Parashurama Calls Lakshmana a Child in the Grip of Death
Bala Kanda, Doha 271
Doha 271 · Movement 2 of 2
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Parashurama fixes his crimson gaze upon Lakshmana. The prince's playful dismissal of the bow sounds to him like the speech of a child already seized by death and no longer capable of sense.
This was not one toy among many. It was the weapon of Tripurari, Shiva who destroyed the three cities, famed through the entire world and revered by the axe-bearing sage.
The warning attempts to restore the bow's cosmic dignity after Lakshmana has called it ordinary. Yet its fragments remain on the floor, and the smiling youth before him shows no sign of terror. Parashurama speaks the language of death; Lakshmana continues to stand within the shelter of Ram.
The sage invokes the fame of Tripurari's bow, but Lakshmana's smile does not retreat.
Read the passage from the Manas
रे नृप बालक कालबस बोलत तोहि न सँमार।। धनुही सम तिपुरारि धनु बिदित सकल संसार।।271।।
'O prince, you child in the grip of death! You speak without any sense. Shiva's bow, the weapon of Tripurari, is famed throughout the entire world.'