Mahabharata 3.116.28 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 28

Āraṇyaka Parva, Adhyāya 116: Jamadagni–Reṇukā Narrative and the Kārtavīrya Conflict

Akṛtavraṇa’s Account

Devanagari script

पीडयित्वा शरैर्जग्मुर्यथागतमरिंदमा: । अफफक्रान्तेषु वै तेषु जमदग्नौ तथा गते

Transliteration

pīḍayitvā śarair jagmur yathāgatam arindamāḥ | abhyakrānteṣu vai teṣu jamadagnau tathā gate yudhiṣṭhira |

Translation

เมื่อทำให้ท่านบาดเจ็บด้วยศรแล้ว เหล่าผู้ปราบศัตรูก็จากไป กลับไปตามทางที่มา ครั้นพวกเขาถอยหนีและชามทัคนีล้มลงดังนั้น ปรศุรามผู้สืบสายภฤคุจึงมาถึงอาศรม มือถือฟืนสำหรับบูชา ครั้นเห็นบิดานอนตายอย่างน่าเวทนา เขาก็ถูกความโศกครอบงำและร่ำไห้คร่ำครวญ

Word by Word

• पीडयित्वा: having pained/afflicted
• पीडयित्वा: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: पीड्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-भावार्थ (gerundial)

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• जग्मुः: they went
• जग्मुः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• यथा: as/just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• आगतम्: come/arrived
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-गम्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अरिंदमाः: enemy-subduers (epithet; i.e., the Kshatriyas)
• अरिंदमाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरिंदम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

अकृतव्रण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Akṛtavraṇa
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Jamadagni
• sons of Kārtavīrya Arjuna
• Paraśurāma (Rāma Jāmadagnya)
• Bhṛgu (as ancestor: Bhṛgunandana)
• āśrama (hermitage)
• śara (arrows)
• samidh (fuel-sticks)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights the ethical collapse that occurs when martial power targets the defenseless: violence against a blameless ascetic is portrayed as adharma, and it sets in motion grief and the demand for accountability. It also underscores filial responsibility—Paraśurāma’s sorrow and response arise from the perceived injustice done to his father.

What is happening in the narrative?

The sons of Kārtavīrya Arjuna attack Jamadagni with arrows and then withdraw the way they came. After they flee, Paraśurāma arrives at the hermitage carrying fuel-sticks, finds his father slain, and laments in deep grief, regarding the killing as wholly undeserved.