Read Mahabharata: Volume 8 Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
758
Ugrasena’s minister.
759
Of ruling the Yadavas.
760
The king, the advisers, the countryside, the fortified city, the treasury and the army.
761
Referring to the king as a friend.
762
The architect of the gods.
763
The ones who killed the crow.
764
The text uses the word
timingila
, which is actually an aquatic creature that eats whales.
765
Capparis aphylla
.
766
Scared of the brave husband.
767
Of killing the crow.
768
He became universal emperor, the umbrella being a sign of kingship.
769
Sabhasada
. This is more than courtier, since there is also a sense of legislative and judicial function.
770
As long as there are bribes and inducements.
771
There were tests of loyalty on grounds of dharma, artha, kama, fear and an overall aggregate one.
772
Jnana
and
vijnana
respectively, the former learnt from teachers, the latter from one’s own self.
773
The three ministers.
774
At the place where the king holds his consultations.
775
There should not be distractions from people moving around.
776
Brihaspati.
777
This world and the next.
778
The Critical edition excises some shlokas where eighteen kshatriyas and twenty-one vaishyas are also mentioned.
779
In the sense of bard or raconteur. The eight qualities of the bard are readiness to listen, readiness to learn, ability to receive, ability to retain, ability to reason, ability to be critical, internal knowledge (vijnana) and external knowledge (jnana).
780
As stated, it is not obvious whether this applies only to the suta, or to all advisers. All advisers seems more likely.
781
Four brahmanas, three shudras and the suta.
782
Hunting, gambling with the dice, addiction to women, addiction to liquor, harshness in punishment, harshness in speech and the squandering of riches.
783
Someone who sits in judgement.
784
In the next birth.
785
The word used is
citravadha
and probably means execution preceded by torture.
786
Probably meant for those who have intercourse with a person from another varna.
787
The king’s head. This applies to personal bodyguards.
788
This is a reference to the kind of protection a fort will have. For example, one in the water will be protected by natural water or trenches and moats on all sides. Those in the ground will be protected with high walls. Those with men will be protected by warriors and so on.
789
Actually, only sound is mentioned. So this could also be the sound of musical instruments.
790
For use as fuel.
791
Goosegrass,
Eleusine indica.
792
These offer shade.
793
The sense seems to be that if the king is excessive in doing this, enemies may harm these ascetics.
794
A reference to ascetics the king should befriend.
795
The text uses the word
shakhanagara
. This literally translates as a branch town, something that is not quite a town proper.
796
There is some subjectivity in deciding who is entitled to this grain and the gold. The context suggests that we are talking about the supervisor of one thousand villages and not the king.
797
This ‘he’ seems to be the supervisor of the town, rather than the king directly.
798
The sense is that there must be a decent margin of profit, so as to ensure incentives.
799
This is a straight translation, but the reference seems to be more to the cow than to the calf.
800
In times of hardship, the subjects willingly part with their resources.
801
The king must crush those who are external to the kingdom. He can then enjoy prosperity from those who are in between in the sense of belonging to the extremities of the kingdom.
802
Once there is fruit, the bamboo withers.
803
They are nomadic and mobile and will therefore leave the kingdom.
804
Without destroying the flower and the plant.
805
The word used is
niyamya
. This is best interpreted as regulation, not as a ban.
806
Wicked ones in general, not just beggars.
807
The drinking houses and brothels.
808
An intelligent king.
809
The king has found a means of sustenance. Even then, there is no limit to the brahmana’s greed.
810
The three Vedas.
811
A reference to the king employing men as spies.
812
The outside and inside can be interpreted in geographical terms. It can also be interpreted in terms of those who are close to the king and those who are not.
813
Alternatively, what are my addictions?
814
The bharunda bird is a mythical predatory bird with two heads. If the king isn’t careful, others will descend on him, like this predatory bird.
815
Utathya was Brihaspati’s elder brother.
816
He goes to heaven.
817
This world and the next.
818
This is a reference to the sages creating Prithu.
819
Virajate
means to shine or appear beautiful and rajan is king.
820
Vrishala means a contemptible person.
Vrisha
means a bull, as well as moral merit.
Alam
means ‘enough’. A person who says enough of dharma, is a vrishala.
821
Brahma.
822
This is an inconsistency, because the words are being spoken to Mandhata, not Yudhishthira. Bharata and the Pandavas are from the lunar dynasty. Mandhata was from the solar dynasty. There was a lesser known Bharata in the solar dynasty, but he came after Mandhata.
823
Bali was an asura and was Virochana’s son. He was deprived of the three worlds by Vishnu in his vamana (dwarf) incarnation. There are no stories to suggest that Bali was wicked or resentful towards brahmanas. Vishnu restored the three worlds to Indra, who had been deprived by Bali.
824
Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity.
825
Indra killed a demon named Paka.
826
Bali.
827
Insolence.
828
Probably in the sense of intoxicated with insolence.
829
The word used is
kanya
, meaning girl, as well as virgin. Girl seems to fit better.
830
Mixing of the varnas.
831
The careless king.
832
So that the weak could be protected.
833
The word used is tata.
834
One has to wait for a cow to have a calf, before it can be milked.
835
Descend on the king.
836
The king is being compared to the tree and the royal officers to those who have made homes in the tree.
837
In the sense of strife and discord.
838
Indra.
839
As ministers and advisers.
840
This is again an inconsistency.
841
Vasumana.
842
Dharma and artha respectively.
843
That is, he must want more of these.
844
The king’s officers.
845
The king.
846
That is, they do nothing to mitigate it.
847
The ministers and advisers.
848
Because they are not kshatriyas.
849
Of protecting them.
850
The invader.
851
Referring to weapons.
852
With poison.
853
The cow has to have a calf before it yields milk.
854
In the house of the captor.
855
This is a difficult shloka to translate. The idea seems to be that property seized from those in the enemy’s kingdom must be resorted to the original owners.
856
The people in the country that has been invaded.
857
On the king.
858
This abuse refers to deceit and a fight through unfair means. The injunction against killing thus applies to an unfair fight. Alternatively, it may refer to torturing an enemy who has been captured.
859
This is a difficult shloka to translate. It could conceivably apply to the enemy who has been captured.
860
The king of Kashi.
861
That is, King Pratardana took what should be taken, but King Divodasa took what should not be taken.
862
In the battle.
863
The straight translation does not capture the nuance. The word used is
katagni
and is a method of execution used against criminals. Dry grass and straw are tied around the criminal and he is then burnt.
864
If the kshatriya dies in his bed.
865
The word used is tata.
866
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). A ritvija is an officiating priest in general. A sadasya is an assistant priest or a spectator.
867
When the kindling is piled up in the form of a hawk (
shyena
).
868
A kind of acacia.
869
Secondary oblations.
870
The exclamation vashat when oblations are made.
871
There is an imagery of a river.
872
Of the river.
873
Of the enemy.
874
As part of funeral rites.
875
There is a typo in the critical edition. It reads
balam
, which makes no sense. It should read
baalam
.
876
Symbolically, the person pretends to be a cow, as a token of unconditional surrender.
877
Signifying surrender.
878
The danavas.
879
The king of Kashi.
880
The king.
881
The king.
882
This is in the context of a battle and the difference between the four types of dharma is unclear. Conceivably, truth means the dharma of kshatriyas, reason is persuading soldiers to give up their lives, virtuous conduct is encouraging those who are ready to fight and implementation is punishing those who are not ready to fight.
883
Respectively, April–May or November–December.
884
The seven rishis, the constellation of Ursa Major. This means that the army will face southwards.
885
Venus. The sense probably is that these should be to the rear of the army.
886
The shloka in the text is brief and states that each is superior to the succeeding one. We have expanded it, so that the meaning becomes clear.
887
The tithi is the lunar day and the nakshatras must be auspicious.
888
That is, those who have cast aside their weapons and are meditating and fasting to death on the field of battle, ready to give up their lives.
889
They are non-combatants.
890
Gone outside the camp to collect forage or fodder.
891
They are gatekeepers rather than soldiers.
892
They are servants rather than soldiers.
893
In the ranks of the enemy.
894
In one’s own ranks.
895
It is not clear where the pledge ends, but this is as good a place as any.
896
The pledge begins again.
897
Literally, the mouth of a needle.