Shloka 5

Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama

Devanagari script

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

Transliteration

tadā niḥkṣatriye loke bhārgaveṇa kṛte sati | brāhmaṇān kṣatriyā rājan sutārthinyo ’bhicakramuḥ ||

Translation

वैशंपायन म्हणाला—राजन्! भार्गव परशुरामाने जेव्हा लोक क्षत्रियविहीन केला, तेव्हा पुत्रप्राप्तीच्या इच्छेने क्षत्रिय स्त्रिया ब्राह्मणांकडे आश्रयास गेल्या.

Word by Word

तदाthen

निःक्षत्रियेin (a world) devoid of kshatriyas

लोकेin the world

भार्गवेणby Bhargava (Parashurama)

कृतेwhen (it was) done

सतिwhile (that) was the case; when it had happened

ब्राह्मणान्Brahmins

क्षत्रियाःkshatriyas

राजन्O king

सुतार्थिन्यःwomen desiring sons

अभिचक्रमुःapproached; went to

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Janamejaya

Bhārgava (Paraśurāma)

Brāhmaṇas

Kṣatriya women

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.