Read Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (60 page)
140
Dhanur Veda. This is about the science of fighting and weaponry.
141
Krishna.
142
Soubhadra means Subhadra’s son, that is, Abhimanyu. Parikshit was Abhimanyu’s son.
Parikshina
means to become weak, thin, lean, emaciated. Since this is what had happened to the Kuru lineage, he came to be known as Parikshit.
143
Kama
(desire),
krodha
(anger),
lobha
(greed),
mada
(ego),
moha
(delusion) and
matsarya
(envy).
144
The Pandavas.
145
Takshaka had assumed the disguise of a Brahmana.
148
Superintending or assisting priests; probably means assisting here.
149
Officiating priests. Usually, there were four types of ritvijas—
hotar
(one who recited prayers, identified with Rig Veda),
udgatar
(one who chanted or sang prayers, identified with Sama Veda),
adhvaryu
(one who officiated, identified with Yajur Veda) and brahman (chief priest, identified with Atharva Veda).
155
Brahma.
156
The brother is Vasuki.
157
The snake-sacrifice.
158
That is, bless him.
159
The text should literally be translated as the staff of a Brahmana.
162
Vyasa.
163
Indra.
164
The fire. Vibhavasu is also a name for the sun.
165
The fire. Chitrabhanu is also a name for the sun.
166
Indra.
167
Parashurama.
171
Takshaka.
174
The snake-sacrifice.
1
Satyavati, who was dark in colour.
2
Itihasa.
3
Shantanu was Bhishma’s father and also the father of Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. The Kouravas and the Pandavas were descended from Vichitravirya.
4
Sadasyas.
5
Indra.
6
Indra.
7
The preceptor of the gods.
8
Divine sages.
9
Krishna Dvaipayana.
10
The word in the original is
pitamaha
, which means paternal grandfather, as well as being a name for Brahma. But it is also generically used for all ancestors.
11
Exile of the Pandavas.
12
The Pandavas.
13
Shakuni.
14
Bhima.
15
Indra.
16
Duryodhana.
17
Karna.
18
The Pandavas.
24
Lakshmi.
25
The forest Khandava. The story about why Agni was allowed to burn Khandava forest will be told later. The fire-god had been suffering from indigestion and this was a cure.
26
Arjuna’s name.
27
Maya.
28
Shakuni.
29
The Pandavas.
30
Ayuta
, meaning many in general, and ten thousand in particular.
31
Bhima and Arjuna.
32
Nakula and Sahadeva.
33
Krishna Dvaipayana’s.
34
This can also specifically be translated as Himalaya.
35
Days of the full moon and days of the new moon.
36
That is, is freed from the desire of attaining heaven.
44
Vasu.
45
Maharatha
can loosely be translated as great warrior. However, more specifically, a maharatha was a warrior who could take on 10,000 warriors single-handed.
46
Other sons.
47
Literally, someone who travels through the upper regions.
48
The mountain lusted for the river.
49
Uparichara.
57
Gandha
means smell.
58
Dharma has four legs in Satya Yuga, three in Treta Yuga, two in Dvapara Yuga and one in Kali Yuga. The word leg (
pada
) is used metaphorically and the word also means one quarter. Thus, completion has four quarters, which is what one has in Satya Yuga. Therefore, it becomes 75% in Treta Yuga, 50% in Dvapara Yuga and 25% in Kali Yuga.
59
The word
vyasa
means to distribute or divide.
60
Yama, the god of death and justice.
61
Shakuntika
in the original text. Shakuntika also means bird, but given the context, locust or cricket seems more appropriate.
62
The sin of killing Animandavya.
63
Sanjaya was a suta, that is, a charioteer-cum-raconteur. He was an aide to Dhritarashtra, who was blind, and Sanjaya has become famous because he was granted divine sight so that he could describe the incidents occurring in the Kurukshetra war to Dhritarashtra from a distance. Sanjaya’s father was Gavalgana.
64
Kavacha
in the original text. A charm that works like armour is another possible translation.
65
Kundala
.
66
Son of Sharadvata, also known as Kripacharya.
67
Kripi.
68
Droupadi.
69
Subala was the king of Gandhara.
70
Gandhari, Subala’s daughter and Shakuni’s sister.
71
Shakuni and Duryodhana.
72
The god of wind.
73
Yuyutsu had a Vaishya mother.
74
Droupadi.
75
This Shrutasena should not be confused with Janamejaya’s brother.
76
The king of Panchala and the father of Dhrishtadyumna and Droupadi.
1
Indra.
2
Brahma.
3
One should not expect consistency in accounts of creation. In some accounts, Marichi was born from Brahma and Marichi’s son was Kashyapa, from whom all humans are descended through Manu. In other accounts, Brahma had seven sons born from his mental powers, with Vashishtha added to the list of six that is given in the text. These seven (or six) are prajapatis or rulers of the world. In other accounts, ten prajapatis were born from Brahma’s right thumb and one of these was Daksha. Daksha had several daughters, thirteen were married to Kashyapa and twenty-seven were married to the moon or Chandra. Section 1 states that Daksha had seven sons and that Daksha was born from an ancient sage named Prachetas. But this is a rare reference. Daksha’s birth from Brahma is more common.
4
The world was being populated by offspring of the gods, and the demons are also descended from Daksha’s daughters. In fact, every living species is descended from Daksha’s daughters.
7
One of Shukra’s names.
8
Tarkshya is also a name for both Garuda and Garuda’s elder brother Aruna. The text suggests that Garuda and Aruna had another brother named Tarkshya.
9
Kashyapa.
10
Obviously, they were Prava’s progeny.
11
There is an inconsistency with what the text has just said about Prava’s progeny, the gandharvas and the apsaras.
12
One of Shiva’s names.
13
Mythical beings with human bodies and heads of horses.
14
This is a little confusing, because there doesn’t seem to be any difference between kinnaras and kimpurushas.
15
These were the valakhilya sages, 60,000 in number. Generated from the creator’s body, they are the size of a thumb and precede the sun’s chariot.
16
Daksha’s.
17
Daksha. Prajapati is also one of Brahma’s names.
18
The daughters effectively become sons in one of two ways. Either, the daughter, since she is regarded as a son, returns to her father’s house after marriage, or the daughter’s son is adopted as a son by his maternal grandfather.
19
The moon, or Chandra.
20
Brahma.
21
The moon, or Chandra.
22
Constellations or stars.
23
Brahma.
24
Ruler of the worlds.
25
The word son doesn’t always mean son in a literal sense. It can also mean progeny.
26
The wind, or Anila.
27
Anala, or Hutashana.
28
That is, Anala.
29
There are twenty-seven lunar mansions (
nakshatra
s) and krittika is the third, identified with the Pleiades. However, there are actually six stars in the Pleiades. Hence the use of the plural krittikas, and the krittikas reared Kumara, which is why he is known as Kartikeya.
30
Of Agni.
31
Famous sage, preceptor of the gods.