Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 303
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
त्रि:सप्तकृत्वः पृथिवी कृता निः:क्षत्रिया पुरा । पूर्वकालकी बात है, जमदग्निकुमार परशुरामजीने तीव्र रोषमें भरकर इक्कीस बार पृथ्वीको क्षत्रियोंसे शून्य कर दिया था
triḥ-saptakṛtvaḥ pṛthivī kṛtā niḥkṣatriyā purā |
Sinabi ni Bhishma: Noong unang panahon, ang daigdig ay ginawang salat sa uri ng mga Kshatriya nang dalawampu’t isang ulit. Ito’y paggunita sa lumang salaysay na si Paraśurāma, anak ni Jamadagni, na nag-aalab sa matinding poot, ay paulit-ulit na lumipol sa mga Kshatriya—isang pangyayaring madalas banggitin upang pagnilayan ang mapanirang lakas ng galit at ang mabibigat na pananagutang moral ng paghihiganting walang pagpipigil, kahit pa ito’y ituring na pagganti.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse invokes Paraśurāma’s repeated extermination of Kshatriyas to warn that intense anger and vengeance can escalate into catastrophic, society-wide harm; ethical restraint and dharmic discernment are implied as necessary checks on retaliatory violence.
Bhīṣma, while instructing on conduct and moral order, cites an ancient precedent: the earth was rendered ‘without Kshatriyas’ twenty-one times—an allusion to Paraśurāma’s campaigns of retribution against the Kshatriya class.