Text 26
aho tejaḥ kṣatriyāṇāṁ
māna-bhaṅgam amṛṣyatām
bālo ’py ayaṁ hṛdā dhatte
yat samātur asad-vacaḥ
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.
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.
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.