Read Mahabharata Vol. 2 (Penguin Translated Texts) Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
21
Yakshas are a semi-divine species and companions of Kubera, the god of treasure.
22
Rakshas or rakshasas are demons and evil spirits, but a distinct species from daityas. Rakshas are also guardians or protectors and that sense is more relevant in this context.
23
Serpants. Throughout the translation, we have used serpents for nagas and snakes for
sarpa
s. Nagas are not quite snakes. They are semi-divine, can assume human forms and live in specific regions. All these traits are uncharacteristic of snakes.
24
A mleccha is a barbarian, meaning that mlecchas do not speak Sanskrit and are not
arya
s.
25
Royal sages.
26
Garuda.
27
Siddhi
means accomplishment. Siddhas are semi-divine species who have attained these superhuman accomplishments or faculties.
28
Rishis who know the nature of the
brahman
, the supreme being.
29
Literally, great god. Shiva.
30
The god of fire.
31
The god of wind.
32
The moon-god Chandra.
33
The sun-god Aditya.
34
Parameshthi is an epithet for various gods—Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and Agni. Since Brahma, Shiva and Agni have been separately mentioned, here it probably means Vishnu.
35
Budha is someone who is wise, it is also a name for Mercury.
36
Hermits.
37
60,000 sages who were the sizes of thumbs. They preceded the sun’s chariot.
38
This must be a class of sages, but the meaning is unclear. Perhaps it means those who were descended from Marichi, one of Brahma’s mental sons, that is, a son born through Brahma’s mental powers.
39
Great sages.
40
The architect among the gods.
41
Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
42
Tila
means a small particle, while
uttama
means best or excellent. The best of the small bits had been used in creating Tilottama.
43
Brahma.
44
Mahadeva or Shiva.
45
Shiva.
46
Shiva’s.
47
Bala was a demon and Indra killed him. Thus, Indra is the slayer of Bala.
51
That is, first in grasping Tilottama’s hand.
52
The word aditya has four different meanings. First, Aditya is the sun-god. Second, all the sons of Aditi are known as adityas. Hence, aditya is a term for gods in general. Third, Aditya is also sometimes used as an epithet for Vishnu. Fourth, there are twelve manifestations of the sun-god, known collectively as adityas. These shine together when the universe is destroyed. In this context, either the fourth or the second meaning is indicated, probably the fourth.
53
Brahmacharya
is the first of the four stages
(ashrama
s) of life, the other three being
garhasthya
(householder stage),
vanaprastha
(retirement to the forest) and
sannyasa
(renunciation). One who is in the brahmacharya stage is a brahmachari. Brahmacharya is usually translated as celibacy, though anyone who follows the path of the brahman is a brahmachari.
54
The goddess of learning, also a river.
55
Sarasvati is often depicted with elephants anointing her.
56
The Pandavas were also descended from Kuru.
57
The four pursuits in life are dharma (righteous conduct), artha (riches),
kama
(desire) and
moksha
(salvation).
58
Arjuna’s name.
59
Arjuna.
60
Yudhishthira.
61
One without enemies, Yudhishthira’s name.
64
The six vedangas are
shiksha
(articulation and pronunciation),
chhanda
(prosody),
vyakarana
(grammar),
nirukta
(etymology),
jyotisha
(astronomy) and
kalpa
(rituals).
65
Indra.
66
Gods of the wind.
67
Sacrifices to Agni. Agnihotra means maintenance of the sacred fire and offering oblations to it.
68
Coincidentally, Kouravya means a descendant of Kuru, as does Kourava.
69
Agni.
70
Kunti’s son, that is, Arjuna.
71
Ananga. Ananga means one without a body and there is a story where the god of love lost his body because he managed to annoy Shiva.
72
Yudhishthira.
73
The vajra is Indra’s weapon and Arjuna was Indra’s son.
74
Mahadeva is Uma’s consort.
75
A putrika is a daughter who is regarded as a son. After marriage, she lives in her father’s household. Her son is regarded as her father’s son and becomes the heir.
76
Place of pilgrimage.
77
Kubera.
78
The word used is
lokapala
, which translates as protector or preserver of the worlds. In this context, it might mean either Brahma or Vishnu. There are also eight lokapalas who are regarded as guardians of the eight directions. But that is clearly not meant.
79
The enemy of Madhu, Krishna’s name. Vishnu had killed a demon named Madhu.
80
Arjuna’s name. The name literally means fearsome or terrible.
81
Krishna.
82
Ancient sages, whose names invariably occur together. Narayana is also Vishnu’s name and
nara
also means man. Narayana is equated with Krishna and Nara with Arjuna.
83
Krishna’s name, since Krishna belonged to the lineage of the Vrishnis.
1
Hala
means plough and Haladhara is the wielder of the plough, that is, Balarama. Revati is Balarama’s wife.
2
A gandharva is a celestial musician. But here, it probably means musicians in general.
3
Rukmini was married to Krishna and their son is Pradyumna.
4
Pritha’s son, Arjuna.
5
Though we have written it as Vasudeva, Krishna is actually Vaasudeva, because he is Vasudeva’s son. Bhadra or Subhadra is Vasudeva’s daughter and is therefore Vaasudeva Krishna’s sister.
6
Though Krishna and Subhadra had Vasudeva as their common father, their mothers were different. Sarana and Subhadra had the same mother too.
7
Krishna.
8
A ceremony where a bride chooses her husband from assembled suitors.
9
That is, Yudhishthira.
10
Arjuna.
11
Yudhishthira’s sanction.
12
The names of the two horses.
13
Presiding officer for want of a better word.
Sabha
is an assembly hall and the word used in the text is
sabhapala,
meaning controller or presiding officer of the assembly hall.
14
A maharatha is in general a mighty warrior. More specifically, a maharatha is skilled in the use of all weapons and can take on ten thousand warriors single-handedly.
15
Jishnu is one of Arjuna’s names and means the victorious one.
16
Vanamali is usually a name for Krishna. But here it means Baladeva or Balarama.
17
Halayudha is Baladeva’s name and means one whose weapon is a plough.
18
Baladeva’s name.
19
Krishna’s name, meaning the one without decay.
20
Krishna’s name.
21
Krishna’s name.
1
Arjuna’s name.
2
That is, increased the honour.
3
Partha means Pritha’s (Kunti’s) son, but is usually used for Arjuna.
4
Satvata actually means a follower or worshipper of Krishna. Here it means the Yadavas.
5
Period of exile.
6
Yudhishthira.
7
That is, out of jealousy.
8
Droupadi.
9
Madhava is one of Krishna’s names.
10
Pundarika is a lotus, usually the white lotus. Pundarikaksha means one with lotus eyes and is Vishnu’s name, used here for Krishna.
11
Balarama.
12
Nakula and Sahadeva.
13
Purandara is Indra’s name and means the sacker of cities.
14
A more literal translation is that he smelt Krishna’s head. This is a sign of affection displayed towards those who are younger, Krishna being younger than Yudhishthira.
15
Bhima was also older than Krishna.
16
This means those who were younger or inferior to Yudhishthira.
17
Of riches.
18
Shakra is another name for Indra. Hence, Shakraprastha means Indraprastha.
19
Jayanta is Indra’s son. Indra’s wife is Shachi. Since she is Pouloma’s daughter, she is also known as Poulomi.
20
Abhi
means extreme and
manyu
means anger.
21
An unrivalled warrior, whose valour is unlimited, greater than a maharatha.
22
Kind of tree used in sacrifices, said to contain fire in its womb.
23
In the sense that all the Pandavas were indirectly his fathers.
24
Arjuna’s name, meaning the terrible or fearful one.
25
Indra.
26
Daughter of Panchala, Droupadi.
27
Bhima.
28
Prati
means like or resembling.
29
Soma is the name of a plant and its juice and soma sacrifices are sacrifices at which soma juice is offered.
30
He should therefore be thus named, the word
suta
meaning son.
31
He should therefore be thus named,
shruta
means heard and karma means deed. Kiriti is one of Arjuna’s names.
1
Bhishma. Shantanu was Bhishma’s father.
2
Meaning good deeds.
3
Yudhishthira.
4
The king became like a fourth objective to be attained.
5
Varna
s.
6
The goddess of wealth.
7
Literally, the lord of all beings. But more generally, the lord of creation. Though usually applied to Brahma, the term is also used for Vishnu and for ten lords of the world created by Brahma. In this context, the reference is to Brahma.
8
Since
pura
means a city, Purandara is the destroyer of cities and is Indra’s name.
9
Descendant of the Vrishni lineage, that is, Krishna.
10
Arjuna and Krishna respectively.
11
Though rarely used, Krishna is also one of Arjuna’s names.
12
The twin physicians of the gods.
13
That is, the morning sun.
16
Indra’s name. Shatakratu means the performer of a hundred sacrifices.
17
The word used in the text is
pishacha.
18
A lokapala is a protector (
pala
) of a loka or a world. The number of lokas is sometimes three, sometimes seven and sometimes fourteen. Here, the reference is to the three worlds of heaven, earth and the nether regions and the waters have been added as a fourth world.
19
The name of the bow.
20
Vishnu’s weapon, usually translated in English as a discus, though disc is more appropriate. It is a circular weapon, hurled like a missile.
21
Bhoumana is Vishvakarma’s name. Vishvakarma is the architect of the gods. The Sanskrit text of the critical edition actually says Bhouvana, though many regional versions say Bhoumana. Bhoumana and Bhouvana are synonymous.