Baal Kaanda
53 - Arrival of Parasurama, exchange of hot words between Laksmana and Parasurama and Sri Rama's triumph over the latter
Chaupais
Description
Said Laksmana with a smile, "Listen, holy Sir: to my mind all bows are alike. What gain or loss can there be in the breaking of a worn-out bow ?" Sri Rama mistook it for a new one, and at His very touch it broke in two; the Lord of Raghus, therefore, was not to blame for it either. Why, then, be angry, reverend sir, for no cause?" Casting a glance at his axe, Parasurama replied, "O foolish child, have you never heard of my temper ? I slay you not because, as I say, you are a child yet; do you take me for a mere anchorite, O dullard? I have been a celibate from my very boyhood, but also an irascible one; and I am known throughout the world as a sworn enemy of the Ksatriya race. By the might of my arm I made the earth kingless and bestowed it time after time upon the Brahmanas. Look at this axe, which lopped off the arms of Sahasrabahu (the thousandarmed Kartavirya), O youthful prince.