SB 1.3.20 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अवतारे षोडशमे पश्यन् ब्रह्मद्रुहो नृपान् । त्रि:सप्तकृत्व: कुपितो नि:क्षत्रामकरोन्महीम् ॥ २० ॥

Verse text

avatāre ṣoḍaśame paśyan brahma-druho nṛpān triḥ-sapta-kṛtvaḥ kupito niḥ-kṣatrām akaron mahīm

Synonyms

avatāre — in the incarnation of the Lord ; ṣoḍaśame — the sixteenth ; paśyan — seeing ; brahma — druhaḥ — disobedient to the orders of the brāhmaṇas ; nṛpān — the kingly order ; triḥ — sapta — thrice seven times ; kṛtvaḥ — had done ; kupitaḥ — being engaged ; niḥ — negation ; kṣatrām — the administrative class ; akarot — did perform ; mahīm — the earth .

Translation

In the sixteenth incarnation of the Godhead, the Lord [as Bhṛgupati] annihilated the administrative class [kṣatriyas] twenty-one times, being angry with them because of their rebellion against the brāhmaṇas [the intelligent class].

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Lord, appearing as Parāśurāma, the sixteenth avatāra, seeing the kings harassing the brāhamaṇas, became angry and twenty-one times annihilated the kṣatriyas from the earth.

Purport

The kṣatriyas, or the administrative class of men, are expected to rule the planet by the direction of the intelligent class of men, who give direction to the rulers in terms of the standard śāstras, or the books of revealed knowledge. The rulers carry on the administration according to that direction. Whenever there is disobedience on the part of the kṣatriyas, or the administrative class, against the orders of the learned and intelligent brāhmaṇas, the administrators are removed by force from the posts, and arrangement is made for better administration.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Triḥ-sapta-kṛtvaḥ means twenty-one times (3x7). Kṛtvaḥ is used as a suffix after numerals to indicate counting of repeated actions. Also numerals with the suffix suc such as triḥ indicate repeated actions. (Pāṇini 5.4.17-18)