Mahabharata: Volume 4
Page 63
122 An unrivalled warrior, whose valour is unlimited, greater than a maharatha.
123 Bhishma.
124 The ocean. The word used is makara. This is a mythical aquatic animal and can loosely be translated as shark or crocodile.
125 Yama, the god of death.
126 Satyaki.
127 Krishnaa, Droupadi.
128 Satyabhama.
129 Sanjaya honoured the footstool, but did not wish to sit on it.
130 Duryodhana.
131 As a sign of respect.
132 Yudhishthira.
133 Govinda is Krishna’s name. Krishnaa (Droupadi) had mentally appealed to Krishna when the Pandavas faced difficulties at the time of gambling with the dice. But Krishna could not help, because he was far away.
134 Indra. Indra is the god of rain. Indra also killed a demon named Paka.
135 Kartavirya Arjuna, famous king of the Haihayas. He was killed by Parashurama.
136 Upendra is Vishnu and Krishna’s name and owes its origin to Vishnu becoming Indra’s younger brother in the course of the vamana (dwarf) incarnation.
137 Parashurama.
138 Agni was satisfied by Arjuna in Khandava and the other five gods are fathers of the five Pandavas.
139 Indra, the king of rain.
140 Bhishma.
141 Dhritarashtra.
142 Duryodhana.
143 The text doesn’t use the word brahmastra. What it says is literally translated as—the weapon with Brahma at the forefront. However, this does mean brahmastra. Divine weapons were summoned and invoked with the use of mantras and appeared in personified form. Thus, the curse was that Karna would not be able to remember the use of the brahmastra. He was cursed because he studied under Parashurama (Rama) under the false pretence of being a brahmana.
144 Bhishma.
145 The serpent Ashvasena survived the conflagration in Khandava. To wreak vengeance on Arjuna, he hid himself in the tip of an arrow that Karna would use in battle.
146 The demon Bana was the son of Bali. Bana’s daughter was Usha, who was in love with Krishna’s grandson Aniruddha. To bring the couple together, Krishna killed Bana. Bhoumya is the demon Naraka’s name.
147 Karna will not fight until Bhishma has fallen.
148 Karna’s promise.
149 The word used is tata.
150 This is being addressed to Dhritarashtra now.
151 Arjuna.
152 That is, without being killed.
153 Krishna’s name, the one with eyes like a lotus.
154 Arjuna’s.
155 Jayadratha.
156 The land of the dead.
157 Vishnu has four arms.
158 Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa.
159 Through his mental powers.
160 The supreme being, Vishnu and Krishna’s name.
161 The word used is tata.
162 Satya yuga, treta yuga and dvapara yuga.
163 Addressing Duryodhana.
164 New in the form of Krishna.
165 The word used is tata.
166 Vas means to put on or wear, vasu means riches. However, all of these names have alternative derivations.
167 Vrishan means a bull or a stallion.
168 The etymological derivation is unclear. ‘Ma’ of Madhava seems to be derived from mouna (silence), while ‘dha’ is derived from dhyana (meditation).
169 Vishnu killed a demon named Madhu. Madhu also means honey or sweetness.
170 Jana means people. Janaa is also the name of a demoness killed by Krishna (Vishnu).
171 Sattva.
172 One with the eyes of a bull.
173 One without birth.
174 Dama.
175 Isha is lord, while hrishika is happiness.
176 The one with the large arms.
177 Adho.
178 Nara means men and ayana means path.
179 Purana.
180 Everything.
181 Truth.
182 The victorious one.
183 Without an end.
184 Go means cattle.
185 As a messenger.
186 Garuda was Kashyapa’s son and so was Arishtanemi. Therefore, Arishtanemi was a brother to Garuda. But Arishtanemi is also used to refer to Kashyapa. Consequently, Arishtanemi here means Arishtanemi’s son.
1 Krishna. Since the text uses the word Bhagavan, we have retained it, instead of using Krishna.
2 Meaning Dhritarashtra.
3 Strictly speaking, that refusal hasn’t happened yet.
4 The word used is tata, affectionately used for anyone who is younger or junior, though it means son. Krishna is younger to Yudhishthira in age.
5 It is not clear who this Shambara is. There was an asura named Shambara and there was also a King Shambara (king of hunters) who fought with King Divodasa.
6 Mixed across varnas, miscegenation.
7 Because the enmity remains.
8 A relatively rare name for Krishna.
9 The likes of Bhishma, Drona and Kripa.
10 Dhritarashtra.
11 The end of satya yuga.
12 The end of dvapara yuga.
13 Yudhishthira.
14 Rama is Balarama. Shouri is Krishna’s name.
15 Heaven and earth.
16 The sense being that cold and heat, hunger and thirst, can be countered through human endeavour.
17 There are three types—destiny countering human endeavour, human endeavour countering destiny and destiny and human endeavour acting together.
18 Yudhishthira.
19 War and peace.
20 This has been described in Section 47. This is a reference to that and a year cannot have passed since then. A year will have elapsed from the cattle expedition described in Section 39 (Volume 3), but that doesn’t fit the context.
21 Balarama.
22 Droupadi.
23 This is Yudhishthira’s message to Dhritarashtra, being conveyed through Sanjaya.
24 It is not clear how this refusal was communicated to the Pandavas.
25 The word used is tata.
26 In non-Critical versions, Pandavas is used here. Droupadi does mean the Pandavas. However, the Pandavas are also Kouravas, because Kuru was a common ancestor.
27 Krishnaa, Droupadi.
28 A muhurta is forty-eight minutes. Maitra also means friendship. Maitra muhurta usually begins ninty-six minutes after sunrise. Koumuda is the month of Kartika, in October–November. Revati is the twenty-seventh nakshatra.
29 Garuda.
30 Vishnu bears the srivatsa mark (or curl) on his chest. This is the place where Lakshmi resides.
31 Kunti.
32 The first Pandava is Arjuna, while the second one is Bhima.
33 Arjuna.
34 Krishna’s charioteer.
35 Jamadagni’s son is Parashurama. Both Parashurama and Krishna are incarnations of Vishnu.
36 The seven great rivers (sapta sindhu) is not a fixed list. Since flowing eastwards is mentioned, one probably means Sindhu, Sarasvati, Vipasha (Beas), Shatadru (Sutlej), Chandrabhaga or Asikni (Chenab), Vitasta (Jhelum) and Parushni (Ravi).
37 Texts pertaining to the care of horses.
38 To his camp.
39 Dhritarashtra is primarily addressing Bhishma.
40 Addressing Duryodhana.
41 Vidura.
42 China, which probably meant Tibet, rather than China.
43 With the image of the sun setting.
44 Of the Pandavas.
45 Krishna.
46 Kunti.
47 The word used is tata.
48 Kartavirya Arjuna.
49 Droupadi could have lived in comfort with her sons, instead of accompanying the Pandavas in their exile.
50 Krishnaa, Droupadi.
51 Duhshasana. Someone who is not an arya, and thus ignoble.
52 Vidura.
53 The text does not mention this explicitly. But this is Vaishampayana speaking again.
54 Krishnaa, Droupadi.
55 The Pandavas.
56 Kunti was born as Pritha and was the daughter of Shura, a Yadava. Shura was also Krishna’s grandfather. Shura promised his firstborn child to Kuntibhoja, who was childless, as a token of friendship. Pritha was thus reared as Kunti and was Krishna’s cousin sister.
57 Shraddhas.
58 That of exacting vengeance.
59 Death.
60 Krishnaa, Droupadi.
61 A literal translation is that she was following the dharma of women.
62 Krishnaa, Droupadi.
63 Balarama.
64 Arjuna’s name.
65 Ajamidha was an ancestor of the Kouravas.
66 Krishnaa, Droupadi.
67 Indra’s.
68 Chandala has different nuances and a chandala is not necessarily a shudra. A chandala is also of mixed parentage, with a shudra father and a brahmana mother. More generally, chandalas are outcastes, while shudras are within the caste fold.
69 Because they were allied with Jarasandha and against the Yadavas.
70 Owed to a friend.
71 With water.
72 Dhritarashtra.
73 Gift given to a guest, also arghya.
74 A small yellow flower of the common flax.
75 The word used is tata.
76 On the right path.
77 The Pandavas.
78 Your own sons.
79 Krishnaa, Droupadi.
80 Parashurama.
81 Parashurama.
82 Arjuna is identified with Nara and Krishna with Narayana.
83 These are the names of divine weapons, but beyond this, it is difficult to identify them. Kakudika has an etymology in ‘hump’ and was probably used against animals, while Shuka was named after a parrot. Naka means heaven. Akshisamtarjana hurt the eye. Santana was a weapon that was shot continuously. Nartana made people dance. Ghora means terrible, while Ajyamodaka was probably connected to Yama.
84 Such as insects.
85 Indra.
86 These are Matali’s thoughts.
87 Nagas.
88 These are Matali’s words.
89 Varuna.
90 The word used is tata.
91 Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
92 Gopati (the lord of the cows) is a term used for the sun, Indra, Krishna, Shiva and Varuna. As a son of Aditi, Varuna is also Aditya. All that is being said is that Pushkara is Varuna’s eldest son and there is a suggestion that he was adopted.
93 The text says Varuni’s abode and not Varuna’s abode. There is a pun. The gods are known as suras and sura is also a term for liquor. Varuni is a specific kind of liquor.
94 By the gods.
95 Demons.
96 The demons won them by defeating the gods.
97 Fire was created from the water.
98 Varuna gave Arjuna Gandiva.
99 The etymology is difficult to understand. Gandiva means something that is made out of the horn of a rhinoceros, which was tough and strong.
100 Varuna has an umbrella.
101 The centre.
102 There are seven nether regions—atala, vitala, sutala, rasatala, talatala, mahatala and patala.
103 The moon is named Soma. Soma is also the drink of the gods, often equated with amrita. Consequently, the moon is believed to hold amrita.
104 Hayashira means the head (shira) of a horse (haya). The subterranean fire is in the form of a mare’s head.
105 From patana, meaning falling down, or cause to fall down.
106 Airavata is Indra’s elephant and arose from the waters when the ocean was churned.
107 Shiva, meaning the lord (pati) of all beings (bhuta).
108 Supratika means an elephant with a beautiful trunk.
109 This is the egg from which everything was created.
110 Maya is the architect of the demons, while Vishvakarma is the architect of the gods.
111 Kubera.
112 There is probably a typo in the critical edition’s text here. It says vedi (altar), instead of pada (feet), as in the preceding shloka. As with Vishnu’s feet, it should probably read Brahma’s feet.
113 Vinata’s son is Garuda.
114 The sage Kashyapa was married to Vinata.
115 Vishnu bears the srivatsa mark (or curl) on his chest. This is the place where Lakshmi resides. Garuda is Vishnu’s mount.
116 Serpents are descended from another one of Kashyapa’s wives, Kadru. Therefore, serpents are related.
117 However, in most listings of the seven nether regions, Rasatala is in the middle and Patala is at the bottom.
118 The word used is rasa, which means juice, taste, flavour, essence. In the context of taste, the six rasas are pungent, sour, sweet, salty, bitter and acidic.
119 Brahma’s.
120 Ilavila, or Idavida, was married to the sage Vishrava and Kubera was their son. The north is Kubera’s direction.
121 Sudha is a beverage of the gods and in this context, is distinct from amrita. Svadha is an oblation offered to the ancestors.
122 A thousand hoods.
123 The sage Kashyapa was married to Surasa and the serpents are descended from that line.
124 Narada.
125 Vinata’s son is Garuda. Reduced to the five elements means killed.
126 The word used is tata.
127 Matali. Indra is the destroyer of Bala.
128 Narada is addressing Aryaka.
129 Lakshmi is Vishnu’s consort, Svaha is the consort of Agni, the fire god.
130 The word used is tata.
131 The boon of feeding on snakes.
132 Garuda opted to serve Vishnu. The story has been recounted in Section 1 (Volume 1).
133 The sage Kashyapa had several wives. Garuda was descended from Vinata and Indra was descended from Aditi. Both Vinata and Aditi were Daksha’s daughters.
134 The daityas are Diti’s sons. Diti was also one of Daksha’s daughters and was married to Kashyapa.
135 Vishnu is Indra’s younger brother.
136 Vishnu’s.
137 The word used is tata.
138 This is like a metaphor. Vishnu wields the chakra, likened to the wheel of a chariot.
139 Garuda.
140 Vishnu’s.
141 Garuda’s.
142 Vishnu is equated with Krishna. Bhima is the son of Vayu, Arjuna of Shakra, Yudhishthira of Dharma and Nakula and Sahadeva are the sons of the two Ashvins.
143 Duryodhana.
144 Krishna.
145 The implication seems to be that if a well-wisher offers good advice, he no longer remains a friend.
146 Vishvamitra was Gadhi’s son. Gadhi’s grandfather was Kusha. Thus, both Vishvamitra and Gadhi are addressed as Koushika, descended from Kusha, and Vishvamitra is sometimes also described as Koushika’s (Gadhi’s) son, in addition to being described as Koushika. Vishvamitra was born a kshatriya and performed austerities so that he could become a brahmana.
147 Rice boiled in milk and honey.
148 Dharma in the form of Vasishtha.
149 Vishvamitra.
150 In this context, dakshina is a fee paid by a student to his preceptor at the time of graduation. Dakshina is also the stipend paid to brahmana s at the time of sacrifices.
151 Galava.
152 Vishnu.
153 Meaning the sun and the moon.
154 Meaning Daksha’s daughters, who were all married to Kashyapa and gave birth to different species.
155 In addition to east, purva means first or foremost.
156 Brahma.
157 The 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.
158 The reference is to liquid oblations (milk, clarified butter) and the fire originated in water.
159 Vishnu.
160 Sacrifice enjoined by the Vedas.
161 Dakshina means south and also means the stipend at sacrifices, or fees paid to
a preceptor.
162 The pitris are ancestors. Paksha has different meanings, one of which is a lunar fortnight. Pitripaksha is a dark lunar fortnight in August–September.
163 The ushmapas, 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).
164 A truti is a very small measure of time, equal to one-fourth of a kshana. Two trutis constitute a lava.
165 The south is the direction of death.
166 Raivata, or Revanta, is a son of the sun god and is identified with forests and hunting.
167 Savarni Manu, the son of the sun god. While there are many stories about Yavakrita, it is difficult to pin down his son.
168 Ravana could not be killed by the gods. Ravana was the son of the sage Pulastya.
169 The 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.
170 A reference to the southern transit (dakshinayana) of the sun.
171 The winter solstice begins with the nakshatra Dhanishtha.
172 This has been described in Section 1 (Volume 1).
173 The story has been told in Section 33 (Volume 3).
174 Galava will eventually die, but Suparna wishes to know if Galava wants to head in that direction now.
175 Pashchima means west and pashchat means later.
176 The mountain over which the sun sets (asta).
177 Diti 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.
178 Rahu.
179 Harimedha’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.
180 Beyond the winter solstice, the sun moves to uttarayana.
181 Uttara means north, while uttarana is the act of delvering.
182 Uma.
183 Kubera.
184 Ascetic community.
185 Married to Vasishtha.
186 Svati (Arcturus) is the fifteenth of the nakshatras.
187 The pole star. Dhruva was Vishnu’s devotee and was elevated to that position.
188 Kubera.
189 Vishnu’s foot.
190 Uttara means both north and superior.
191 The word used is tata.
192 Garuda.
193 Aquatic animals that feed on whales (timis).
194 The word used is tata.