धनुर्वेदे ऽश्वपृष्ठे च गदायुद्धे ऽसिचर्मणि ॥
तथैव गजशिक्षायां नीतिशास्त्रे च पारगाः ॥
इतिहासपुराणेषु नानाशिक्षासु चाभिभो ॥
वेदवेदाङ्गतत्त्वज्ञाः सर्वत्र कृतनिश्रमाः ॥
dhanurvede 'śvapṛṣṭhe ca gadāyuddhe 'sicarmaṇi ||
tathaiva gajaśikṣāyāṃ nītiśāstre ca pāragāḥ ||
itihāsapurāṇeṣu nānāśikṣāsu cābhibho ||
vedavedāṅgatattvajñāḥ sarvatra kṛtaniśramāḥ ||
'In the science of the bow, in horsemanship, in fighting with the mace, in the wielding of sword and shield, as well as in the training of war elephants and in the science of governance, they attained perfection. In the itihasas and puranas, in various sciences, o lord, they became knowers of the essence of the Vedas and Vedangas, having applied diligence in everything.'
e1848b4ca25d · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:30:26 PM UTC
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Here the fruits of upbringing appear: the princes mastered the entire circle of kshatriya knowledge. The fullness of their education is telling: it spans both the martial arts (bow, horse, mace, sword, elephants) and the science of governance (niti-shastra), as well as spiritual-historical learning (itihasas, puranas, the Vedas and Vedangas). Here is the Vedic ideal of a ruler: a king must be not only a warrior but also a sage -- a knower of scripture and of the essence of things (tattva-jna). The words 'having applied diligence in everything' (krita-nishramah) are telling: perfection is not attained by birth into a royal line alone, but through labor and diligence. Thus scripture affirms that a worthy ruler is prepared in every respect -- by hand and by mind, by weapon and by knowledge of dharma -- and that the crown of authority is earned through diligent study.