Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
नैवात्मनो5थ लघुतां जामदग्न्यो5ध्यगच्छत । यद्यपि अश्वमेध यज्ञ समस्त प्राणियोंको पवित्र करनेवाला तथा तेज और कान्तिको बढ़ानेवाला है तथापि उसके फलसे तेजस्वी परशुरामजी सर्वथा पापमुक्त न हो सके। इससे उन्होंने अपनी लघुताका अनुभव किया
naivātmano ’tha laghutāṃ jāmadagnyo ’dhyagacchat | yady api aśvamedha-yajñaḥ samasta-prāṇināṃ pāvanaḥ tathā tejaḥ-kānti-vardhanaḥ, tathāpi tasya phalena tejasvī paraśurāmaḥ sarvathā pāpa-mukto na babhūva | tasmād asau svāṃ laghutām anubabhāva |
Bhīṣma dit : Le fils de Jamadagni (Paraśurāma) n’atteignit ni la véritable légèreté de l’être ni l’élévation intérieure. Bien que le sacrifice de l’Aśvamedha soit réputé purifier toutes les créatures et accroître splendeur et rayonnement, son fruit même ne put rendre le brillant Paraśurāma entièrement exempt de faute. Il reconnut alors sa propre petitesse—son insuffisance morale—et éprouva l’humilité devant les exigences supérieures du dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Ritual merit, even from exalted sacrifices like the Aśvamedha, is not a mechanical guarantee of complete moral purification; inner fault and past wrongdoing require deeper ethical transformation, leading the wise to humility rather than pride.
Bhishma comments on Parashurama’s experience: despite performing or relying upon the famed purificatory power of the Aśvamedha, Parashurama does not become wholly sinless, and this failure makes him recognize his own moral limitation (laghutā).