Shloka 63
अरक्षेश्व सुतान् कांक्ष्चित् तदा क्षत्रिययोषित: । नरेश्वर! उन्होंने पुन: उन सबके छोटे-छोटे बच्चों-तकको शीघ्र ही मार डाला। जो बच्चे गर्भमें रह गये थे, उन्हींसे पुनः यह सारी पृथ्वी व्याप्त हो गयी। परशुरामजी एक-एक गर्भके उत्पन्न होनेपर पुन: उसका वध कर डालते थे। उस समय क्षत्राणियाँ कुछ ही पुत्रोंको बचा सकी थीं ।। ६१-६२ ई ।। त्रि:सप्तकृत्व: पृथिवीं कृत्वा नि:क्षत्रियां प्रभु:
arākṣeṣu sutān kāṁścit tadā kṣatriyayoṣitaḥ | nareśvara, punar api teṣāṁ sarveṣāṁ kṣudrakān bālān api śīghram eva jaghnuḥ | ye tu garbheṣu avaśiṣṭāḥ, tair eva punar iyaṁ sarvā pṛthivī vyāptābhavat | paraśurāmaḥ pratyekaṁ garbhasya prasave punar api taṁ vadhaṁ cakāra | tasmin kāle kṣatrāṇyaḥ kevalān alpān putrān rakṣituṁ śekuḥ || triḥ-saptakṛtvaḥ pṛthivīṁ kṛtvā niḥkṣatriyāṁ prabhuḥ ||
Vāsudeva disse: Ó rei, naquele tempo as mulheres Kṣatriya conseguiram proteger apenas alguns poucos filhos. Mas os demais—até as crianças bem pequenas—foram novamente mortos com rapidez. Os que permaneceram ocultos no ventre tornaram-se a semente pela qual toda a terra voltou a ser povoada. Contudo, sempre que uma criança nascia de tais gestações, Paraśurāma tornava a matá-la. Assim, o poderoso fez a terra “sem Kṣatriyas” vinte e uma vezes.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the moral peril of unchecked vengeance: even when framed as retribution against a warrior class, violence that reaches the unborn and the very young exposes a conflict with broader dharma—especially the duty to protect the innocent and restrain wrath.
Vāsudeva recounts Paraśurāma’s repeated extermination of Kṣatriyas. A few children are saved by Kṣatriya women, and some survive in the womb and later repopulate the earth; yet Paraśurāma is said to kill even those born thereafter, making the earth ‘without Kṣatriyas’ twenty-one times.