Shloka 19

Devanagari script

प्रजा ब्राह्मणसंस्कारा: स्वकर्मकृतनिश्चया: । ऋषिभि: स्वेन तपसा सृज्यन्ते चापरे परै:,पीछेसे ऋषियोंने अपनी तपस्याके बलसे कुछ ऐसी प्रजा उत्पन्न की, जो वैदिक संस्कारोंसे सम्पन्न तथा अपने धर्म-कर्ममें दृढ़तापूर्वक डटी रहनेवाली थी। इस प्रकार प्राचीन ऋषियोंद्वारा अर्वाचीन ऋषियोंकी सृष्टि होने लगी

Transliteration

bharadvāja uvāca | prajā brāhmaṇasaṃskārāḥ svakarmakṛtaniścayāḥ | ṛṣibhiḥ svena tapasā sṛjyante cāpare paraiḥ ||

Translation

Bharadvāja said: “Some peoples were brought forth by the seers through the power of their own austerity—endowed with Brahmanical (Vedic) sacraments and firmly resolved in the performance of their proper duties. Thus, by the ancient sages, further generations of sages and communities continued to be produced.”

Word by Word

• {'prajā': 'creatures

• progeny', 'brāhmaṇa-saṃskārāḥ': 'endowed with Vedic rites/sacraments and formative disciplines (saṃskāras) associated with Brahmanical tradition', 'sva-karma': 'one’s own prescribed duty/work (in accordance with one’s station and obligations)', 'kṛta-niścayāḥ': 'those who have made a firm resolve

• determined', 'ṛṣibhiḥ': 'by the seers/sages', 'svena tapasā': 'by their own tapas (austerity, ascetic heat, disciplined spiritual effort)', 'sṛjyante': 'are created/produced

• are brought forth', 'apare': 'others

• some others', 'paraiḥ': 'by others

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• ṛṣi (sages)
• prajā (people/progeny)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links social and ethical stability to two forces: (1) saṃskāra—Vedic formation through rites and disciplined education—and (2) niścaya—steadfast commitment to one’s own dharma (sva-karma). It also presents tapas as a creative, world-sustaining power in the hands of ṛṣis.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bharadvāja describes how sages, through their austerities, generated communities (and successive lines of sages/people) characterized by Vedic refinement and firm adherence to duty, indicating an ongoing transmission from earlier ṛṣis to later ones.