Shloka 20
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 178 — Royal Contestants Assemble; Cosmic Witnesses; The Bow Remains Unstrung
आगर्भादवकृन्तन्तश्वेरु: सर्वा वसुन्धराम् । तत उच्छिद्यमानेषु भृगुष्वेवं भयात् तदा,तदनन्तर भृगुवंशियोंके गर्भस्थ बालकोंकी भी हत्या करते हुए वे क्रोधान्ध क्षत्रिय सारी पृथ्वीपर विचरने लगे। इस प्रकार भृगुवंशका उच्छेद आरम्भ होनेपर भृगुवंशियोंकी पत्नियाँ उस समय भयके मारे हिमालयकी दुर्गम कन्दरामें जा छिपीं। उनमेंसे एक स्त्रीने अपने महान् तेजस्वी गर्भकों भयके मारे एक ओरकी जाँघको चीरकर उसमें रख लिया। उस वामोरुने अपने पतिके वंशकी वृद्धिके लिये ऐसा साहस किया था। उस गर्भका समाचार जानकर कोई ब्राह्मणी बहुत डर गयी और उसने शीघ्र ही अकेली जाकर क्षत्रियोंके समीप उसकी खबर पहुँचा दी। फिर तो वे क्षत्रियलोग उस गर्भकी हत्या करनेके लिये उद्यत हो वहाँ गये
āgarbhād avakṛntantaś cveruḥ sarvā vasundharām | tata uccidyamāneṣu bhṛguṣv evaṃ bhayāt tadā ||
Vasiṣṭha said: ‘Slaying even those still in the womb, the Kṣatriyas roamed over the whole earth. Then, as the Bhṛgus were being cut down in this manner, their women—terrified—hid themselves in the Himalaya’s hard-to-reach caves.’ The passage frames the violence as rage-driven and indiscriminate, highlighting the ethical collapse that occurs when vengeance overrides restraint, and setting up the counter-movement of preservation of lineage through fearful concealment.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how vengeance and anger can erase moral boundaries: violence becomes indiscriminate (‘even from the womb’), signaling adharma. It implicitly warns that power without restraint corrupts kṣatriya duty and threatens social order, while also showing the counter-impulse to protect continuity of life and lineage.
Vasiṣṭha narrates that enraged Kṣatriyas are roaming the earth exterminating the Bhṛgu clan, killing even unborn children. As the destruction begins, Bhṛgu women, terrified, hide in inaccessible Himalayan caves to survive and preserve the lineage.