by Bibek Debroy
400 The grandfathers.
401 Darsha is the night of the new moon. But this also signifies that the moon will now wax.
402 Lepa means wiping, in this case, the wiping of the hand after pindas have been offered. The right to pinda stops with the third person in the lineage, the fourth is no longer entitled.
403 Pinda for three generations, lepa for three and anulepa beyond.
404 Impure as in ucchishta.
405 Amavasya is the day of the new moon.
406 The eighth lunar tithi, during krishna paksha. Ashtaka shraddhas are typically performed during the months of Margashirsha (also known as Agrahayana), Pousha, Magha and Phalguna. Margashirsha is roughly mid-November to mid-December, while Pousha is mid-December to mid-January. Magha is mid-January to mid-February and Phalguna is mid-February to mid-March.
407 A sukta from the Sama Veda, typically recited at the time of a shraddha.
408 ‘Trinachiketa’ is a part of the Yajur Veda.
409 The first reference to Trinachiketa is to a person who knows the mantras, the second reference could be to one who follows the observances. Alternatively, the second Trinachiketa might mean a person who has kindled the Nachiketa fire thrice.
410 The three verses in Rig Veda I.90.6–8.
411 The Taittiriya Aranyaka.
412 With four fires on four sides and the sun overhead.
413 There is a typo, the text says friend (mitra) instead of enemy (amitra).
414 While this means shudra, it also means outcast.
415 Two blades of kusha grass used for purifying and sprinkling ghee.
416 Of the brahmanas.
417 The part of the hand between the forefinger and the thumb.
418 Black antelope.
419 Kind of ox.
420 We have translated kalashaka as this (Corchorus capsularis), though it might mean something else.
421 The son of a daughter who was married when she was eight years old, the latter being known as Gouri.
422 This probably means an area that is populated by enemies.
423 A kind of demon.
424 Kalashaka.
425 These are desired, but voluntary.
426 There are twenty-seven nakshatras (asterisms), twenty-eight with Abhijit added. Nakshatras are not necessarily stars, they can be constellations too. The order in the list often varies, perhaps a reflection of precession of the equinoxes. If one begins with Krittika, the standard list is Krittika, Rohini, Mrigashira, Ardra, Punarvasu, Pushya, Ashlesha, Magha, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Svati, Vishakha, Anuradha, Jyeshtha, Mula, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Abhijit, Shravana, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada, Revati, Ashvini and Bharani. Bhadrapada is also known as Proshthapada. Except for the position of Abhijit, this is the order the text follows. However, Shatabhisha is ostensibly missing and the text has Varuna. That’s because all nakshatras have names associated with divinities who preside over them and Shatabhisha’s divinity is Varuna.
427 Havya is oblations offered to the gods and kavya is oblations offered to the ancestors.
428 The word used for this is sadachara.
429 Dharma, artha and kama.
430 In today’s language, one would say a savings rate of 25 per cent and the savings must be invested.
431 To obtain ends in this world and in the next one.
432 A muhurta is a period of forty-eight minutes. Brahma muhurta is named after Brahma and is an auspicious time just before dawn, regarded as the last muhurta of the night. The precise hour depends on the time when the sun rises.
433 Both tirtha and kshetra are terms for sacred grounds. Tirtha is one with water, kshetra one without water.
434 Before rinsing the mouth.
435 The word used is guru. Hence, this can also be translated as preceptor.
436 The upper part of the body must be covered.
437 The word used is pradakshina, which is much more specific than a mere act of circling. This circling or circumambulation has to be done in a specific way, so that the right side (dakshina) always faces what is being circled.
438 The word chaitya has several meanings—sacrificial shed, temple, altar, sanctuary and a tree that grows along the road.
439 Made out of wheat flour, sugar, ghee and milk.
440 The text uses the respective expressions Agastya’s direction and Purandara’s direction.
441 Without the intention of offering it at a sacrifice.
442 After passing stool.
443 The parva days, like amavasya.
444 A mixture of honey and water, customarily offered to a guest.
445 Anumati is the personified form of the fifteenth lunar tithi.
446 We have translated manika as waterpot. The word also means jewel.
447 Shiva.
448 These tirthas are parts of the hand, sacred to specific divinities.
449 By sprinkling water over it.
450 With cow dung.
451 The fig tree.
452 A drona is a measure of capacity, given differently in different texts. The idea seems to be that to be used in any ritual, the paddy must amount to at least a drona.
453 Referring to the sun or the moon.
454 The cloth placed over the back or knees during yoga.
455 Kurantaka.
456 A woman who has just delivered.
457 Pada means a quarter and krichchha means hardship. So this is a hardship vow observed for four days. One has one meal on the first day, fasts on the second day, eats as much as one wants on the third day and fasts again on the fourth day.
458 Act of giving up one’s life by fasting to death.
459 As is obvious, the duration depends on the varna.
460 A monthly rite continued for one year.
461 This probably means agnihotra every day and darsha and purnamasa at the end of every fortnight.
462 Meaning Alarka.
463 In Alarka.
464 Alarka’s kingdom and Subahu’s father’s kingdom.
465 To Subahu.
466 Of being a kshatriya.
467 Adhidaivika (destiny), adhibhoutika (nature) and adhyatmika (one’s own nature). These lead to three different kinds of misery.
468 The tanmatras are the subtle five elements, beyond the body and the mind.
469 Buddhi has been translated as intelligence. Ahamkara can be translated as ego.
470 The son is born from the father’s body and physically, the father is no different from the son. Therefore, there is an implicit suggestion that Alarka’s elder brother and Alarka represent the same body.
471 The tree of ignorance.
472 These are terms used in Samkhya. Loosely, Pradhana is the primary seed that leads to material creation. Similarly, loosely, Prakriti is nature.
473 Yoga has eight elements—yama (restraint), niyama (rituals), asana (posture), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal), dharana (retention), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (liberation). That’s the reason the expression ashtanga (eight-formed) yoga is used.
474 Padmasana is the lotus position, with both the legs locked. Ardhasana means ardha-padmasana, with one leg locked. In svastikasana, the foot is placed between the thigh and the calf of the opposite leg.
475 The five tanmatras, buddhi and ahamkara.
476 Interpreted as, does not have to be born again.
477 Yoga leads to eight major siddhis or powers. These are anima (becoming as small as one desires), mahima (as large as one desires), laghima (as light as one wants), garima (as heavy as one wants), prapti (obtaining what one wants), prakamya (travelling where one wants), vashitvam (powers to control creatures) and ishitvam (obtaining divine powers). In the list given here, garima has been replaced with kamavasayitvam. The explanations given in the text of these powers differs marginally from the standard ones given in the note.
478 The state of emancipation, when everything is extinguished.
479 Bot
h of these are done so that living creatures are not killed.
480 All three sources on the same day.
481 The word used in the text is yayavara.
482 Saktu, colloquially known as sattu.
483 A mendicant carries a rod with three staffs tied together. Thus, he is a tridandi and the word is being used as a metaphor for controlling thoughts, words and deeds.
484 As light as that of an ant.
485 Chit.
486 Pluta, drawn out in pronunciation.
487 Probably meaning thought, words and deeds.
488 Devamarga, the meaning is not obvious.
489 The star Alcor, the faint double star that is the companion of Mizar (Vashishtha) in the constellation Ursa Major.
490 A Buddhist or Jaina mendicant.
491 Antaka is the one who brings about the end, Death or Destroyer. Usually, Antaka is a synonym for Yama. But here, the two names are listed separately.
492 Moonstone, it is believed to melt under the influence of the moon’s beams.
493 Sunstone, it is believed to burst into flames under the influence of the sun’s rays.
494 Kapinjala. In this context, perhaps the word should be taken as a pigeon.
495 Bodies die.
496 Small efforts matter.
497 Everything is destroyed.
498 Success comes gradually.
499 The importance of concentration and being steady.
500 The obvious interpretation is that Kroushtuki had just completed the period of brahmacharya.
501 Direct perception (pratyaksha), inference (anumana), comparison (upamana), testimony (shabda) and derivation (arthapatti). Sometimes, a sixth is also added.
502 The five senses and the mind.
503 Vaikarika ahamkara is the same as sattvika ahamkara and taijasa ahamkara is the same as rajasika ahamkara.
504 The five elements, Purusha and Mahat.
505 Prakriti.
506 Regions of the world, continents.
507 The five gross elements and the five subtle elements.
508 Prakriti.
509 Corresponding to the seven principles mentioned earlier.
510 The original Prakriti.
511 After universal destruction.
512 Purusha.
513 Meaning the field. This is a reference to Prakriti.
514 The one who knows kshetra. This is a reference to Purusha.
515 A roundabout way of saying one parardha. One parardha is fifty years of Brahma’s life. So two parardhas is 100 years of Brahma’s life. Thus, this is more than 300 trillion human years. Usually, Brahma’s lifespan is given as two parardhas. There may well be some typo in the text.
516 Measured as years of the gods, krita yuga is four thousand years, treta yuga is three thousand years, dvapara yuga is two thousand years and kali yuga is one thousand years. This cycle is known as a mahayuga, but a mahayuga is more than ten thousand years. Each yuga has a sandhi at the beginning and an amsha at the end of the yuga. This is 400 years for krita yuga, 300 years for treta yuga, 200 years for dvapara yuga and 100 years for kali yuga. Hence, two thousand years are added to get twelve thousand years as the duration of a mahayuga. Four thousand mahayugas are Brahma’s day and four thousand mahayugas are Brahma’s night.
517 A nimesha is the twinkling of an eye. The relative superiority of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva varies from Purana to Purana.
518 All translations interpret this lord as Brahma. That may well be correct. But since nothing indicates that identification with Brahma, we have been careful in our choice of words.
519 The self-creating one.
520 The intervening period added to the beginning and end of the yuga.
521 1000/14 = 71.43.
522 306,720,000 human years = 852,000 divine years. There is a typo in the text and the text gives it as 60,000 divine years. We have corrected it.
523 The secondary destruction.
524 There are actually fourteen worlds (lokas), seven above and seven below. The seven above are—bhuloka, bhuvarloka, svarloka, maharloka, janarloka, taparloka and satyaloka (brahmaloka).
525 Narayana.
526 The matsya and kurma avataras. The present kalpa is known as Varaha kalpa because of the varaha (boar) avatara.
527 The word naga has been translated as vegetation. The word mukhya means primary.
528 Anugraha means favours. This is interpreted as the creation of an inferior class of devas.
529 Respectively, unnatural vis-à-vis natural.
530 Aja means the one without birth, Brahma.
531 From the word for protection, rakshana.
532 From the word for consumption, yakshana.
533 Reptiles and snakes, from the word for writhing around. But since reptiles are mentioned later, this probably means only snakes.
534 From the word for inferior or lean.
535 Gandharvas possess excellent voices.
536 The eight seems to mean suras, asuras, ancestors, humans, rakshasas, yakshas, sarpas and gandharvas.
537 The count seems to be (1) Rakshasas; (2) Yakshas; (3) Snakes; (4) Domestic varieties; and (5) Wild species.
538 Gayatri is a metre, trich is an affix (pratyaya) placed after the stem of a word, trivrit sama is a hymn from the Rig Veda and rathantara is a hymn from the Sama Veda.
539 Stomas are hymns sung in soma sacrifices, brihat sama is a mantra and ukthas are hymns from Sama Veda.
540 There is a repetition of stoma.
541 That is, humans.
542 The end of Brahma’s night.
543 Tree that yields every object of desire.
544 Each unit is several times the previous one. They thus increase in size. It should be noted that these conversions are not consistent across texts.
545 Angula means finger.
546 A hasta is a cubit. The cubit is not measured with the fingers extended, but with the fingers closed at the root of the thumb.
547 That is, samghosha.
548 Some rose up, some didn’t.
549 The fourteen will be listed later.
550 Respectively paddy, barley, wheat, millet, sesamum, saffron, camel’s foot, matar dal, fennel, urad dal, moong dal, masur dal, corn, fine pulse, arhar dal, chickpea and hemp.
551 The first seven are from the village and the last seven are wild. Shyamaka and markataka are kinds of grain, gavedhuka and kuruvinda are species of grass.
552 These were sages who were born through mental powers, Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanatkumara. However, they were not interested in the act of creation.
553 Brahma.
554 Meaning Ruchi.
555 All these names are personifications of attributes. We are skipping the details of what each word means.
556 Lakshmi.
557 Rourava is the same as Naraka.
558 This seems to apply to Duhkha’s sons.
559 These require interpretation. Pointless cooking is clearly cooking for one’s own self. Differences in cooking might well mean cooking that has not been completed. This is the way this statement is interpreted. What does pankti differences mean? Different categories of people sit down to eat in different rows (panktis). Does the text disapprove of these differences (the standard interpretation), or does it disapprove of these differences not being followed? Either interpretation is possible.
560 Adhidaivika (destiny), adhibhoutika (nature) and adhyatmika (one’s own nature).
561 The cat is regarded as a hypocrite.
562 Studying, sacrifices and donations.
563 The converse of Lakshmi: penury, adversity.
564 Where the house is overgrown with corn (nishpava).
565 Actually anything with hair. So this might mean some other animal too.
566 At the time of funeral rites.
567 This line causes problems. Padma and mahapadma are respectively, lotus and large lotus. But these are also names for treasures and large treasures. Either meaning is possible. The text u
ses the word airavata. While we have translated this as white elephant, ‘excellent elephant’ is also possible. Finally, there is the matter of cows that eat sweet cakes, that is, cows are looked after well. Another possible translation of the text is, ‘where the women eat fragrant and sweet cakes’.
568 Therefore, you can go to them.
569 Duhsaha and Nirmarshti.
570 Dantakrishti is based on danta (teeth) and akrishti (attraction, drawing out).
571 In this, we have expanded on the translation, so as to make the meaning clear.
572 Hence, he is known as Ukti (speech/statement).
573 Meaning the one who causes turning around or exchange.
574 The one who attacks the limbs (anga).
575 Shakuna/Shakuni has multiple meanings. Hear, it means omens, indicated by the action of animals and birds.
576 Gandaprantarati, ganda means cheek.
577 Literally, the destroyer of a foetus.
578 Such as on amulets.
579 Literally, Sasyaha means the destroyer of crops (sasya).
580 This is about protecting the field—one wears old footwear in the field, keeps the field to the right when walking, makes a chandala enter the field and offers sacrifices outside the field.
581 The one who urges and impels.
582 One who causes conflict.
583 Literally, the one who herself steals.
584 One who causes bewilderment.
585 This probably means the ‘Prithvi (Bhumi) Sukta’ from the Atharva Veda.
586 Literally, the stealer of the menses.
587 Those chanting mantras.
588 Literally, the one who steals memory (smriti).
589 Bijahara, the one who steals seed.
590 The same as Vidveshini.
591 As we will see later, the number doesn’t quite add up. The number given is more.
