रक्षिता स्वस्य धर्मस्य स्वजनस्य च रक्षिता । वेदवेदाङ्गतत्त्वज्ञो धनुर्वेदे च निष्ठितः ।।1.1.14।।
Meaning
He guards his own righteous conduct as fiercely as he guards his people's welfare; he has mastered the true sense of the Vedas and their supporting sciences, and is expert in the art and science of the bow.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| svasya dharmasya rakśitā | स्वस्य धर्मस्य रक्शिता | preserver of his own righteousness | Compound phrase |
| svajanasya ca rakśitā | स्वजनस्य च रक्शिता | champion of his own people also | Compound phrase |
| tatvajñaḥ | तत्वज्ञः | scholar in the essence of | Nominative singular — epithet/adjective |
| vedavedāṅga | वेदवेदाङ्ग | the Vedas and their ancillary sciences | Epithet / descriptive term |
| niṣṭitaḥ | निष्टितः | an expert | Nominative singular — epithet/adjective |
| dhanur vede ca | धनुर् वेदे च | in the science of archery | Compound phrase |
Scholar commentary
Bibek Debroy (footnotes)
Explanatory footnotes from Debroy's Critical Edition translation (Penguin), content-matched to this vulgate sarga — added 2026-08-08, distinct from the bibliography-only `debroy` slug above
Debroy glosses the Vedas/Vedangas/Dhanurveda list concretely rather than leaving it as a bare compound: the four Vedas are Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva; the six Vedangas are shiksha (articulation and pronunciation), chhanda (prosody), vyakarana (grammar), nirukta (etymology), jyotisha (astronomy), and kalpa (ritual); and Dhanurveda is specifically named as 'the science of war or fighting' rather than archery alone.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.1.14 · Bāla Kāṇḍa