Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
न स बालं न वृद्धं च परित्यजति भार्गवः । यौवनस्थं विशेषेण गर्भस्थं वाथ क्षत्रियम्
na sa bālaṃ na vṛddhaṃ ca parityajati bhārgavaḥ | yauvanasthaṃ viśeṣeṇa garbhasthaṃ vātha kṣatriyam
Bhārgava spared neither child nor elder; most especially he did not spare the kṣatriya in youth, nor even one yet in the womb.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)
Scene: A stark depiction of Paraśurāma’s indiscriminate wrath—figures of different ages implied—rendered symbolically (shadows, broken weapons) to avoid gratuitous gore while conveying tragedy.
FAQs
Purāṇic narratives sometimes present extreme acts to underline the gravity of adharma and the uncompromising force of a vowed mission—inviting reflection on power, restraint, and moral consequence.
This verse is part of the lead-up narrative; the explicit tīrtha focus in this adhyāya culminates around Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra.
No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it intensifies the narrative context that later turns toward pitṛtarpaṇa and dāna.