Mahabharata: Volume 4 (72 page)

Authors: Bibek Debroy

BOOK: Mahabharata: Volume 4

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¹⁵⁷The word savitri means several things. It is a sacred mantra from the Rig Veda. It is also the ceremony of investiture with the sacred thread.

¹⁵⁸The reference is to liquid oblations (milk, clarified butter) and the fire originated in water.

¹⁵⁹Vishnu.

¹⁶⁰Sacrifice enjoined by the Vedas.

¹⁶¹Dakshina means south and also means the stipend at sacrifices, or fees paid to a preceptor.

¹⁶²The
pitri
s are ancestors.
Paksha
has different meanings, one of which is a lunar fortnight. Pitripaksha is a dark lunar fortnight in August–September.

¹⁶³The
ushmapa
s, so named because they survive on hot (
ushna
) food. Though described in the text as gods, the ushmapas are actually a subcategory of the pitris (manes or ancestors).

¹⁶⁴A truti is a very small measure of time, equal to one-fourth of a kshana. Two trutis constitute a lava.

¹⁶⁵The south is the direction of death.

¹⁶⁶Raivata, or Revanta, is a son of the sun god and is identified with forests and hunting.

¹⁶⁷Savarni Manu, the son of the sun god. While there are many stories about Yavakrita, it is difficult to pin down his son.

¹⁶⁸Ravana could not be killed by the gods. Ravana was the son of the sage Pulastya.

¹⁶⁹The Vaitarani River separates earth from Yama’s world and etymologically, the name means something that is true salvation. Evil people have to wait to cross the river.

¹⁷⁰A reference to the southern transit (
dakshinayana
) of the sun.

¹⁷¹The winter solstice begins with the nakshatra Dhanishtha.

¹⁷²This has been described in Section 1 (Volume 1).

¹⁷³The story has been told in Section 33 (Volume 3).

¹⁷⁴Galava will eventually die, but Suparna wishes to know if Galava wants to head in that direction now.

¹⁷⁵Pashchima
means west and
pashchat
means later.

¹⁷⁶The mountain over which the sun sets (
asta
).

¹⁷⁷Diti performed austerities so that she would have a son who could defeat Indra. Indra ingratiated himself with Diti and in one of her weak moments, penetrated her womb and sliced up the foetus. The Maruts were born from this.

¹⁷⁸Rahu.

¹⁷⁹Harimedha’s wife was Harini and Hari (Vishnu) was born as a son to them. Harimedha’s daughter was Dhvajavati. She was asked by the sun god to remain stationed in the western sky.

¹⁸⁰Beyond the winter solstice, the sun moves to uttarayana.

¹⁸¹Uttara
means north, while
uttarana
is the act of delvering.

¹⁸²Uma.

¹⁸³Kubera.

¹⁸⁴Ascetic community.

¹⁸⁵Married to Vasishtha.

¹⁸⁶Svati (Arcturus) is the fifteenth of the nakshatras.

¹⁸⁷The pole star. Dhruva was Vishnu’s devotee and was elevated to that position.

¹⁸⁸Kubera.

¹⁸⁹Vishnu’s foot.

¹⁹⁰Uttara means both north and superior.

¹⁹¹The word used is tata.

¹⁹²Garuda.

¹⁹³Aquatic animals that feed on whales (
timi
s).

¹⁹⁴The word used is tata.

¹⁹⁵Addressing Shandili.

¹⁹⁶There is probably a sense of virility, since hiranya means both gold and semen.

¹⁹⁷Dhana means wealth or riches and
dharana
is to support and sustain.

¹⁹⁸The twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth nakshatras, Purva Bhadrapada and Uttara Bhadrapada.

¹⁹⁹Aja Ekapada is a divinity, identified with Agni, the sun and the moon. Literally, Aja Ekapada can be translated as a one-footed goat. Aja Ekapada is also the god who presides over Purva Bhadrapada.

²⁰⁰Ahi Budhnya is the god who presides over Uttara Bhadrapada. Ahi Budhnya means the serpent who lives in the deep.

²⁰¹Of the person who has been solicited.

²⁰²Elephants, horses, chariots and infantry.

²⁰³Nose, eyes, ears, nails, breasts and neck.

²⁰⁴Other than the obvious waist, ankles, wrists and neck, it is difficult to pinpoint this number seven. It is not mentioned in any of the standard treatises.

²⁰⁵Speech, intelligence and navel.

²⁰⁶Soles of the feet, palms of the hand, tongue, lips and nails.

²⁰⁷Chakravarti
, an universal monarch or sovereign, whose wheels (chakra) travel as far as the frontiers of the ocean.

²⁰⁸Haryashva.

²⁰⁹Not to be confused with the Pandava Bhimasena.

²¹⁰The sun god. The name of the female consort is given second.

²¹¹Agni.

²¹²Kubera.

²¹³Ganga.

²¹⁴Brahma.

²¹⁵Jamadagni.

²¹⁶There is a minor inconsistency. The king has earlier been referred to as Oushinara, meaning Ushinara’s son. Here, he is being referred to as Ushinara.

²¹⁷The other kings.

²¹⁸This suggests that unlike the other two kings, Ushinara did possess more than two hundred such horses, but refused to part with them.

²¹⁹Ushinara.

²²⁰Richika was asked by Gadhi. This has been recounted in Section 33(Volume 3).

²²¹The place of piligrimage (tirtha) of horses (
ashva
).

²²²Gadhi.

²²³Six hundred already having been accounted for. The river Vitasta (Beas).

²²⁴Galava.

²²⁵Vishvamitra.

²²⁶The three kings and her father.

²²⁷Yayati.

²²⁸Puru and Yadu were two of Yayati’s sons. The Pouravas are descended from Puru and the Yadavas from Yadu.

²²⁹In body.

²³⁰Yayati.

²³¹Yayati’s fall from heaven has been described in Section 7 (Volume 1).

²³²They were descended from Yayati. They were Madhavi’s four sons.

²³³A trait of the gods is that they do not touch the ground with their feet.

²³⁴Yayati.

²³⁵Brahma.

²³⁶Dharma, artha and kama.

²³⁷The word used is tata.

²³⁸The king of Anga, Karna.

²³⁹The word used is tata.

²⁴⁰Bhishma.

²⁴¹The word used is tata.

²⁴²The word used is tata.

²⁴³The word used is tata.

²⁴⁴The word used is tata.

²⁴⁵A pretty but bitter fruit, probably of the Trichosanthes variety.

²⁴⁶The word used is tata.

²⁴⁷Dharma, artha and kama.

²⁴⁸The word used is tata.

²⁴⁹The word used is tata.

²⁵⁰The word used is tata.

²⁵¹The word used is tata.

²⁵²The word used is tata.

²⁵³The word used is tata.

²⁵⁴The word used is tata.

²⁵⁵The word used is tata.

²⁵⁶The word used is tata.

²⁵⁷Parashurama.

²⁵⁸Yoga and kshema respectively.

²⁵⁹Krishna and Arjuna.

²⁶⁰The priest of the Pandavas.

²⁶¹Literally, the one who has given a lot of stipends, Yudhishthira.

²⁶²Dhritarashtra.

²⁶³Famous sage.

²⁶⁴The word used is tata.

²⁶⁵The deceitful one is Shakuni and the deceitful act is the gambling match.

²⁶⁶Yudhishthira.

²⁶⁷Kamsa. Ugrasena was the king of the Bhojas.

²⁶⁸Primarily addressing Dhritarashtra.

²⁶⁹Brahma.

²⁷⁰The word used is tata.

²⁷¹Yoga and kshema respectively.

²⁷²Of enemies.

²⁷³That is, the remaining half of the kingdom and the tributes of those kings.

²⁷⁴Karna.

²⁷⁵Duryodhana.

²⁷⁶Virochana’s son is Bali. Bali was eventually vanquished by Vishnu is his vamana (dwarf) incarnation.

²⁷⁷Hridika’s son, that is, Kritavarma.

²⁷⁸This has been described in Section 31 (Volume 2).

²⁷⁹Demoness killed by Krishna.

²⁸⁰Krishna killed a demon named Arishta, in the form of a bull. Dhenuka was a demon in the form of an ass. Chanura was a wrestler. Some of these were sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna. There is no demon named Ashvaraja (king of the horses). However, the demon Keshi was in the form of a horse and that is probably what is meant.

²⁸¹Demons killed by Vishnu.

²⁸²Hayagriva means the neck (
griva
) of a horse (haya). Hayagriva is one of Vishnu’s forms and is also the name of a demon. Vishnu killed the demon Hayagriva in his form of Hayagriva.

²⁸³There are four guardians of the world (lokapalas). Krishna presumably manifested himself in his four-armed form.

²⁸⁴Balarama.

²⁸⁵Krishna’s bow, made of horn.

²⁸⁶The name of Krishna’s sword.

²⁸⁷Kunti.

²⁸⁸Krishna and Kunti respectively.

²⁸⁹Duryodhana.

²⁹⁰Brahma.

²⁹¹The son of King Mandhata, of the Ikshvaku dynasty. Vaishravana means Vishrava’s son, in this case, Kubera. Kubera offered Muchukunda the kingdom as a gift.

²⁹²Kali yuga.

²⁹³The critical edition excises a shloka here and that leads to a break in continuity. ‘By contributing to the commencement of kali, an evil king suffers from great sin’ and so on.

²⁹⁴Oblations to the gods and the ancestors respectively.

²⁹⁵That is for a vaishya, just as begging is for a brahmana.

²⁹⁶Sama, dana, bheda and danda respectively.

²⁹⁷The name is actually Vidura (Viduraa). However, some non-Critical versions say Vidula and ‘l’ and ‘r’ are often interchangeable in proper names. Though the name is Vidura, we have used Vidula, so that there is no confusion with the other Vidura.

²⁹⁸This is Vidula speaking.

²⁹⁹In the sense of small.

³⁰⁰Medicinal tree,
Diospyros peregrina.
It is easily inflammable and the fruit yields a resin.

³⁰¹The uncertain path will bring fame, but the certain path will bring ill fame.

³⁰²Remain alive without trying.

³⁰³The image is of a wrestling bout.

³⁰⁴Uchchara
, more generally, discharge.

³⁰⁵The name of Vidula’s son.

³⁰⁶Purusha means man and there is a pun on the word
pura
(city).

³⁰⁷That is, if the son is killed.

³⁰⁸Sanjaya is someone who brings about victory (jaya).

³⁰⁹One cannot identify which Shambara this is.