Shloka 21
Bhīṣma’s Retrospective of the Jāmadagnya Rāma Encounter
Divyāstra-Pratiyuddha and Twilight Cessation
अनेक सहखस््र ब्राह्मणोंको बहुत दान करनेवाले परशुरामजीके धराशायी होनेपर अधिकाधिक रक्तकी वर्षा करते हुए बादलोंने आकाशको ढक लिया
aneka-sahasra-brāhmaṇebhyo bahu-dāna-pradāyinaḥ paraśurāmasya dharāśāyini bhūte, adhikādhika-rakta-varṣaṃ kurvantaḥ meghā ākāśaṃ ācchādayām āsuḥ.
Bhīṣma dijo: Cuando Paraśurāma—célebre por sus generosas dádivas a miles de brāhmaṇas—quedó tendido en el suelo, las nubes cubrieron el cielo y derramaron una lluvia de sangre cada vez más copiosa.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that acts of extreme violence—even involving famed and charitable figures—carry moral weight that reverberates beyond the battlefield. Nature’s ominous signs (blood-rain, darkened sky) function as an ethical commentary: adharma and the disruption of cosmic order manifest as inauspicious portents.
Bhīṣma describes a dramatic omen occurring when Paraśurāma is brought down to the ground: clouds cover the sky and an intensifying rain of blood falls. The narration heightens the gravity of the confrontation and frames Paraśurāma’s fall as an event of world-shaking significance.