Shloka 11

Akṛtavraṇa’s Account Begins: Gādhi–Satyavatī–Ṛcīka and the Bhārgava Lineage Prelude

Devanagari script

रामेण चार्जुनो नाम हैहयाधिपतिहत: । तस्य बाहुशतान्यासंस्त्रीणि सप्त च पाण्डव,पाण्डुनन्दन! परशुरामजीने अर्जुन नामसे प्रसिद्ध जिस हैहयराज कार्तवीर्यका वध किया था, उसके एक हजार भुजाएँ थीं

Transliteration

Akṛtavraṇa uvāca — Rāmeṇa cārjuno nāma Haihayādhipati-hataḥ | tasya bāhu-śatāny āsan sahasraṁ ca Pāṇḍava, Pāṇḍu-nandana ||

Translation

Akṛtavraṇa said: “By Rāma (Paraśurāma) there was slain a king of the Haihayas named Arjuna. O Pāṇḍava, son of Pāṇḍu, he possessed hundreds—indeed a thousand—arms.”

Word by Word

रामेणby Rama (Parashurama)

चand

अर्जुनःArjuna (Kartavirya)

नामby name / named

हैहयाधिपतिहतःslain (as) the lord of the Haihayas / the Haihaya king who was slain

तस्यof him / his

बाहुशतानिhundreds of arms

आसन्were

त्रीणिthree

सप्तseven

चand

पाण्डवO Pandava

पाण्डुनन्दनO son of Pandu

Speaker

अकृतव्रण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Akṛtavraṇa

Rāma (Paraśurāma / Rāma Jāmadagnya)

Arjuna (Kārtavīrya Arjuna)

Haihayas

Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira implied)

Pāṇḍu

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Extraordinary power (symbolized by a thousand arms) does not exempt a ruler from dharma; when kingship turns into oppression or hubris, even a mighty sovereign can be brought down by a dharma-driven counterforce, here represented by Paraśurāma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Akṛtavraṇa recounts an earlier legendary event to the Pāṇḍavas: Paraśurāma slew the Haihaya king Kārtavīrya Arjuna, famed for having a thousand arms, emphasizing the king’s immense might and the dramatic nature of his fall.