Devanagari
अहो तेज: क्षत्रियाणां मानभङ्गममृष्यताम् ।
बालोऽप्ययं हृदा धत्ते यत्समातुरसद्वच: ॥ २६ ॥
Verse text
aho tejaḥ kṣatriyāṇāṁ
māna-bhaṅgam amṛṣyatām
bālo ’py ayaṁ hṛdā dhatte
yat samātur asad-vacaḥ
Synonyms
aho
—
how surprising it is
;
tejaḥ
—
power
;
kṣatriyāṇām
—
of the kṣatriyas
;
māna
—
bhaṅgam — hurting the prestige
;
amṛṣyatām
—
unable to tolerate
;
bālaḥ
—
only a child
;
api
—
although
;
ayam
—
this
;
hṛdā
—
at heart
;
dhatte
—
has taken
;
yat
—
that which
;
sa
—
mātuḥ — of the stepmother
;
asat
—
unpalatable
;
vacaḥ
—
words .
Translation
How wonderful are the powerful kṣatriyas! They cannot tolerate even a slight infringement upon their prestige. Just imagine! This boy is only a small child, yet harsh words from his stepmother proved unbearable to him.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
What power of the kṣatriyas who are unable to tolerate a slight to their pride! Though only a boy, he has taken the unkind words of his stepmother seriously.
Purport
The qualifications of the
kṣatriyas
are described in
Bhagavad-gītā.
Two important qualifications are to have a sense of prestige and not to flee from battle. It appears that the
kṣatriya
blood within the body of Dhruva Mahārāja was naturally very active. If the brahminical,
kṣatriya
or
vaiśya
culture is maintained in a family, naturally the sons and grandsons inherit the spirit of the particular class. Therefore, according to the Vedic system, the
saṁskāra,
or the reformatory system, is maintained very rigidly. If one fails to observe the reformatory measures current in the family, one is immediately degraded to a lower standard of life.