Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 76: Lord Rāma Strings Lord Viṣṇu’s bow
Text 1.76.3
वीर्यहीनमिवाशक्तं क्षत्रधर्मेण भार्गव।
अवजानासि मे तेजः पश्य मेऽद्य पराक्रमम्॥
vīrya-hīnam ivāśaktaṁ kṣatra-dharmeṇa bhārgava
avajānāsi me tejaḥ paśya me ’dya parākramam
vīrya-hīnam iva = by considering Me to be devoid of heroism; aśaktam = and therefore incompetent; kṣatra-dharmeṇa = by the standards of kṣatriya-dharma; bhārgava = O descendant of Bhṛgu; avajānāsi = You are insulting; me = My; tejaḥ = prowess; paśya = look at; me = My; adya = today; parākramam = strength.
O descendant of Bhṛgu, by considering Me to be devoid of heroism and therefore incompetent by the standards of kṣatriya-dharma, You are insulting My prowess. Look at My strength today!
According to the standards of kṣatriya-dharma, one accepts a duel when a bow is handed to him and so on. By considering Lord Rāma to be incapable of accepting Paraśurāma’s challenge, Paraśurāma was insulting His prowess, that is, His intolerance of being defeated by others. Therefore, Śrī Rāma did not appreciate this act of Paraśurāma. “Look at My strength today” in this context means “Look at Me overpowering [you] by My own energy.”