Shloka 10
Kurukṣetra-anudarśanam — Rāma-hradāḥ and the Question of Kṣatra Continuity (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय ४८)
युधिछिर उवाच त्रि:सप्तकृत्व: पृथिवी कृता नि:क्षत्रिया पुरा । रामेणेति तथा<5त्थ त्वमत्र मे संशयो महान्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: triḥ-saptakṛtvaḥ pṛthivī kṛtā niḥkṣatriyā purā | Rāmeṇeti tathā ’ttha tvam atra me saṁśayo mahān ||
युधिष्ठिर बोले—प्रभो! आपने कहा कि प्राचीन काल में परशुराम ने इक्कीस बार पृथ्वी को क्षत्रियों से शून्य कर दिया था; पर इस विषय में मेरे मन में बड़ा संदेह उत्पन्न हो गया है।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharmic inquiry: even authoritative-sounding claims about past violence and social order should be examined critically. Yudhiṣṭhira models ethical reflection by voicing doubt about the implications and plausibility of ‘making the earth kṣatriya-less’ repeatedly.
In the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira questions a prior statement that Paraśurāma eradicated kṣatriyas twenty-one times. He signals a major doubt and invites clarification, setting up further explanation about the tradition and its meaning.