Dhanurveda Samhita [sanskrit]

3,015 words

The Sanskrit text of the Dhanurveda-samhita attributed to Vasishtha. Dhanur Veda is a type of ancient India science whose roots date to the 2nd millenium BCE. It is counted among the Upavedas literature. This specific version of the Dhanurveda contains roughly 240 sections of Sanskrit text.

ब्राह्मणाय धनुर्द्देयं खड्गं वै क्षत्रियाय च ।
वैश्याय दापयेत्कुन्तं गदां शूद्राय दापयेत् ॥ ८ ॥

brāhmaṇāya dhanurddeyaṃ khaḍgaṃ vai kṣatriyāya ca |
vaiśyāya dāpayetkuntaṃ gadāṃ śūdrāya dāpayet || 8 ||

Note! The following is not a translation of the above verse, but merely an arbitrary extract of the English text.

A bow should be given to a brahmana and a sword to a kshatriya One should give a kunta to a vaishya and a club to a shudra.

English translation by Hardayalu Swami (2001) Buy now!

Glossary of Sanskrit terms

Note: This extracts Sanskrit terms and links to English definitions from the glossary, based on an experimental segmentation of verse (1.8). Some terms could be superfluous while some might not be mentioned. Click on the word to show English definitions.

Brahmana, Khadga, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Kunta, Gada, Shudra,

Analysis of Sanskrit grammar

Note: this is an experimental feature and only shows the first possible analysis of the Sanskrit text (Verse 1.8). If the system was successful in segmenting the sentence, you will see of which words it is made up of, generally consisting of Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Participles and Indeclinables. Click on the link to show all possible derivations of the word.

  • Line 1: “brāhmaṇāya dhanurddeyaṃ khaḍgaṃ vai kṣatriyāya ca
  • brāhmaṇāya -
  • brāhmaṇa (noun, masculine)
    [dative single]
    brāhmaṇa (noun, neuter)
    [dative single]
  • Cannot analyse dhanurddeyam*kh
  • khaḍgam -
  • khaḍga (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
    khaḍga (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
  • vai -
  • (verb class 1)
    [present middle first single], [imperative middle first single]
  • kṣatriyāya -
  • kṣatriya (noun, masculine)
    [dative single]
    kṣatriya (noun, neuter)
    [dative single]
  • ca -
  • ca (indeclinable conjunction)
    [indeclinable conjunction]
    ca (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    ca (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • Line 2: “vaiśyāya dāpayetkuntaṃ gadāṃ śūdrāya dāpayet
  • vaiśyāya -
  • vaiśya (noun, masculine)
    [dative single]
    vaiśya (noun, neuter)
    [dative single]
  • dāpayet -
  • (verb class 0)
    [optative active third single]
  • kuntam -
  • kunta (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
  • gadām -
  • gadā (noun, feminine)
    [accusative single]
  • śūdrāya -
  • śūdra (noun, masculine)
    [dative single]
  • dāpayet -
  • (verb class 0)
    [optative active third single]

Other editions:

Also see the following editions of the Sanskrit text or (alternative) English translations of the Verse 1.8

Cover of edition (2001)

Dhanurveda Samhita (धनुर्वेदसंहिता)
by Hardayalu Swami (2001)

Publisher: Khemraj Shrikrishnadass

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Cover of edition (2023)

Vasistha’s Dhanurveda Samhita
by Purnima Ray (2023)

Publisher: Khemraj Shrikrishnadas; ISBN-10: 818670289X; ISBN-13: 9788186702895; 88 pages including 18 illustrations;

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Cover of edition (2007)

Dhanurveda Samhita (धनुर्वेदसंहिता) (संस्कृत एवं हिंदी अनुवाद)
by Shri Dwarka Prasad Shastri (2007)

Title: Dhanurveda Sanhita (Hindi translation); Publisher: Chaukhambha Prakashan, Varanasi; 84 pages including 11 illustrations; Author: महर्षि वशिष्ठ (Maharshi Vashistha); Foreword by Dr. Chakradhar Bijalwan.

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