Shloka 3

Cyavana Explains His Tests; Kuśika Seeks Brāhmaṇya for His Line (च्यवन–कुशिक संवादः)

Devanagari script

कथमेष समुत्पन्नो राम: सत्यपराक्रम: । कथं ब्रद्मर्षिवंशो<यं क्षत्रधर्मा व्यजायत,ये सत्यपराक्रमी परशुरामजी कैसे उत्पन्न हुए? ब्रह्मर्षियोंका यह वंश क्षत्रियधर्मसे सम्पन्न कैसे हो गया?

Transliteration

Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | katham eṣa samutpanno Rāmaḥ satya-parākramaḥ | kathaṁ brahmarṣi-vaṁśo ’yaṁ kṣatra-dharmā vyajāyata |

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Bagaimanakah Rāma ini—yang keberaniannya benar dan tak pernah meleset—dilahirkan? Dan bagaimana garis keturunan para brahmarṣi ini menjadi berlandaskan dharma para kṣatriya?”

Word by Word

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• एषः: this (man)
• एषः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• समुत्पन्नः: arisen, born
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-उत्-√पद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• रामः: Rama (Parashurama)
• रामः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सत्यपराक्रमः: of true/unyielding valor
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्य-पराक्रम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• ब्रह्मर्षि-वंशः: lineage of brahmarishis
• ब्रह्मर्षि-वंशः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मर्षि-वंश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अयम्: this
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• क्षत्रधर्मा: having kshatriya-duty/nature
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षत्र-धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अजायत: was born, came to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन्
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Rāma (Paraśurāma)
• brahmarṣi lineage (Bhṛgu/Bhārgava tradition implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical inquiry into how dharma can manifest across social-ritual categories: it asks how a person rooted in a brahmarṣi lineage can embody kṣatriya-dharma, highlighting that conduct and duty may arise from circumstance, purpose, and inherited tradition rather than a simplistic label.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira asks for the origin account of Paraśurāma (Bhārgava Rāma) and seeks an explanation of how a lineage associated with Brahmin sages came to produce a figure characterized by warrior duty and martial prowess.