क्षत्रियकर्त्तव्यानिThe duties of the kṣatriya
Verse 123
निपुणो दुर्गसंस्कारे शस्त्रशिक्षाविचक्षणः । स्वसैन्यभावान्वेषी स्यात् शिक्षयेद्रणकौशलम् ॥ १२३ ॥
nipuṇō durgasaṁskārē śastraśikṣāvicakṣaṇaḥ | svasainyabhāvānvēṣī syāt śikṣayēdraṇakauśalam || 123 ||
Translation
He should be skilled in fortifying strongholds and expert in the training of arms, attentive to the temper of his own army, and should teach the skill of battle.
Word by word
- nipuṇō
- (nipuṇaḥ) skilled
- durga
- of strongholds
- saṁskārē
- in the fortifying
- śastra
- of arms
- śikṣā
- in the training
- vicakṣaṇaḥ
- expert
- sva
- his own
- sainya
- of the army
- bhāva
- the temper
- anvēṣī
- attentive to
- syāt
- he should be
- śikṣayēd
- (śikṣayet) he should teach
- raṇa
- of battle
- kauśalam
- the skill
Meaning
The commentary explains "durga", a fortress, by its etymology: that which an enemy enters only with difficulty (duḥkhena gacchati), a city made hard to reach by mountains, moats, ramparts and the like. The king attends to its fortifying and upkeep, to weapons training and to the morale of his troops. The commentary reads verses 123 and 124 together.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
"Nipuṇa…" and the rest. Durgasaṁskāre: a durga is that into which an enemy goes only with difficulty (duḥkhena gacchati), a city hard to reach because of mountains, moats, ramparts and the like; in its fortifying and upkeep. (This explanation covers verses 123 and 124.)