Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 46
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
निमित्तादवलिप्ता वै नृशंसाश्वैव सर्वदा । जमदग्निधेन्वास्ते वत्समानिन्युर्भरतर्षभ
nimittād avaliptā vai nṛśaṃsāś caiva sarvadā | jamadagnidhenvās te vatsam āninyur bharatarṣabha ||
Vāsudeva berkata: “Dengan menjadikan suatu alasan sebagai dalih dan membusung oleh keangkuhan, para putera raja itu—yang sentiasa kejam dalam perbuatan—pernah merampas anak lembu milik lembu suci pengabul hajat Jamadagni, wahai banteng kaum Bharata.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that pride (avalipta) and the habit of justifying wrongdoing through convenient pretexts (nimitta) lead to sustained cruelty (nṛśaṃsa). Ethical decline begins when power treats the sacred and the vulnerable as objects to be seized.
Vāsudeva recounts an incident in which arrogant, cruel princes seize and carry off the calf belonging to the sage Jamadagni’s sacred cow. The act functions as an example of royal misconduct and the kind of adharma that provokes grave consequences.