Shloka 9
Adhyāya 59: On Giving to the Asker and Supporting the Non-asking (याचक-अयाचक-दाने धर्मः)
जमदग्नौ महाभागे तपसा भावितात्मनि । स चापि भृगुशार्दूलस्तं वेदं धारयिष्यति
jamadagnau mahābhāge tapasā bhāvitātmani | sa cāpi bhṛguśārdūlas taṃ vedaṃ dhārayiṣyati ||
Dijo Vyāsa: “A Jamadagni, el ilustre—cuyo ser interior ha sido templado por la austeridad—se le confiará esta ciencia sagrada del arco; y ese tigre entre los Bhṛgu sostendrá y preservará ese Veda. Así, por la fuerza del destino, el saber de las armas se transmite para la inminente destrucción de los kṣatriyas, aun cuando se deposita en manos de quien ha sido purificado por el tapas.”
व्यववन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links ethical authority to inner purification: even potent and dangerous knowledge like the science of arms is portrayed as being borne by one whose self is refined through tapas. It also suggests that the unfolding of violent historical events can be framed as daiva (destiny), while still emphasizing the need for disciplined, dharmic custodianship of power.
Vyāsa describes the transmission and preservation of a sacred martial knowledge (implied dhanurveda) in the Bhṛgu line, specifically with Jamadagni—praised as purified by austerity—who will uphold that ‘Veda’. In the surrounding tradition, this knowledge becomes instrumental in the later, fated conflict involving the destruction of kṣatriyas.