Shloka 86
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
पृथुस्तूप्तादयामास धनुराद्यमरिंदम: । तेनेयं पृथिवी दुग्धा सस्यानि सुबहून्यपि । धर्मेण च यथापूर्व वैन्येन परिरक्षिता
pṛthus tūptādayāmāsa dhanur ādyam ariṃdamaḥ | teneyaṃ pṛthivī dugdhā sasyāni subahūny api | dharmeṇa ca yathāpūrvaṃ vainyena parirakṣitā ||
Bhīṣma said: “Pṛthu, the tamer of foes, was the first to set the bow in motion (to institute its use). By him this Earth was ‘milked’—made to yield abundant crops and seeds of many kinds. And that son of Vena protected the Earth, as in former times, in accordance with dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s power (symbolized by the bow) is justified when exercised according to dharma: protecting the earth/realm and enabling prosperity so that the land yields abundant produce for the people.
Bhīṣma cites King Pṛthu as an exemplary ruler: he pioneered the institutional use of the bow for royal protection, ‘milked’ the Earth to produce plentiful crops (a metaphor for organizing resources and agriculture), and guarded the realm righteously like the ideal rulers of old.