Shloka 16
भीष्मस्वप्न-स्मृत्युपाख्यानम् | Bhīṣma’s Dream-Linked Recollection of the Paraśurāma Combat
नहिमां क्षत्रिय: कश्चिद् वीर्येण व्यजयद् युधि । ऋते ब्रह्म॒विदस्तात तपसा संशितव्रतात्
na hi māṁ kṣatriyaḥ kaścid vīryeṇa vyajayad yudhi | ṛte brahmavidastāta tapasā saṁśitavratāt ||
ਤਾਤ! ਤਪੱਸਿਆ ਨਾਲ ਕਠੋਰ ਵਰਤਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਤਿੱਖਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਸਿੱਧ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਉਸ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ-ਵਿਦ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣ ਪਰਸ਼ੁਰਾਮ ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨਾ, ਕੋਈ ਵੀ ਖ਼ਤਰੀ ਅੱਜ ਤੱਕ ਸ਼ੌਰਯ ਨਾਲ ਯੁੱਧ ਵਿੱਚ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਹਰਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਸਕਿਆ।
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Martial prowess has limits: even the greatest warrior acknowledges a higher kind of power—spiritual discipline and realized knowledge (tapas and brahmavidyā). The verse contrasts kṣatriya strength with the ascetic, vow-tempered potency of a brahmavid like Paraśurāma.
Rāma speaks about his undefeated record in battle, stating that no kṣatriya has overcome him. He names a single exception: Paraśurāma, described as a Brahman-knower and an austere brāhmaṇa whose strict vows, forged by tapas, enabled him to defeat Rāma.