Shloka 11
Adhyāya 59: On Giving to the Asker and Supporting the Non-asking (याचक-अयाचक-दाने धर्मः)
गाधे्दुहितरं प्राप्य पौत्रीं तव महातपा: । ब्राह्माणं क्षत्रधर्माणं पुत्रमुत्पादयिष्यति
Gādher duhitaraṁ prāpya pautrīṁ tava mahātapāḥ | brāhmaṇaṁ kṣatradharmāṇaṁ putram utpādayiṣyati ||
Habiendo obtenido a la hija de Gādhi—que es también tu nieta—el gran asceta Ṛcīka engendrará un hijo que, siendo brahmán por nacimiento, poseerá la conducta y el temple de un kṣatriya. El pasaje señala la tensión ética entre el origen (jāti/varṇa) y la disposición (dharma/saṁskāra), y anticipa cómo la solicitada transferencia de la “naturaleza kṣatriya” afectará al linaje a través de las generaciones.
व्यववन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the distinction and potential conflict between varṇa by birth (brāhmaṇa) and dharma/temperament by qualities (kṣatra-dharma), suggesting that ethical identity is not only inherited but can be shaped and redirected through intention, request, and the power of tapas.
The speaker states that the ascetic Ṛcīka, after marrying Gādhi’s daughter (who is also the listener’s granddaughter), will beget a son who is Brahmin by birth yet Kṣatriya in disposition—foreshadowing a later shift of ‘kṣatriya-nature’ within the family line at the wife’s request.