Shloka 5
Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama
तदा निः:क्षत्रिये लोके भार्गवेण कृते सति । ब्राह्मणान् क्षत्रिया राजन् सुतार्थिन्योडभिचक्रमु:,पूर्वकालमें जमदग्निनन्दन परशुरामने इक्कीस बार पृथ्वीको क्षत्रियरहित करके उत्तम पर्वत महेन्द्रपर तपस्या की थी। उस समय जब भृगुनन्दनने इस लोकको क्षत्रियशून्य कर दिया था, क्षत्रिय-नारियोंने पुत्रकी अभिलाषासे ब्राह्मणोंकी शरण ग्रहण की थी
tadā niḥkṣatriye loke bhārgaveṇa kṛte sati | brāhmaṇān kṣatriyā rājan sutārthinyo ’bhicakramuḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: When the world had been made bereft of kṣatriyas by Bhārgava (Paraśurāma), the kṣatriya women, desiring sons, approached the brāhmaṇas for refuge and assistance. The passage highlights how social order is shaken by cycles of violence, and how the longing for lineage and protection leads the afflicted to seek support from those associated with learning and ritual authority.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that large-scale violence destabilizes society, and that the preservation of lineage and social continuity becomes a moral concern; in crisis, people seek refuge in institutions of learning and ritual (brāhmaṇas), reflecting interdependence among social roles.
After Paraśurāma (Bhārgava) has made the world ‘kṣatriya-less,’ the surviving kṣatriya women, wishing to have sons and continue their lines, go to the brāhmaṇas for support.