Read Mahabharata: Volume 7 Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
Mahabharata: Volume 7 (64 page)
143
So we now know that this was a different Chitrasena and Chitra was his brother.
144
In non-Critical versions, there are shlokas that say that Chitrasena became unconscious.
145
Shrutakarma’s.
146
The text says Chitravarma. Either Chitravarma was another name for Chitrasena, or there is a typo.
147
Yama.
148
The text uses the word
putra
(son) and not
poutra
(grandson). In an extended sense, Prativindhya was Dhritrarashtra’s grandson and assuming that putra is not a typo, the word son can also be interpreted in a broad sense. This shloka is stated such that it is not clear who is doing the hurling of the spear at whom. Given the context, Chitra must have hurled the spear towards Prativindhya. But it is also possible that Chitra from Abhisara was confused with the Chitra who was Dhritarashtra’s son, in which case, ‘son’ makes sense and Prativindhya did the hurling of the spear.
149
The siddhas are a semi-divine species, inhabiting the area between the sun and the earth and 88,000 in number.
150
The text uses the word
kala.
The moon has sixteen kalas or phases and sixteen kalas constitute the whole.
151
However, in Section 66 (Volume 5), Arjuna had effectively destroyed the samshaptakas.
152
Arjuna.
153
Trivenu.
Literally, trivenu means something with three poles. A trivenu was a triangular piece made out of bamboo, used to provide strength to a chariot. The base was towards the chariot. The other two poles were extended in the direction of the horses and were fastened to the central yoke.
154
Divine sage.
155
Celestial singers.
156
Shiva.
157
Nara and Narayana are ancient sages. Nara is identified with Arjuna and Narayana with Krishna.
158
Krishna is also one of Arjuna’s names.
159
Since Drona and Ashvatthama obtained a livelihood from Duryodhana.
160
The one without decay, Krishna’s name.
161
Measure of distance equal to two miles.
162
The image is that of an ocean.
163
Arjuna.
164
This translation doesn’t capture the entire nuance. The words used are
pankteya
(desirable or admissible), vis-à-vis
apankteya
(undesirable or inadmissible).
Pankti
means line or row. Pankteyas are those with whom one sits down in the same row to eat. Apankteyas are those with whom one does not eat together. One will serve pankteyas first.
165
Brihaspati is the son of the sage Angirasa and is the preceptor of the gods. Shukra is the preceptor of the demons and Brihaspati and Shukra are therefore rivals. Brihaspati is Jupiter and Shukra is Venus.
166
One of the translations of nakshatra is constellation. It can also be translated as a star.
167
Yama’s.
168
Samshaptakas did not retreat. The word ‘wishes’ needs an explanation, since, without the pun, its inclusion seems strange. Ratha is a chariot.
Manoratha
is a chariot of the mind, that is, a wish or a desire.
169
Kubera.
170
Ashvatthama.
171
Ashvatthama.
172
There is no obvious connection between Arjuna and the sage Angirasa. However, Angirasa is also described as the first man. Hence, this probably means no more than that Arjuna was the best among men.
173
Dandadhara was a king from Magadha and he and his brother, Danda, fought on the side of the Kouravas. The Magadhas were divided in the war. Sahadeva, Jarasandha’s son, fought on the side of the Pandavas. Jayatsena is also described as a son of Jarasandha. While he is usually described as having fought on the side of the Kouravas, there are also places where he is described as belonging to the Pandava side.
174
The text uses the word
vikacha
, which has several meanings, including brilliant. The word also means a kind of comet. Finally, the word can mean a hairless or headless person. Using the headless angle, this part of the text has sometimes been interpreted as a reference to Ketu, who does not possess a head. In that event, this is one of the rare instances where Ketu is mentioned, Rahu having been frequently mentioned.
175
Vikacha again.
176
Literally, black iron, interpreted as steel.
177
Girivraja (or Rajagriha or Rajgir) was the capital of Magadha.
178
Indra’s younger brother, referred to as Upendra, is Vishnu or Krishna.
179
The elephant was white.
180
Equal to the two elephants that had been brought down.
181
Mars.
182
A specific type of malignant snake called
dandashuka.
183
Ugrayudha’s.
184
The other warriors.
185
Parshni has different meanings. When four horses are attached to a chariot, it means one of the outside horses. It can also mean one of the two charioteers who drive the outside horses, as opposed to the main charioteer (
sarathi
), or someone who guards the axles.
186
If chakra has to be translated, it can only be translated as disc or discus. The chakra is Vishnu and Krishna’s weapon.
187
The hands having been severed. The heads have also been severed.
188
Chariots, horses, elephants and infantry.
189
Ashvatthama.
190
The sense is of untimely showers destroying crops.
191
Tryambaka, the three-eyed one, is one of Shiva’s names and Shiva killed a demon named Andhaka.
192
Pandya. Malayadhvaja was clearly his name and he was the king of Pandya. He is also described a little later as the lord of Malaya or the lord of the mountains, since Malaya is a mountain.
193
To make it clearer, Ashvatthama shot nine arrows. Five were cut down by Pandya, but the remaining four killed his horses.
194
Three hours.
195
Divine weapon named after Vayu, the wind god.
196
Pandya.
197
He being one of the peaks and the elephant, or its head, being the other.
198
By the spear.
199
Ashvatthama.
200
Tarkshya is Garuda’s name.
201
Vishakha is the sixteenth of the twenty-seven nakshatras, but is being used here as a general term for a nakshatra. That is, he was as resplendent as the moon between two nakshatras.
202
Bali was a king of the demons who conquered the three worlds and dislodged Indra. In his
vamana
(dwarf) incarnation, Vishnu vanquished Bali and obtained heaven back for Indra.
203
Shiva’s boon has been described in Section 31 (Volume 2).
204
Yudhishthira.
205
Of elephants.
206
That is, they were killed with the first arrow.
207
Dhrishtadyumna.
208
A reference to Yama.
209
Barbarians, those who do not speak Sanskrit.
210
The king of Vanga’s.
211
The king of Vanga.
212
The king of Anga.
213
One has to deduce what this means. The person killed was actually the prince of Anga, though referred to as the king of Anga. The king of Anga was the preceptor of all those from Anga. The Critical edition uses the expression
acharyaputra
, meaning the preceptor’s son. Some non-Critical versions directly say, the son of Anga.
214
Of the elephants.
215
The Kourava soldiers.
216
The Kourava soldiers.
217
By excising a shloka, the Critical edition has a break in continuity here. In the missing shloka, Duhshasana hurled the sword towards Sahadeva.
218
Mental fever.
219
The word used is tata and it means son. But it is also used to address anyone who is younger or junior.
220
Karna.
221
That is, creatures like birds could not descend from the sky.
222
Karna gave word to Kunti that he would not kill any of the Pandavas, with the exception of Arjuna. That promise has been described in Section 55 (Volume 4). The placing of the bowstring around the neck is a sign of subjugation.
223
Shakra’s bow is the rainbow.
224
Karna.
225
Dragged around by the horses.
226
Karna, born from Kunti, was the son of the sun god, Surya.
227
The sun.
228
Yuyutsu was Dhritarashtra’s son through a vaishya woman. He fought the war on the side of the Pandavas. Uluka was Shakuni’s son.
229
Arrow with a razor-sharp tip.
230
Uluka.
231
Yuyutsu.
232
This doesn’t quite fit. The standard listing of Duryodhana’s brothers doesn’t include Shrutakarma. The closest one gets is Rudrakarma. Shrutakarma or Shrutakirti is Arjuna’s son, through Droupadi. Shatanika is Nakula’s son.
233
Vivitsu was one of Duryodhana’s brothers.
234
Prativindhya was Yudhishthira’s son.
235
Bhima’s son through Droupadi.
236
Sutasoma.
237
Shakuni.
238
There were different types of motions prescribed for fighting with a sword, variously described as twenty-one, twenty-four and thirty-two.
239
Garuda.
240
Shakuni.
241
Shakuni’s.
242
Sharabha has many meanings—young elephant, camel. It is also a mythical animal with eight legs, believed to be stronger than a lion. In this context, one probably means the mythical animal.
243
Dhrishtadyumna.
244
Kripa was the preceptor of the Pandavas and the Kouravas before Drona turned up.
245
The word used is tata.
246
Kritavarma, Hridika’s son.
247
Shikhandi’s.
248
Kritavarma’s.
249
Kritavarma.
250
Shikhandi.
251
Shikhandi.
252
Arjuna.
253
Garuda.
254
Arjuna.
255
Krishna.
256
Divine missile named after Indra.
257
Duryodhana.
258
Yudhishthira.
259
The elephant riders discerned that the flinging away of ornaments was a sign of victory and pierced the foot soldiers.
260
Because they were fighting with another person, they were ignorant that they were being attacked by a third party.
261
Duryodhana.
262
Duryodhana.
263
Yudhishthira.
264
The two kings being Yudhishthira and Duryodhana respectively.
265
If Yudhishthira was killed, the feud would end.
266
Duryodhana.
267
Yama is the lord of the ancestors.
268
Satyaki.
269
Karna.
270
Karna.
271
Karna’s name.
272
Karna.
273
This is a roundabout away of referring to the Pandavas, Drupada’s son presumably meaning Dhrishtadyumna.
274
Shiva.
275
The Kourava soldiers.
276
With four horses, there is a total of seven targets.
277
Parshata means Dhrishtadyumna.
278
The mountain behind which the sun sets.
279
That is, the Kouravas withdrew.
280
In the burning of the Khandava forest, described in Section 19 (Volume 2).
281
A reference to the conquest of the earth, described in Section 23 (Volume 2).
282
This has been described in Section 35 (Volume 3).
283
Sharva and Bhava are Shiva’s names. This is a reference to the incidents of Section 31 (Volume 2).
284
The protection of the Bharatas is a reference to the gandharva incident of Section 39 (Volume 3).
285
The Kouravas.
286
Duryodhana.
287
Vishnu’s name, meaning one who is beyond the senses.
288
Though not explicitly stated, this is being said by Karna.
289
Brihaspati and Shukra (Ushanas) are respectively the preceptors of the gods and the demons.
290
Kartavirya Arjuna.
291
The word used is tata.
292
Shakuni.
293
Indra (Shakra) gave Karna a spear that would kill only one person. In Section 70 (Volume 6), it was used up to kill Ghatotkacha.
294
The architect of the gods.
295
Karna studied weapons under Parashurama (Bhargava).
296
Parashurama.
297
Parashurama.
298
Krishna’s.
