Shloka 77

Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya

Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages

Devanagari script

पराशरेण दायाद: सौदासस्याभिरक्षित: । सर्वकर्माणि कुरुते शूद्रवत्‌ तस्य स द्विज:

Transliteration

parāśareṇa dāyādaḥ saudāsasyābhirakṣitaḥ | sarvakarmāṇi kurute śūdravat tasya sa dvijaḥ ||

Translation

पराशरेण दायादः सौदासस्याभिरक्षितः। सर्वकर्माणि कुरुते शूद्रवत् तस्य स द्विजः॥

Word by Word

पराशरेणby Parāśara

दायादःheir; successor

सौदासस्यof Saudāsa

अभिरक्षितःprotected; guarded

सर्वकर्माणिall duties/acts

कुरुतेdoes; performs

शूद्रवत्like a Śūdra

तस्यof him; his

सःhe

द्विजःa twice-born (Brāhmaṇa etc.)

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

Parāśara

Saudāsa (Kalmāṣapāda)

Dvija (brahmin as a social/religious category)

Śūdra (as a social category)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between birth-status (dvija) and lived conduct (śūdravat): social identity alone does not guarantee dignified or ‘higher’ behavior; circumstances such as dependence and protection can make even a brahmin perform all kinds of work like a servant, underscoring that dharma is judged through conduct and context, not merely lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva refers to a traditional account involving King Saudāsa’s heir being safeguarded by the sage Parāśara. In that protected (and dependent) condition, the heir’s associated brahmin is described as undertaking every sort of task, effectively living ‘like a śūdra,’ illustrating how patronage, vulnerability, and social realities can reshape expected roles.