वैशंपायन उवाच
महर्षेर् गौतमस्यासीच् छरद्वान् नाम नामतः ॥
पुत्रः किल महाराज जातः सह शरैर् विभो ॥
न तस्य वेदाध्ययने तथा बुद्धिर् अजायत ॥
यथास्य बुद्धिर् अभवद् धनुर्वेदे परंतप ॥
अधिजग्मुर् यथा वेदांस् तपसा ब्रह्मवादिनः ॥
तथा स तपसोपेतः सर्वाण्य् अस्त्राण्य् अवाप ह ॥
धनुर्वेदपरत्वाच् च तपसा विपुलेन च ॥
भृशं संतापयाम् आस देवराजं स गौतमः ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
maharṣer gautamasyāsīc charadvān nāma nāmataḥ ||
putraḥ kila mahārāja jātaḥ saha śarair vibho ||
na tasya vedādhyayane tathā buddhir ajāyata ||
yathāsya buddhir abhavad dhanurvede paraṃtapa ||
adhijagmur yathā vedāṃs tapasā brahmavādinaḥ ||
tathā sa tapasopetaḥ sarvāṇy astrāṇy avāpa ha ||
dhanurvedaparatvāc ca tapasā vipulena ca ||
bhṛśaṃ saṃtāpayām āsa devarājaṃ sa gautamaḥ ||
Vaishampayana said: "The great sage Gautama had a son named Sharadvan, born, they say, together with arrows, O lord. He had no such inclination toward the study of the Vedas as was his inclination toward the science of the bow, O scourge of foes. As the utterers of Brahman attained the Vedas through austerity, so he, endowed with austerity, obtained every kind of weapon. By his devotion to dhanurveda and by vast austerity that Sharadvan sorely troubled the king of the gods."
01b419cb7a04 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:41:49 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here appears the power of austerity turned toward mastery of weapons. It is significant that Sharadvan was born "together with arrows": his calling as a warrior was innate, and his bent toward the bow was stronger in him than any pull toward the Vedas. It is significant too that he wins his weapons not by practice alone but by austerity (tapas), as sages win knowledge of the Vedas: in the Vedic world, the art of war carried to perfection is likewise the fruit of concentrated striving. It is significant that his austerity "troubles Indra" — a recurring motif in the epic: the king of the gods fears the growing strength of an ascetic capable of displacing the gods. Here is both the grandeur of tapas and the jealous unease of the celestials toward those whose spiritual power is rising. Thus scripture prepares the turn to come: Indra, as before, will resort to temptation to cut short the austerity.