Shloka 3

Cyavana Explains His Tests; Kuśika Seeks Brāhmaṇya for His Line (च्यवन–कुशिक संवादः)

Devanagari script

कथमेष समुत्पन्नो राम: सत्यपराक्रम: । कथं ब्रद्मर्षिवंशो<यं क्षत्रधर्मा व्यजायत,ये सत्यपराक्रमी परशुरामजी कैसे उत्पन्न हुए? ब्रह्मर्षियोंका यह वंश क्षत्रियधर्मसे सम्पन्न कैसे हो गया?

Transliteration

Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | katham eṣa samutpanno Rāmaḥ satya-parākramaḥ | kathaṁ brahmarṣi-vaṁśo ’yaṁ kṣatra-dharmā vyajāyata |

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Rāma, bậc có dũng lực chân thật không hề suy chuyển ấy, đã sinh ra như thế nào? Và vì sao dòng dõi các brahmarṣi này lại trở nên đầy đủ kṣatriya-dharma—đạo pháp của hàng vương giả?”

Word by Word

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• एषः: this (man)
• एषः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• समुत्पन्नः: arisen, born
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-उत्-√पद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• रामः: Rama (Parashurama)
• रामः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सत्यपराक्रमः: of true/unyielding valor
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्य-पराक्रम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• ब्रह्मर्षि-वंशः: lineage of brahmarishis
• ब्रह्मर्षि-वंशः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मर्षि-वंश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अयम्: this
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• क्षत्रधर्मा: having kshatriya-duty/nature
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षत्र-धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अजायत: was born, came to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन्
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Rāma (Paraśurāma)
• brahmarṣi lineage (Bhṛgu/Bhārgava tradition implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical inquiry into how dharma can manifest across social-ritual categories: it asks how a person rooted in a brahmarṣi lineage can embody kṣatriya-dharma, highlighting that conduct and duty may arise from circumstance, purpose, and inherited tradition rather than a simplistic label.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira asks for the origin account of Paraśurāma (Bhārgava Rāma) and seeks an explanation of how a lineage associated with Brahmin sages came to produce a figure characterized by warrior duty and martial prowess.