Mahabharata: Volume 8 (89 page)

⁴⁹¹
The word used is tata.

⁴⁹²
The suras are also gods. But the text uses both the words for gods, devas and suras.

⁴⁹³
There are eight Vasus. Though Bhishma is himself regarded as one of these Vasus born on earth, he is regarded as a ninth Vasu. However, because of his qualities, he is not ninth in merit.

⁴⁹⁴
The four stages of life.

⁴⁹⁵
There are four types of officiating priests—
hotar
(one who recites from the Rig Veda),
udgatar
(one who recites from the Sama Veda),
adhvaryu
(one who recites from the Yajur Veda) and brahman (one who recites from the Atharva Veda).

⁴⁹⁶
One of the six schools of philosophy (
darshana
) associated with the sage Kapila.

⁴⁹⁷
The text does not indicate what that single dharma is.

⁴⁹⁸
Itihasa is history and is specifically used for the two epics.

⁴⁹⁹
Specific sacred texts, in the
smriti
tradition, about dharma.

⁵⁰⁰
Heaven, earth and the nether regions.

⁵⁰¹
Vayu (wind) has seven flows—
avaha, pravaha, nivaha, varaha, udhvaha, samvaha
and
parivaha.

⁵⁰²
No rebirth.

⁵⁰³
The lord of speech.

⁵⁰⁴
The moon.

⁵⁰⁵
Those born from wombs, those born from eggs, those born from seeds and those born from sweat (moisture).

⁵⁰⁶
The sages.

⁵⁰⁷
Narmada is believed to originate in Mount Rikshavat, in the Vindhyas.

⁵⁰⁸
Hastinapura.

⁵⁰⁹
The lion.

⁵¹⁰
A night consists of three yamas. So a yama is four hours.

⁵¹¹
Yudhishthira.

⁵¹²
Narada is primarily speaking to Yudhishthira.

⁵¹³
The word used is tata.

⁵¹⁴
Bhishma.

⁵¹⁵
The word Vedanta is usually used for the Upanishads.

⁵¹⁶
Jatis.

⁵¹⁷
The Critical edition says
manudharma
, which brings in Manu. Some non-Critical versions say
sarvadharma
, which means all forms of dharma, without bringing in Manu.

⁵¹⁸
Bhishma.

⁵¹⁹
Yudhishthira’s.

⁵²⁰
The word used is tata.

⁵²¹
The dharma of kings.

⁵²²
The three objectives, dharma, artha and kama.

⁵²³
Mokshadharma is the dharma that leads to emancipation or liberation.

⁵²⁴
Without getting bogged down by minute trivia.

⁵²⁵
These three are left implicit and have to be deduced. One’s weaknesses, one’s policy and the weaknesses of enemies have to be concealed.

⁵²⁶
Fire is quenched with water, iron is blunted by stone and kshatriyas are controlled by brahmanas.

⁵²⁷
Though not directly stated, this seems to mean that the king should restrain imperfect brahmanas.

⁵²⁸
The killing of a foetus is being equated with the killing of a brahmana.

⁵²⁹
Those protected by deserts, water, earth, forests, mountains and men.

⁵³⁰
Of the sacred texts.

⁵³¹
The master’s.

⁵³²
Because of excessive attachment for his wife and children.

⁵³³
The king, the army, advisers, allies, the treasury, forts and the geographical expanse of the kingdom.

⁵³⁴
This story has been recounted in Section 33 (Volume 3). Bahu was also known as Asita.

⁵³⁵
Probably referring to dharma, artha and kama.

⁵³⁶
The dharma of the four varnas should not be mixed up.

⁵³⁷
The six aspects of policy—alliances, war, marching, halting, dividing and fortifying the army and sowing dissension in the enemy.

⁵³⁸
Dharma, artha and kama.

⁵³⁹
Kubera.

⁵⁴⁰
Advisers, fortified cities, the countryside, the treasury and the army add up to five. There are these five on one’s own side and five on the side of the enemy. The king must know about these ten.

⁵⁴¹
The king’s relatives.

⁵⁴²
He will not differentiate between them and him.

⁵⁴³
The king in question is Yudhishthira himself, who was told Rama’s (i.e., Parashurama’s) story (by Krishna) earlier in this section. Bhargava is Parashurama.

⁵⁴⁴
That is, choose a kingdom where you wish to live.

⁵⁴⁵
Son is to be interpreted as descendant. Prachetasa is Daksha and the Manu in question is Vaivasvata Manu.

⁵⁴⁶
The cowherd’s tasks are in pastures, not in the village. The barber’s tasks are in the village, not in the forest.

⁵⁴⁷
Shukracharya, the preceptor of the demons.

⁵⁴⁸
This can be interpreted as fair taxation.

⁵⁴⁹
For administrative duties.

⁵⁵⁰
Corporal punishment and monetary fines.

⁵⁵¹
This can be interpreted as superiority of kshatriyas over brahmanas.

⁵⁵²
The aberrations are justified if there is an overall framework of rectitude.

⁵⁵³
Part rectitude and part deceit.

⁵⁵⁴
Yudhishthira.

⁵⁵⁵
Hastinapura.

⁵⁵⁶
This is interpreted as meaning that the knowledge of the Vedas was destroyed.

⁵⁵⁷
The gods showered down rain. Sustained by this, men offered oblations to sustain the gods.

⁵⁵⁸
The self-creating one, Brahma’s name.

⁵⁵⁹
The three objectives or categories.

⁵⁶⁰
Respectively, the qualities of purity, passion and darkness.

⁵⁶¹
Place and time are counted as one, so that there are six and not seven.

⁵⁶²
The three Vedas.

⁵⁶³
A king might face treachery from aides and princes.

⁵⁶⁴
Sama, dana, danda, bheda are the four respective familiar principles of conciliation, gifts (to wean away), punishment and sowing dissension. Upeksha can be translated as both endurance and neglect.

⁵⁶⁵
Probably very good, good, bad and very bad
muhurta
s.

⁵⁶⁶
Dharma and artha are not gained from an asura victory.

⁵⁶⁷
The five categories are the advisers, the countryside, the fortified city, the treasury and the army. These can have three characteristics—superior, middling and inferior.

⁵⁶⁸
The text actually suggests that one should take these guides from the country one is at war with.

⁵⁶⁹
The word used is
payana,
which means drink. This is not about the blades of weapons being made to drink the enemy’s blood. It is about the way those iron blades were crafted, heated and then cooled with water.

⁵⁷⁰
Guilds (shrenis) in the enemy’s kingdom.

⁵⁷¹
The king, the army, advisers, allies, the treasury, forts and the geographical expanse of the kingdom.

⁵⁷²
These are the six that arise from anger.

⁵⁷³
Newly acquired kingdoms. The succeeding shlokas are difficult to understand. We have interpreted them as learning about these practices in newly acquired kingdoms.

⁵⁷⁴
These numbers are about complicated relationships between kings. At the central core is a king, his main ally and the ally’s ally. The core king has an adversary, an enemy, a neutral and a king whose kingdom is geographically contiguous to the core king and the enemy, but is not necessarily a neutral. 3 multiplied by 4 gives the number of 12. Each kingdom has six elements—the king, the advisers, the countryside, the fortified city, the treasury and the army. 12 multiplied by 6 gives 72.

⁵⁷⁵
Dharma, artha and kama.

⁵⁷⁶
As a river, or as the goddess of speech.

⁵⁷⁷
The policy of chastisement.

⁵⁷⁸
The king, the advisers, the countryside, the fortified city, the treasury and the army.

⁵⁷⁹
Associated with the four Vedas.

⁵⁸⁰
Probably the Vedangas.

⁵⁸¹
The human span of life decreases progressively from satya yuga to kali yuga. Hence, people wouldn’t have the time to read long texts.

⁵⁸²
Prepared by the one with large eyes, Vishalaksha or Shiva.

⁵⁸³
The word used is tata.

⁵⁸⁴
Named after Brihaspati.

⁵⁸⁵
Shukracharya.

⁵⁸⁶
The five elements. He too was interested in renunciation.

⁵⁸⁷
The policy of chastisement.

⁵⁸⁸
Death.

⁵⁸⁹
Because a king was needed.

⁵⁹⁰
Nishida
is an instruction to be seated.

⁵⁹¹
That is, the son of Vena. Also known as Prithu.

⁵⁹²
Literally, the reckoner of the year,
samvatsara
. The word can also be translated as astrologer.

⁵⁹³
Vainya was the eighth because he followed Vishnu, Virajas, Kirtiman, Kardama, Ananga, Atibala and Vena.

⁵⁹⁴
Respectively, suta and
magadha
.

⁵⁹⁵
Vainya.

⁵⁹⁶
Literally, the one whose mount is a man, a name for Kubera.

⁵⁹⁷
The word for grain is
shasya
and it is difficult to pin down the number seventeen. Five types are more common—paddy (
dhanya
), beans (
mudga
), sesamum (
tila
), barley (
yava
) and black gram (
masha
).

⁵⁹⁸
The word for king is raja.
Ranjita
means pleased or delighted. Since he delighted the subjects, he came to be known as raja, from the root
ranj.
The word for king is actually
rajan
and raja is the nominative, in the singular.

⁵⁹⁹
With a play on the words kshata (wound/injury) and save (
trana
).

⁶⁰⁰
Prathita
means extended or famous. The name prithivi for earth is being linked with that word.

⁶⁰¹
Kings are like human gods and Vainya was a king among them.

⁶⁰²
Prosperity personified.

⁶⁰³
The word used is tata.

⁶⁰⁴
The officiating priest is for a specific purpose like a sacrifice, while the priest is more like a permanent appointee.

⁶⁰⁵
In general, a
maitra
is a benevolent and affectionate person who is friendly towards all beings. However, more specifically, a maitra is also a brahmana who has attained the highest level of human perfection.

⁶⁰⁶
Similar to Indra.

⁶⁰⁷
The vaishyas’.

⁶⁰⁸
The vaishya thus takes care of animals, but only ‘owns’ designated shares. When a cow is dead, the shares presumably refer to trade in the dead bodies.

⁶⁰⁹
This follows the earlier shloka, so it is not clear whether one means one-seventh or one-sixteenth. It could be either, but one-seventh seems more likely.

⁶¹⁰
The shudra. That is, the shudra is allowed to accumulate riches under some conditions, such as spending those riches on pursuits of dharma.

⁶¹¹
Pinda.

⁶¹²
Connected with the three Vedas.

⁶¹³
This and the succeeding shlokas get into complicated questions of interpretation. The simplest interpretation is that shudras were allowed to use the mantras
svaha
and
namaskara
, but not other mantras.

⁶¹⁴
A pakayajna is one where food is cooked and offered to gods, ancestors, guests and birds and beasts. There is the clear suggestion that a shudra would have to perform the sacrifice himself, since no brahmana would be an officiating priest. In that case, where is the question of dakshina? Presumably, dakshina was offered to brahmanas even if they did not officiate. A purnapatra is a full vessel, that is, a vessel full of food.

⁶¹⁵
One hundred thousand of what is left dangling, probably one hundred thousand purnapatras.

⁶¹⁶
Eternal collective sacrifices, though the desires are individual.

⁶¹⁷
The brahmanas are part of the brahman. However, there seems to be a different suggestion too. The Vedas were originally one, but were divided. In that way, all the varnas originated with brahmanas and were later divided.

⁶¹⁸
It is difficult to understand this and refers to the process of offering oblations. What it probably means is that spilt and impure oblations can be rendered pure through mental devotion.