Shloka 20
Avatāra-kathā — The Puruṣa, the Many Incarnations, and Kṛṣṇa as Svayam Bhagavān
अवतारे षोडशमे पश्यन् ब्रह्मद्रुहो नृपान् । त्रि:सप्तकृत्व: कुपितो नि:क्षत्रामकरोन्महीम् ॥ २० ॥
avatāre ṣoḍaśame paśyan brahma-druho nṛpān triḥ-sapta-kṛtvaḥ kupito niḥ-kṣatrām akaron mahīm
Dalam penjelmaan keenam belas, Tuhan menjelma sebagai Bhṛgupati (Paraśurāma). Melihat raja-raja kṣatriya yang menderhaka terhadap brāhmaṇa, Baginda murka lalu memusnahkan mereka dua puluh satu kali, menjadikan bumi tanpa kṣatriya.
The kṣatriyas, or the administrative class of men, are expected to rule the planet by the direction of the intelligent class of men, who give direction to the rulers in terms of the standard śāstras, or the books of revealed knowledge. The rulers carry on the administration according to that direction. Whenever there is disobedience on the part of the kṣatriyas, or the administrative class, against the orders of the learned and intelligent brāhmaṇas, the administrators are removed by force from the posts, and arrangement is made for better administration.
FAQs
Bhagavatam 1.3.20 states that in His sixteenth incarnation (Paraśurāma), the Lord, angered by kings who harmed brāhmaṇas, eliminated the kṣatriya rulers twenty-one times, making the earth temporarily without such rulers.
Because those rulers were described as brahma-druhaḥ—hostile to brāhmaṇas and brahminical principles—so the Lord acted to restore dharma by curbing abusive power.
It teaches that power must be accountable to dharma: leadership should protect spiritual and ethical principles, and society should resist governance that harms truthfulness, learning, and saintly culture.