Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.16.6
राम: सञ्चोदित: पित्रा भ्रातृन् मात्रा सहावधीत् ।
प्रभावज्ञो मुने: सम्यक् समाधेस्तपसश्च स: ॥ ६ ॥
rāmaḥ sañcoditaḥ pitrā
[raamah sanchoditah pitraa]
bhrātṝn mātrā sahāvadhīt
[bhraatreen maatraa sahaavadheet]
prabhāva-jño muneḥ samyak
[prabhaava-jno muneh samyak]
samādhes tapasaś ca saḥ
[samaadhes tapasash cha sah]
Word-for-word
rāmaḥ
—
Lord Paraśurāma
sañcoditaḥ
—
being encouraged (to kill his mother and brothers)
pitrā
—
by his father
bhrātṝn
—
all his brothers
mātrā saha
—
with the mother
avadhīt
—
killed immediately
prabhāva-jñaḥ
—
aware of the prowess
muneḥ
—
of the great sage
samyak
—
completely
samādheḥ
—
by meditation
tapasaḥ
—
by austerity
ca
—
also
saḥ
—
he.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
rāmaḥ sañcoditaḥ pitrā
rāmaḥ
Lord Paraśurāma
sañcoditaḥ
being encouraged (to kill his mother and brothers)
pitrā
by his father
bhrātṝn mātrā sahāvadhīt
bhrātṝn
all his brothers
mātrā saha
with the mother
avadhīt
killed immediately
prabhāva-jño muneḥ samyak
prabhāva-jñaḥ
aware of the prowess
muneḥ
of the great sage
samyak
completely
samādhes tapasaś ca saḥ
samādheḥ
by meditation
tapasaḥ
by austerity
ca
also
saḥ
he.
Jamadagni then ordered his youngest son, Paraśurāma, to kill his brothers, who had disobeyed this order, and his mother, who had mentally committed adultery. Lord Paraśurāma, knowing the power of his father, who was practiced in meditation and austerity, killed his mother and brothers immediately.
Purport
The word prabhāva-jñaḥ is significant. Paraśurāma knew the prowess of his father, and therefore he agreed to carry out his father’s order. He thought that if he refused to carry out the order he would be cursed, but if he carried it out his father would be pleased, and when his father was pleased, Paraśurāma would ask the benediction of having his mother and brothers brought back to life. Paraśurāma was confident in this regard, and therefore he agreed to kill his mother and brothers.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
Ordered by his father, Paraśurāma, who knew the power that his father had attained by austerity and meditation, killed his brothers and his mother.
Ordered to kill his brothers who disobeyed their father’s order, and to kill the mother also, he killed them. “But following such an order is despicable.” Paraśurāma knew the power of his father. He knew the final result of killing them since he was omniscient.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Paraśurāma kills mother and brothers because he knows his father's spiritual power. Sometimes the highest devotion to a senior takes a form that horrifies ordinary feeling — and only later reveals the wisdom behind it.
Reflection Questions
- Where am I refusing a difficult senior instruction because I do not yet trust the power behind it?
- What instruction of an elder might I be misreading as cruelty when it is actually faith-testing?
My note
Source: vedabase.io