Shloka 8
शिष्टान् बद्ध्वा च हत्वा वै तेषां मूर्थ्नि विभिद्य च । गुणावतीमुत्तरेण खाण्डवाद् दक्षिणेन च | गिर्यन्ते शतसाहस्रा हैहया: समरे हता:,शेष क्षत्रियोंको बाँधकर उनका वध कर डाला। उनमेंसे कितनोंके ही मस्तक विदीर्ण कर डाले। गुणावतीसे उत्तर और खाण्डव वनसे दक्षिण पर्वतके निकटवर्ती प्रदेशमें लाखों हैहयवंशी क्षत्रिय वीर पिताके वधसे कुपित हुए बुद्धिमान् परशुरामजीके द्वारा समरभूमिमें मारे गये। वे अपने रथ, घोड़े और हाथियोंसहित मारे जाकर वहाँ धराशायी हो गये
śiṣṭān baddhvā ca hatvā vai teṣāṁ mūrdhni vibhidya ca | guṇāvatīm uttarena khāṇḍavād dakṣiṇena ca | giryante śatasāhasrā haihayāḥ samare hatāḥ |
Nārada said: Having bound the remaining warriors and slain them, he even split the heads of many among them. To the north of Guṇāvatī and to the south of the Khāṇḍava forest, in the mountain-bordering region, hundreds of thousands of Haihaya kṣatriyas were killed in battle—cut down by the wise Paraśurāma, enraged by the slaying of his father. Struck down together with their chariots, horses, and elephants, they fell there upon the earth.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the moral tension between filial duty and uncontrolled vengeance: Paraśurāma’s wrath over his father’s death leads to mass killing, illustrating how retributive anger can escalate beyond proportion and become ethically troubling even when rooted in a perceived duty.
Nārada recounts Paraśurāma’s campaign against the Haihaya kṣatriyas: he captures and kills the remaining fighters, even splitting heads, and in the region north of Guṇāvatī and south of the Khāṇḍava forest near the mountains, vast numbers of Haihayas are slain along with their war equipment and animals.