171 Vatica robusta.
172 Pine.
173 Cedar or spruce.
Chapter 1479(151)
174 Yama.
175 Brahma.
176 Respectively on the Kourava and Pandava side.
Chapter 1480(152)
177 Of dharma.
178 The suggestion seems to be that the acceptance of Bhishma’s instructions depends on destiny.
Chapter 1481(153)
179 The word used is tata.
180 In words of condemnation.
Chapter 1482(154)
181 It is difficult to understand this. A self-controlled man should presumably always be content. Perhaps it means that a self-controlled man is never content with trifles.
182 The relatives must be former because the self-controlled person has renounced.
183 For death to arrive.
184 In the sense that he doesn’t leave a visible trail. He does not accumulate any karma.
185 Brahma.
186 Of being reborn.
187 Janamejaya.
Chapter 1483(155)
188 The three Vedas.
Chapter 1485(157)
189 When other men approach, wolves jump upon a man, tear him to pieces, and run away.
190 Anger.
191 Separation from the object of affection.
192 This pity is being used in a negative sense, pity towards one’s own state.
193 You conquered the sins. Hence, you triumphed over the sons of Dhritarashtra.
Chapter 1487(159)
194 Is wealthy enough to perform a soma sacrifice.
195 And give it to the brahmana.
196 The king.
197 Though not explicitly stated, the person doing the taking is probably a brahmana. Because of poverty, he has not had six meals. That is, he has starved for three days.
198 The king must think of a means of sustenance for brahmanas.
199 The king.
200 Specifically, the sacrifice known as vaishvanara.
201 Presumably about their transgressions.
202 There is a negative connotation associated with water from a well.
203 Forsaking the rights of being a brahmana.
204 He is like a shudra. Brahmanas are associated with the white colour, kshatriyas with red, vaishyas with yellow and shudras with black.
205 Though liquor occurs twice, the words used are different. Here, the word used is madya. In the earlier clause, the word used is sura.
206 This is a messy shloka and needs explanation. For those who have not fallen down, funeral oblations are offered straight into the fire. If they are offered diagonally or sideways, they may fall down on the ground, outside the fire, and wicked spirits may feed on them. The afore-mentioned three sinners are those who drink liquor, those who kill a brahmana and those who violate a preceptor’s bed. For these sinners, it does not matter.
207 Physically causing harm to a brahmana.
208 Varuni is a specific kind of liquor and sura is liquor in general.
209 A red-hot pillar, in the shape of a female figure, used for executing those guilty of adultery.
210 The text says nairriti. This is the south-west direction, the direction presided over by Nirriti, the evil goddess of chaos.
211 This goes back to the sinner who is guilty of killing a brahmana.
212 An atreyi woman is a woman whose period is just over. She is ready to conceive. Killing her is equivalent to killing a foetus.
213 Barbara.
214 There is a contradiction between the two years and the earlier one year. It is possible that the two years is meant for kshatriyas and the one year is meant for others who are not brahmanas.
215 A wise king.
216 This probably means that the sinner has not performed a rite of atonement within one year.
217 Other than in war.
218 A kind of fasting that follows the progress (ayana) of the moon (chandra). On the full moon night, one only eats fifteen mouthfuls of food. For the fifteen lunar days following the full moon, this is decreased by one mouthful per day. For the fifteen lunar days following the new moon, this is increased by one mouthful per day.
219 With an animal.
220 The word used in the text actually translates as showered.
221 Without the hide and without proclaiming the sin.
222 Unnatural intercourse with men.
223 The act of donations.
Chapter 1488(160)
224 The text actually says great-grandfather.
225 Because of the blood.
226 The word used is tata.
227 Brahma.
228 This is Bhishma speaking, not Vaishampayana.
229 Since danda has been mentioned, the three ignored methods must be sama, dana and bheda.
230 The other subjects.
231 The name of a peak.
232 The kalpasutras, which are a part of Vedanga and indicate the norms to be followed in rites and rituals.
233 The one with the blue throat, Shiva’s name.
234 Shiva’s name.
235 At the time of Daksha’s sacrifice.
236 This means Vaivasvata Manu.
237 Different norms of punishment.
238 The sword thus passed from the solar to the lunar dynasty. But it came back to the solar dynasty.
239 Pleiades. The sword was thus created when Krittika was in the ascendant.
240 Respectively, sword, the one that severs, another term for sword, the one that is sharp at the edges, the one that is difficult to assail, the one that has prosperity in its womb, victory and the protector of dharma.
241 Madri.
242 Prithu.
Chapter 1489(161)
243 There is a typo and the Critical edition says ardha.
244 Only some have truly renounced and have seen the light. Others are still ignorant.
245 Brahma.
246 Birth, death, old age and decay.
247 Literally, extinction. Being used synonymously with moksha.
248 The objective being moksha. The three modes are dharma, artha and kama.
249 Yudhishthira.
250 Yudhishthira.
251 Bhishma.
Chapter 1490(162)
252 A red woolen garment does not change its colour easily.
253 The brahmana.
254 It was not torn off from an old piece of cloth.
255 The brahmana’s name.
256 Being used as a proper name for the bandit, or indicating that the bandit was a hunter.
257 As Goutama.
Chapter 1491(163)
258 Indra’s pleasure garden.
259 The bharunda bird is a mythical predatory bird with two heads.
260 A bird that lives off carrion. It picks out bits of meat from the mouths of predators.
261 Brahma’s.
262 He wished to kill the bird for food.
Chapter 1492(164)
263 Dakshayani means Daksha’s daughter. The sage Kashyapa was married to several of Daksha’s daughters and all beings are descended from them.
264 Descended from Kashyapa.
265 Rajadharma asked Goutama.
Chapter 1493(165)
266 The rakshasas are descended from the sage Kashyapa.
267 October–November.
268 The moon.
269 Respectively, June–July and January–February.
Chapter 1495(167)
270 Virupaksha.
271 Accounts of creation vary. In some, Surabhi is one of Daksha’s daughters. She was married to Kashyapa and gave birth to cattle. Surabhi is also a celestial cow.
272 The load of gold.
273 Because the wife had been married to someone else earlier.
Chapter 1496(168)
1 The son.
2 The others have an illusory sense of owning her. One should not sorrow because of an illusory sense of ownership.
3 This is a reference to the four
states of consciousness—wakefulness (jagrata), dreaming (svapna), deep sleep (sushupti) and pure consciousness (turiya). The wise take delight in wakefulness and pure consciousness, not in dreaming or deep sleep. While the earlier sentence has a reference to the most foolish, it is possible that this is meant to represent the statement of wakefulness, while supreme intelligence is equated with pure consciousness.
4 Like happiness and unhappiness, pleasure and pain.
5 Of elders, seniors and preceptors.
6 The brahman.
7 Desire.
8 The body is the pillar and the nine gates are two eyes, two ears, one mouth, two nostrils, one anus and the genitals. It will be covered with knowledge.
9 Meaning the brahman. The text does not have a gender. But it is difficult to translate this without using the gender.
10 Human lovers.
Chapter 1497(169)
11 The word medhavin also means learned or intelligent.
12 That is, death touches everyone.
13 Instead of going through the four ashramas, which is what the father had suggested.
14 There is a problem with the text of the Critical edition. It says devaanam (belonging to the gods), which makes it impossible to understand it. We have taken it as devanam and interpreted it as pleasure.
15 The first atman is the jivatman and the second atman is the paramatman, the brahman.
16 Meaning, the brahman. He will shun the standard prescription of first having offspring before embarking on vanaprastha and sannyasa.
17 Reiterating the point that they are mortal.
Chapter 1498(170)
18 Conveyed by an external force, destiny.
19 But have desire.
20 Probably beauty, wealth and nobility, success not being an independent reason.
21 The pursuit of desire.
22 It is not clear where the quote from Shamyaka ends. It is possible that the quote ended earlier and the rest of it was spoken by the brahmana.
Chapter 1499(171)
23 Required for performing the sacrifices and rites.
24 For possessions and objects of desire.
25 That is, to train them in being controlled.
26 This shloka is not very clear and the translation is somewhat contrived. There is a nuance that the translation doesn’t also capture. The text uses the word kakataliya, which means accident, and there is a story around this. A crow (kaka) sat on a palm-tree and a ripe palm fruit (tala) fell down. The fruit fell down because it was ripe and had nothing to do with the crow. But this accidental or coincidental fall is mistakenly ascribed to the crow sitting on the tree.
27 The famous Shuka is Vedavyasa’s son. The insertion of a quote ascribed to Shuka therefore suggests a later interpolation.
28 The text does not indicate it clearly. But this seems to be the end of the Shuka quote and it is Manki speaking again.
29 Manki is addressing himself and his soul.
30 Desire.
31 Since Manki has renounced desire, desire can do whatever it wants.
32 Any other sentiments.
33 Addressing himself.
34 Usually, six enemies are mentioned and kama (desire) is one of the six. Since desire has been mentioned as the seventh, the other six are probably the five senses and the mind.
35 Mithila was the capital of Videha. This King Janaka is different from the King Janaka who was Sita’s father.
36 By excising shlokas, the Critical edition leaves this dangling. Pingala was a prostitute who turned to asceticism after being spurned by her lover. If an osprey desires meat and finds it, other ospreys snatch that piece of meat away. However, there was an osprey that did not desire any meat and was happy. The preceptor is that osprey. A snake is happy and worthy of emulation because it does not try to make a house for itself, but lives in someone else’s house instead. The bee searching for honey in the forest does not harm anyone. There is a story about a person who made arrows. He was so busy in his work that he didn’t even notice that the king was passing. There is a story about a maiden who roamed alone. Since she did not consort with others, there was no scope of a quarrel.
Chapter 1500(172)
37 Ajagara is the boa constrictor, the python. The belief is that the python does not strive for food, but eats whatever comes to it. If food does not come before a python, it starves.
38 The image of the python.
Chapter 1501(173)
39 Of giving up your life.
40 By constructing shelters.
41 Lacking in teeth.
42 After rebirth.
43 Since a brahmana cannot become a king and the status of a brahmana is superior to that of a god.
44 Desire.
45 The liquor and the flesh of the bird respectively. The brahmana has not tasted these.
46 These terms are often used as synonyms. Pedantically, a chandala is the son of a brahmana mother and a shudra father. A pulkasa (equivalently pukkasa) is the son of a nishada father and a shudra mother.
47 In an earlier life.
48 Indra.
Chapter 1502(174)
49 We have translated this as correct. Literally, the text translates as those who are situated on the right (as opposed to the left) side.
50 Alternatively, white ants or bees.
51 A dirty piece of cloth is cleaned by washing.
Chapter 1503(175)
52 Something connected with the mind or thought. In this context, created from the mind.
53 The one who is not manifest.
54 The great one.
55 Space.
56 Meaning Manasa.
57 Ahamkara is usually ego and pride. In this context, a better explanation is that Brahma said, ‘Aham’. ‘I am he.’
58 The text uses the word devas. Here, this doesn’t mean gods, but means shining or stellar bodies.
59 Strictly speaking, rasatala. There are seven nether regions—atala, vitala, sutala, rasatala, talatala, mahatala and patala.
Chapter 1505(177)
60 Fire, air, earth, water and space (sky), known as mahabhutas, the great elements.
61 Hearing is equated with space, smell with earth, taste with water, touch with air and sight with fire.
62 In pranayama, the breath of life is prana and this has five actions—prana (exhalation), apana (downward inhalation), vyana (diffusion through the body), udana (upward inhalation) and samana (digestive breath).
63 With the exception of nirhari, respectively, agreeable, disagreeable, sweet, bitter, composite, gentle, rough and clear. The meaning of nirhari is unclear and probably means a scent that can be smelt from a long distance.
64 Sa-re-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni.
Chapter 1506(178)
65 Each of the senses.
66 Prana, samana and apana.
67 Probably meaning the five kinds of breaths of life and the five elements.
68 The main channel.
Chapter 1507(179)
69 Bharadvaja’s questions in this chapter are sometimes difficult to translate. But they lead up to the point that life is more than the five elements.
70 They lose their independent existence.
71 The text uses the word panchatva. This simply means death, that is, when the body is separated into the five elements.
72 The donation of cattle.
Chapter 1508(180)
73 The water and the earth.
74 The five elements.
75 The five organs of action.
76 The five senses.
77 The atman is the kshetrajna, the one who knows the field. The field (kshetra) is the body.
78 The atman.
79 The supreme one is the brahman or the paramatman. There are actually fourteen worlds (lokas), seven above and seven below. This is a reference to the seven above—bhurloka, kharloka, svarloka, maharloka, janarloka, taparloka and satyaloka (brahmaloka).
80 The text states death in an interesting way, not even using panchatva, but saying
dashardhatva (half of ten) instead.
Chapter 1509(181)
81 These were the original rishis.
82 It is possible that this is meant to be taken figuratively and not literally. Brahmanas possessed the sattva quality, kshatriyas possessed the rajas quality, vaishyas possessed a combination of sattva and rajas and shudras possessed the tamas quality.
83 All the four varnas have a right to these.
84 The apparent inconsistency is presumably resolved in the following way. Brahma originally created the first rishis through his mental powers. The others were directly born from them and were indirectly created by Brahma.
Chapter 1510(182)
85 There are thirteen samskaras or sacraments. The list varies a bit. But one list is vivaha (marriage), garbhalambhana (conception), pumshavana (engendering a male child), simantonnayana (parting the hair, performed in the fourth month of pregnancy), jatakarma (birth rites), namakarana (naming), chudakarma (tonsure), annaprashana (first solid food), keshanta (first shaving of the head), upanayana (sacred thread), vidyarambha (commencement of studies), samavartana (graduation) and antyeshti (funeral rites).
86 Teaching, studying, donating, receiving gifts, performing sacrifices and officiating at the sacrifices of others.
87 Fighting.
88 From wrongdoers and for the purpose of donations.
89 In this world and in the next.
90 This is a reference to the linga-sharira, the subtle body. When the physical body is destroyed, the linga-sharira remains. When the linga-sharira is destroyed, one merges with the brahman.
Mahabharata: Volume 8 Page 80
