Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.16.18-19

tad-raktena nadīḿ ghorām

abrahmaṇya-bhayāvahām

hetuḿ kṛtvā pitṛ-vadhaḿ

kṣatre 'mańgala-kāriṇi

triḥ-sapta-kṛtvaḥ pṛthivīḿ

kṛtvā niḥkṣatriyāḿ prabhuḥ

samanta-pañcake cakre

śoṇitodān hradān nava

SYNONYMS

tat-raktena — by the blood of the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna; nadīm — a river; ghorām — fierce; abrahmaṇya-bhaya-āvahām — causing fear to the kings who had no respect for brahminical culture; hetum — cause; kṛtvā — accepting; pitṛ-vadham — the killing of his father; kṣatre — when the whole royal class; amańgala-kāriṇi — was acting very inauspiciously; triḥ-sapta-kṛtvaḥ — twenty-one times; pṛthivīm — the entire world; kṛtvā — making; niḥkṣatriyām — without a kṣatriya dynasty; prabhuḥ — the Supreme Lord, Paraśurāma; samanta-pañcake — at the place known as Samanta-pañcaka; cakre — he made; śoṇita-udān — filled with blood instead of water; hradān — lakes; nava — nine.

TRANSLATION

With the blood of the bodies of these sons, Lord Paraśurāma created a ghastly river, which brought great fear to the kings who had no respect for brahminical culture. Because the kṣatriyas, the men of power in government, were performing sinful activities, Lord Paraśurāma, on the plea of retaliating for the murder of his father, rid all the kṣatriyas from the face of the earth twenty-one times. Indeed, in the place known as Samanta-pañcaka he created nine lakes filled with their blood.

PURPORT

Paraśurāma is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and his eternal mission is paritrāṇāya sādhūnāḿ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām [Bg. 4.8] — to protect the devotees and annihilate the miscreants. To kill all the sinful men is one among the tasks of the incarnation of Godhead. Lord Paraśurāma killed all the kṣatriyas twenty-one times consecutively because they were disobedient to the brahminical culture. That the kṣatriyas had killed his father was only a plea; the real fact is that because the kṣatriyas, the ruling class, had become polluted, their position was inauspicious. Brahminical culture is enjoined in the śāstra, especially in Bhagavad-gītā (cātur-varṇyaḿ mayā sṛṣṭaḿ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13]). According to the laws of nature, whether at the time of Paraśurāma or at the present, if the government becomes irresponsible and sinful, not caring for brahminical culture, there will certainly be an incarnation of God like Paraśurāma to create a devastation by fire, famine, pestilence or some other calamity. Whenever the government disrespects the supremacy of the personality of Godhead and fails to protect the institution of varṇāśrama-dharma, it will certainly have to face such catastrophes as formerly brought about by Lord Paraśurāma.

<<< >>>

Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness