Ramayana — Bala Kanda, Sarga 75, Shloka 24
जामदग्न्य
रामसंवादः — Parashurama Confronts Rama with the Vaishnava Bow
वधमप्रतिरूपं तु पितु श्शृत्वा सुदारुणम्।क्षत्रमुत्सादयन्रोषाज्जातं जातमनेकश:।।।।पृथिवीं चाखिलां प्राप्य काश्यपाय महात्मने ।यज्ञस्यान्ते तदा राम दक्षिणां पुण्यकर्मणे ।दत्त्वा महेन्द्रनिलयस्तपोबलसमन्वित:।।।।
vadham apratirūpaṃ tu pituḥ śrutvā sudāruṇam |
kṣatram utsādayan roṣāj jātaṃ jātaṃ anekaśaḥ ||
pṛthivīṃ cākhilāṃ prāpya kāśyapāya mahātmane |
yajñasyānte tadā rāma dakṣiṇāṃ puṇyakarmaṇe |
dattvā mahendra-nilayas tapo-bala-samanvitaḥ ||
En apprenant le meurtre de mon père—sans égal en cruauté—, dans ma colère je détruisis les kṣatriya encore et encore, génération après génération. Puis, ayant obtenu toute la terre, ô Rāma, à la fin d’un yajña je l’offris en dakṣiṇā au magnanime Kaśyapa, artisan de mérite; et, fort de l’ascèse, je fis du mont Mahendra ma demeure.
O Rama! Having heard the slaying of my father incomparable in extreme ruthlessness,I decimated the Kshatriya race again and again out of fury as they were born and reborn. I conquered the entire earth. At the conclusion of the sacrifice I conferred it on the great soul Kasyapa of meritorious acts. Gifted with ascetic energy I have (now) made the Mahendra mountain my abode.
FAQs
The verse juxtaposes wrath-driven retribution with later restitution: even when anger erupts into violence, Dharma ultimately demands restraint, offering, and the relinquishing of conquest.
Paraśurāma explains the origin of his fearsome reputation—his repeated campaigns against kṣatriyas—followed by his donation of the earth to Kaśyapa and his retirement to Mahendra.
Atonement and renunciation: after extreme action, he performs a compensatory gift and adopts an austere life, signaling a turn back toward disciplined Dharma.