Shloka 15
अर्जुनस्य लक्ष्यवेधः
Arjuna’s Hitting of the Target at the Svayaṃvara
नानीशैहिं तदा तात भगुभिभवितात्मभि: | वधो हापेक्षित: सर्व: क्षत्रियाणां विहिंसताम्
nāniśaiḥ tadā tāta bhṛgubhir bhāvitātmabhiḥ | vadho hāpekṣitaḥ sarvaḥ kṣatriyāṇāṁ vihiṁsatām ||
नानीशैर्हि तदा तात भृगुभिर्भावितात्मभिः । वधो ह्यपेक्षितः सर्वः क्षत्रियाणां विहिंसताम् ॥
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vasiṣṭha rejects the idea that moral restraint equals weakness: the Bhṛgus’ endurance of violence was grounded in cultivated self-control and ethical choice, not helpless submission.
Vasiṣṭha addresses a younger listener (“tāta”), clarifying that when Kṣatriyas attacked and killed members of the Bhṛgu lineage, the Brahmins did not passively accept the massacre because they were incapable; he is reframing their response as principled restraint.