Read Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (57 page)
The second volume will recount Arjuna’s banishment, Subhadra’s marriage to Arjuna, the burning of the Khandava forest, the building of a magnificent assembly hall for the Pandavas, the conquest of the world by the Pandavas, the slayings of Jarasandha and Shishupala and then the game with dice, leading finally to the banishment of the Pandavas.
Carving time out from one’s regular schedule and work engagements to embark on such a mammoth work of translation has been difficult. The past tense should not be used, since only 10 per cent of the road has yet been traversed. Sometimes, I wish I had been born in nineteenth-century Bengal, with a benefactor funding me for doing nothing but this. But alas, the days of gentlemen of leisure are long over. The time could not be carved out from professional engagements, barring of course assorted television channels, who must have wondered why I have been so reluctant to head for their studios in the evenings. It was ascribed to health, interpreted as adverse health. It was certainly health, but not in an adverse sense. Reading the Mahabharata is good for one’s mental health and is an activity to be recommended, without any statutory warnings. The time was stolen in the evenings and over weekends. The cost was therefore borne by one’s immediate family, and to a lesser extent by friends. Socializing was reduced, since every dinner meant one less chapter done. The family has first claim on the debt, though I am sure it also has claim on whatever merits are due. At least Suparna does, and these volumes are therefore dedicated to her. I suspect Sirius has no claim on the merits, though he has been remarkably patient at the times when he has been curled up near my feet and I have been translating away. There is some allegory there about a dog keeping company when the Mahabharata is being read and translated.
Most people have thought I was mad, even if they never quite said that. Among those who believed and thought it was worthwhile, beyond immediate family, are Ashok Desai, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Laveesh Bhandari. And my sons, Nihshanka and Vidroha. I know I didn’t run the translations by you first. I wanted you to wait
for the final product. But thank you for believing that I would be able to do it. Incidentally, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Vaman Shivram Apte. When he compiled the student’s Sanskrit dictionary more than a hundred years ago in Pune, I am certain he had no idea that it would be used so comprehensively to translate the Mahabharata.
Penguin also believed. My initial hesitation about being able to deliver was brushed aside by R. Sivapriya, who pushed me after the series had been commissioned. And then Sumitra Srinivasan became the editor and the enthusiasm of these two was so infectious that everything just snowballed. Sumitra claims she doesn’t know much about Indian mythology. This was just as well, because she kept raising so many irritating questions about the copy that we have ended up with a much better product from the point of view of the lay reader. If the first volume is so clean and clear editorially, the reader must realize that this isn’t quite the product I produced. This is the outcome of a Sumitra Srinivasan editorial churning.
When I first embarked on what was also a personal voyage of sorts, the end was never in sight and seemed to stretch to infinity. Now that 10 per cent is over (and 10 per cent more is in the pipeline), the horizon can be seen. And all the people mentioned above have had a role to play in this journey.
1
Brahmana is a text and also the word used for the highest caste.
2
A class of religious and philosophical texts that are composed in the forest, or are meant to be studied when one retires to the forest.
3
The six Vedangas are
shiksha
(articulation and pronunciation),
chhanda
(prosody),
vyakarana
(grammar),
nirukta
(etymology),
jyotisha
(astronomy) and
kalpa
(rituals).
4
Religion, duty.
9
Krishna or Krishnaa is another name for Droupadi.
1
The word !‘jaya’ means victory and was also the title of an original and shorter version of the Mahabharata. So this invocation, which is not part of the main text, can be interpreted in two different ways—a literal uttering of the word ‘victory’ or a recital of the Mahabharata.
2
Nara and Narayana were ancient sages, invariably referred to together. But Narayana eventually came to be identified with Vishnu (hence Krishna) and Nara with Arjuna.
3
Head or chief. But in this context, a sage who feeds and teaches 10,000 students.
4
A sacred forest.
5
A suta was the son of a Kshatriya father and a Brahmana mother and by profession sutas were charioteers. But they were also bards and raconteurs.
6
The Puranas are sacred texts, composed by the sage Vyasadeva. There are eighteen major Puranas.
7
Arjuna’s grandson and Abhimanyu’s son.
8
Vedavyasa or Vyasadeva, thus named because he classified the Vedas. Vedavyasa or Vyasadeva is a title and there has been more than one sage with such a title. This particular Vedavyasa’s name was Krishna Dvaipayana: Krishna because he was dark in complexion and Dvaipayana because he was born on an island (
dvipa
).
9
Meaning the first three castes: Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Twice-born (
dvija
) is also used specifically for Brahmanas, the second birth referring to the donning of the sacred thread. The first three castes were all entitled to this right.
10
Sages with knowledge of the supreme being (brahman).
11
Sacred texts, four in number: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.
12
Sacred texts.
13
Ruler, master, lord. Ishana is a name for Shiva, Vishnu, even the sun. But here, the general meaning is intended.
14
The word brahman or
paramatman
refers to the supreme spirit and should not be confused with Brahmana, though they have the same etymological root.
15
Class of gods.
16
Royal sages. Brahmarshis were of the Brahmana caste. Rajarshis were Kshatriyas, but obtained the status of being a sage (
rishi
) through their learning.
17
Union between the human soul and the supreme being.
18
Knowledge obtained through self-realization.
19
Sacred texts in the category of revelation.
20
Collections of sacred texts, particularly in verse form, specifically the Vedas.
21
Bhishma.
22
That is, impregnated Vichitravirya’s wife.
23
Death.
24
Krishna’s name, as the son of Vasudeva.
25
These are two (Asita and Devala) ancient sages, whose names always occur together.
26
A semi-divine species, singers and musicians of the gods.
27
Nakula and Sahadeva.
33
Droupadi.
34
Yudhishthira.
35
A great sacrifice, at the time of coronation, when other kings and princes pay tribute and accept the superiority of the crowned universal monarch.
36
Shishupala.
40
A Brahmana who has finished his period of study and celibacy (brahmacharya) and is about to enter (or just entered) the householder stage (garhasthya) is known as a snataka.
41
Yudhishthira.
42
Kubera.
43
Yudhishthira.
44
Virata.
45
A large army with 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 horses and 109,350 foot soldiers.
46
This is a reference to the fifth incarnation of Vishnu, when in the form of a
vamana
(dwarf), he had humbled the demon king Bali.
47
Krishna.
48
Kunti.
49
Dronacharya.
50
Instead of tens of thousands, this can also be translated as many.
51
Warriors from the Panchala region.
52
Venus, also a sage.
53
The sun.
54
There was a hierarchy of warriors.
Maharatha
can loosely be translated as great warrior. However, more specifically, a maharatha was a warrior who could take on ten thousand warriors single-handed.
55
Warriors who had taken an oath never to withdraw from the field of battle.
56
Abhimanyu.
65
Indra was the king of the gods. The celestial spear (
shakti
) was given by Indra to Karna, though Karna is not mentioned by name in this shloka. The next shloka is explicit.
66
Krishna.
67
Arjuna.
68
Karna.
69
Ashvatthama.
70
Ashvatthama.
71
Shalya.
72
Shakuni.
73
That is, circuits of the club.
74
Ashvatthama.
75
Droupadi was Drupada’s daughter and Drupada was the king of Panchala.
76
Ashvatthama.
77
Uttara.
78
Akshouhinis.
81
Nishada means hunter.
82
Earth, water, energy, wind and sky.
83
Sattva
,
rajas
and
tamas
.
84
Literally, history. More specifically, the two epics.
85
Though sacred texts, the Vedas have been personified here.
86
Reference here is to Krishna Dvaipayana (Vedavyasa).
1
A very holy region, identified with the area around Kurukshetra.
2
Two of the four
yuga
s or eras, the four being
satya
(
krita
),
treta
,
dvapara
and
kali
.
3
Reference is to Parashurama.
4
Parashurama’s paternal grandfather.
5
Ashvatthama.
6
Kritavarma.
7
Kripacharya.
8
The supreme soul, the brahman or the paramatman.
9
These numbers are not part of the text. They have been added so that the reader can get a better sense of the one hundred books.
10
The burning of the house of lac.
11
The killing of Baka.
12
Droupadi.
13
The wedding.
14
The arrival of Vidura.
15
Winning of the kingdom.
16
Arjuna’s sojourn in the forest.
17
The abduction of Subhadra.
18
The burning of Khandava forest.
19
Assembly hall.
20
When the council meets.
21
The killing of Jarasandha.
22
Conquest.
23
Royal sacrifice.
24
Offerings or gifts.
25
The slaying of Shishupala.
26
The game of dice.
27
The sequel to the game of dice.
28
Characterizing the forest.
29
The slaying of Kirmira.
30
Shiva.
31
The travel to the world of Indra.
32
The killing of Jatasura.
33
War of the yakshas.
34
Boa constrictor.
35
Named after a sage known as Markandeya.
36
Travel with the cattle.
37
Dream of the deer.