Shloka 20
तथैव त॑ महात्मानमृचीकप्रमुखास्तदा । पितामहा महाभाग निवर्तस्वेत्यथाब्रुवन्,उस समय महात्मा परशुरामजीको उनके पितामह ऋचीक आदिने भी इसी प्रकार समझाते हुए कहा--“महाभाग! यह काम छोड़ दो, क्षत्रियोंको न मारो”
tathaiva taṁ mahātmānam ṛcīkapramukhās tadā | pitāmahā mahābhāga nivartasvety athābruvan ||
In the same way, at that time the venerable forefathers—led by Ṛcīka—counselled that great-souled one, saying: “O highly fortunate one, desist. Give up this course; do not slaughter the Kṣatriyas.” The passage frames ancestral admonition as an ethical restraint, urging the renunciation of indiscriminate vengeance and a return to dharma.
समुद्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a powerful warrior must accept ethical limits: ancestral and dharmic authority urges restraint, discouraging collective punishment and the continuation of vengeance-driven violence.
The forefathers, headed by Ṛcīka, address the great-souled hero (understood here as Paraśurāma) and command him to stop his campaign—specifically, to abandon the act of killing Kṣatriyas.