Shloka 74
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
आयुश्च तस्माल्लेभे तं नहुषश्च ततो भुवि । ययातिर्नहुषाच्चापि पूरुस्तस्माच्च लब्धवान्,पुरूरवासे आयुने, आयुसे नहुषने, नहुषसे ययातिने और ययातिसे पूरुने इस भूतलपर वह खड़ग प्राप्त किया
āyuś ca tasmāl lebhe taṃ nahuṣaś ca tato bhuvi | yayātir nahuṣāc cāpi pūrus tasmāc ca labdhavān ||
Bhīṣma said: From him, Āyu obtained that sword; thereafter on this earth Nahūṣa too received it. From Nahūṣa, Yayāti likewise obtained it, and from Yayāti, Pūru acquired it. Thus the weapon is portrayed as passing through a righteous royal lineage, suggesting that sovereignty and power are to be borne as a trust transmitted through dharmic succession rather than seized by mere force.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and royal authority (symbolized by the sword) are presented as a dharmic trust transmitted through rightful succession; legitimacy is grounded in lineage and ethical continuity rather than mere conquest.
Bhīṣma recounts the chain of possession of a sword: it passes from an earlier holder to Āyu, then to Nahūṣa, then to Yayāti, and finally to Pūru, mapping a royal genealogy through which the weapon is inherited.