
The sages, alarmed by Paraśurāma’s fiery arrival, fear a renewed campaign against kṣatriyas and discuss whether his former rage has returned.
The virtue urged is kṣamā/śama (forbearance and calm), contrasted with destructive wrath.