Read Mahabharata: Vol. 5 Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (72 page)
106
King mentioned in the
Bhagavata Purana
as the father of Bharata.
107
Aila means the son of Ila. Ila was the daughter of Vaivasvata Manu and gave birth to Pururava. Aila means Pururava.
108
King Nriga inadvertently donated the same cow to two brahmanas. He was cursed and became a lizard that lived in a well. Krishna rescued him from this curse.
109
That is, in Bharatavarsha.
110
Barbarians, those who do not speak Sanskrit.
111
There is a Bahuda river in Andhra Pradesh.
112
Sutlej.
113
Chenab.
114
Identified with the Chautang River in Haryana. Drishadvati means a river with many stones in it.
115
Beas.
116
Betwa River in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
117
Krishnavena is the river Krishna and the tributary Venna.
118
Ravi.
119
Jhelum.
120
Probably the Tapti.
121
In Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir.
122
The Koshi river.
123
Trideva is mentioned twice.
124
In Uttar Pradesh.
125
Chambal.
126
Vetravati is mentioned twice.
127
Payoshni is mentioned twice.
128
Sindhu is mentioned twice.
129
Originates in Maharashtra, tributary of the Krishna.
130
This could mean the Apaga river in Haryana.
131
Another name for Chandrabhaga, so this has already been mentioned.
132
Hiranvati is mentioned twice.
133
Chitrasena is mentioned twice.
134
Venna has already been mentioned, in conjunction with Krishna.
135
This has already been mentioned, though the earlier mention said Krishnavena.
136
Koushiki is mentioned twice.
137
The Shon River.
138
Bahuda has already been mentioned.
139
Tributary of the Padma.
140
The river Tons, tributary of the Ganga that flows through Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
141
Varuna and Asi Rivers in Varanasi.
142
Tributary of the Alakananda.
143
In Orissa.
144
Tributary of the Brahmaputra.
145
In Rajshahi division in Bangladesh.
146
This doesn’t sound right and there may be a typo in the Critical edition. As in some non-critical versions, it should read
phala
, not
bala
. In that case, the rivers produce great merit.
147
Kashi has already been mentioned.
148
We haven’t followed the Critical edition here, which uses the word
kevala
. Kerala fits better.
149
Kashi has already been mentioned.
150
Videha has already been mentioned.
151
In our translation, we have already mentioned Kerala.
152
Hunters.
153
Dharma, artha and kama.
154
Sama, dana, bheda and danda respectively.
155
Kali.
156
Chakravarti.
157
The rest of it has already passed.
158
That is, Harivarsha is superior to Bharatavarsha.
1
The word planet is in the singular. So Sanjaya will only tell Dhritarashtra about Rahu.
2
The ocean.
3
Shakadvipa.
4
The people who live there.
5
The grandfather is Brahma. Revati is the twenty-seventh nakshatra.
6
Shyama
means dark.
7
Kesara
means saffron, which is why the mountain is so named.
8
Each mountain.
9
There is a varsha corresponding to each of the seven mountains. Raivata is the same as Raivataka. Malaya is being referred to as Jalada,
jalada
meaning something that provides water, such as a cloud. The clouds strike against mountains and provide water.
10
The name of another mountain.
11
Shiva.
12
Of the brahmanas.
13
Ghrita.
14
Dadhi.
15
Sura.
16
Gharma
. Alternatively, where the waters are heated.
17
The silk-cotton tree.
18
Andhakara is the same as Andhakaraka.
19
Progressively, the distance between the second and the third is double that between the first and the second and so on.
20
Vamana is the same as Vamanaka.
21
Pravara is the same as Pravaraka.
22
Usually the stage of celibacy, when one is studying. However, brahmacharya also means worship of the brahman or following the path of the brahman.
23
It is left implicit that this occurs as one progressively moves northwards, from one varsha to the next.
24
The word used is
shiva
, which means the benign one who ensures bliss.
25
There are four elephants that dwell in the four directions. These are known as
diggaja
, the elephant (gaja) for a direction (
dik
).
26
The temples and mouth are rent because of rutting when an elephant is in musth. The name of the fourth elephant is not mentioned. Sometimes, eight or ten elephants are said to dwell in the respective eight or ten directions.
27
The first subject, the geography. However, Dhritarashtra had also asked about Rahu and about the sun and the moon.
28
Another name for Rahu.
29
This gives a value of Pi of 3.5.
30
This gives a value of Pi of 3.45.
31
In the sacred texts.
32
The connection between a geographical description and Duryodhana’s pacification is not obvious.
1
Sanjaya need not of course have gone to the field of battle. He could see what was happening without being physically present. The Critical edition has the word
madhyamam
as a description of Bhishma. This means an intermediate one, someone in the middle. Bhishma was an intermediate one between the earlier generation of the Bharatas and the newer one. However, this sounds contrived. Since non-critical versions have the standard word
pitamaham
(grandfather), the Critical version may have erred.
2
These incidents have been recounted in Section 60.
3
The word father is being used in a loose sense.
4
Shikhandi.
5
Indra.
6
That is, Bhishma’s father Shantanu. Bhishma adopted a life of celibacy so that Shantanu could marry Satyavati.
7
Referring to Duryodhana and his brothers.
8
Guarding him.
9
Duryodhana.
10
Bharadvaja’s son is Drona. However, Drona has already been mentioned. Hence, if the word son is interpreted with some latitude, this could also mean Ashvatthama.
11
An atiratha is a supreme warrior. The classification of rathas, maharathas and atirathas has been given in Section 59 (Volume 4).
12
Parashurama.
13
Makara
, mythical aquatic creature, translated here as shark.
14
The way the shore drives back the ocean.
15
Referring to Bhishma’s death.
16
Referring to the army of the Pandavas.
17
There are six Vedangas—
shiksha
(articulation and pronunciation),
chhanda
(prosody),
vyakarana
(grammar),
nirukta
(etymology),
jyotisha
(astronomy) and
kalpa
(rituals).
18
The story has been told in Section 60.
19
Parashurama belonged to the Bhargava lineage.
20
Bhishma.
21
The word used is tata.
22
Bhishma’s name.
23
Bhishma.
24
Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa was Dhritrashtra’s biological father and was the son of the sage Parashara.
25
Arjuna’s.
26
Both
rishti
and
khadga
are types of swords and both are mentioned. Hence, we have translated rishti as scimitar.
27
An akshouhini is a large army and consists of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 horses and 109,350 soldiers on foot.
28
The Critical edition has got this wrong. The text says
munjamalina
, garlanded with munja grass. This does not fit. Some other versions say
yuddhashalina
, skilled in war. That fits much better.
29
After death.
30
This may mean either the sun or the moon. However, Bhishma has already been compared to a moon, though sharp rays typically signify the sun, not the moon.
31
Of the Pandavas.
32
Makara.
33
The tenth of the twenty-seven nakshatras. There is a problem of inconsistency, since other places don’t say that the moon was in Magha on that day. A somewhat more complicated interpretation is also possible. The ancestors are the deity associated with Magha. After death, one goes to the world of the ancestors and spends some time there, before proceeding elsewhere. In the complicated interpretation, this shloka means that the moon approached the world of the ancestors. Consequently, if one died in the battle, one would not have to spend time in the world of the ancestors, but would proceed to heaven immediately, after traversing the world of the moon.
34
Excluding Rahu and Ketu.
35
The text says brahman.
36
Govasana was his name. He was known as Shaibya because he was the king of the Shibis.
37
Duryodhana.
38
Since Karna (the lord of Anga) had refused to fight, this mean’s Karna’s son Vrishaketu.
39
In all such instances, what is meant is that the individual concerned placed himself at the head of the division of the army he was commanding, not at the head of the overall army.
40
Yantra
s or machines.
41
Ankusha
, for driving the elephant.
42
Ashvatthama.
43
A vyuha is an arrangement of troops in battle formation and there were different types of vyuhas.
44
The standards.
45
The Malavas being counted as one.
46
The word used is tata.
47
In the shape of the mouth (
mukha
) of a needle (
suchi
).
48
Virata.
49
Shikhandi.
50
Satyaki.
51
Drupada.
52
Because of the musth.
53
An ordinary club is
gada
, parigha is an iron club. Bhima’s gada is being compared to a parigha, which is stronger than an ordinary club.
54
Indra’s vajra was symmetrical on all sides.
55
Vajra also means thunder. Hence the image of lightning.
56
Of the Kouravas.
57
Belonging to the Pandavas.
58
Punjab.
59
Kripa, also known as Goutama.
60
Hunters.
61
Greeks.
62
These warriors took an oath that they would not retreat alive from the field of battle.
63
Because it was smaller.
64
Without weakness or lassitude. Vaikuntha is both the name of Vishnu’s abode and a name for Vishnu. Here, it is being used in the latter sense.
65
Before Krishna appeared, the gods had been vanquished by the demons.
66
Satyaki.
67
Arjuna.
68
Bhima.
69
Arjuna.
70
As an auspicious sign.
71
Dronacharya.
72
Drupada’s son was Dhrishtadyumna and he was also Dronacharya’s student.
73
Another name for Satyaki.
74
The son of Shishupala, from Chedi.
75
Of the Yadava clan.
76
Of the Panchala clan.
77
King Drupada’s son.
78
Abhimanyu.
79
One of the Kourava brothers.
80
Bhurishrava.
81
Shastra
is a weapon and so is a
praharana
. These words can be used synonymously. But etymologically, there is a difference between the two. Shastra is something that is used to kill. Praharana is something that is used to beat someone up. And
astra
is something that is thrown. The text uses both shastra and praharana.
82
This is the obvious meaning.
Paryapta
means that which can be measured and is therefore limited.
Aparyapta
is that which is unlimited, such as the Kourava army is. This is the straightforward interpretation, the Kourava army being larger than the Pandava one by a considerable magnitude. There were eleven akshouhinis on the Kourava side and seven on the Pandava side. However, a more convoluted interpretation is also possible, since paryapta also means adequate. Thus, the Kourava army is inadequate, but the Pandava army is adequate.
83
His means Duryodhana’s. Duryodhana’s statement having ended, we are back with Sanjaya.
84
Krishna.
85
Arjuna.
86
Krishna. Hrishikesha means lord of the senses.
87
Arjuna.
88
Bhima.
Vrikodara
means someone with the belly of a wolf.
89
Arjuna.
90
Krishna.
Achyuta
can be translated as someone who is firm and has not fallen.
91
Another name for Arjuna.
Gudakesha
means someone who has conquered sleep.
92
Sakha
has been translated by us as a friend and
suhrida
as a well-wisher. All these terms can be translated as friend, but in the Sanskrit, there are differences of nuance. A
mitra
is someone with whom one works together. A sakha is a kindred soul. A
bandhu
is someone from whom one cannot bear to be separated, a relative. A suhrida is someone who is always devoted and a
bandhava
is someone who accompanies you to palaces and cremation grounds, a kin.
93
Kripa
has been translated as pity.
Daya
is also pity. But there is a difference between the two and this will be explained in the next chapter.
94
According to the sacred texts, there are six types of assassins (
atatayi
)— arsonists, poisoners, those who bear arms to kill you, those who steal wealth, those who steal land and those who steal other people’s wives. The sacred texts sanction the killing of these types of criminals. Hence, killing the Kouravas is sanctioned by law. However, Arjuna faces a conflict between law and morality.
95
Because the men have been killed in war.
96
Fall from heaven.
97
Arjuna.
98
The word used is kripa, which means pity or compassion. Daya also translates as pity or compassion, but there is a difference between kripa and daya. If daya is the passion, one tries to do something actively to remove the reason for pity or compassion. That is, daya is the path of the strong. Kripa is passive, without the necessary action and is the path of the weak.
99
The word
karpanya
can be translated in ways other than helplessness also, such as wretchedness, a pitiable state, or even ignorance.
100
This is a complicated shloka and is subject to diverse interpretations. At one level, the soul is eternal. This is the truth or the reality. The body, the senses and the world are untrue and unreal. They have no existence, in the sense of being illusory.
101
This shloka also gets into complicated issues of interpretation. ‘That’ means the brahman, or paramatman. This is eternal and pervades everything. The body and the world are transitory. But the human soul (
jivatman
) is also eternal. Are the body and the world illusions, or are they real? What is the relationship between the paramatman and the jivatman? Such questions have led to intense philosophical speculation. The Gita uses the word atman for both the paramatman and the jivatman.
102
Atman.
103
The sacred texts speak of six types of transformations or maladies (
vikara
)—birth, existence, increase, end, decrease and destruction. The atman is thus not subject to any of these.
104
Atman.
105
Transformation or vikara has been mentioned in an earlier footnote.
106
This is the straightforward translation. Not being manifest (
avyakta
) means not recognizable by the senses. Hence, apart from the period of life, beings are part of the infinite, both before birth and after death. In a more complicated interpretation, the reference is not to beings, but to the world itself, avyakta standing for primeval matter or
prakriti
. In this interpretation, the world is part of this primeval matter before creation and after destruction, and in between, has a separate existence.
107
The atman.
108
That is, it is impossible to comprehend the nature of the atman.
109
This concludes one segment, the
jnana
yoga section, so to speak. In case this has not been enough to convince Arjuna, Krishna now moves on to a
karma
yoga argument. However, this is not just any action, but action without attachment.
110
This is known as
sankhya.
The word
buddhi
has many nuances or meanings, depending on the context. Here, we have translated it as wisdom.
111
Meaning karma yoga.
112
Karma yoga without attachment.
113
That is, karma yoga without attachment is focused. But action with attachment becomes diffused.
114
That is, rites and rituals of the Vedas, without the knowledge. The Vedas have four parts—Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad. The Samhita and Brahmana sections are known as karma
kanda
, they prescribe rites and rituals. The Aranyaka and Upanishad sections are known as
jnana
kanda, they are the paths of knowledge.
115
The cycle of action (karma) leading to birth (
janma
), birth leading to action, action leading to fruit (
phala
) and fruit leading to further rebirth.
