Kurukṣetra-anudarśanam — Rāma-hradāḥ and the Question of Kṣatra Continuity (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय ४८)
युधिछिर उवाच त्रि:सप्तकृत्व: पृथिवी कृता नि:क्षत्रिया पुरा । रामेणेति तथा<5त्थ त्वमत्र मे संशयो महान्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: triḥ-saptakṛtvaḥ pṛthivī kṛtā niḥkṣatriyā purā | Rāmeṇeti tathā ’ttha tvam atra me saṁśayo mahān ||
尤提希提罗说道:“尊者,你说在古时帕拉舒罗摩曾二十一度使大地刹帝利绝尽。然而就此一事,我心中生起了极大的疑惑。”
युधिछिर उवाच
The verse foregrounds dharmic inquiry: even authoritative-sounding claims about past violence and social order should be examined critically. Yudhiṣṭhira models ethical reflection by voicing doubt about the implications and plausibility of ‘making the earth kṣatriya-less’ repeatedly.
In the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira questions a prior statement that Paraśurāma eradicated kṣatriyas twenty-one times. He signals a major doubt and invites clarification, setting up further explanation about the tradition and its meaning.