Harivamsha

by Bibek Debroy

  81 Vishrava’s son, meaning Kubera.

  82 Agni.

  83 Indra.

  84 Yama is the son of Vivasvat (the sun).

  85 There is an inconsistency. For yakshas, rakshasas and kings, it should be Kubera.

  86 Girisha is Shiva. Bhutas are ghosts, demons and spirits, Shiva’s followers. Pishachas are also demons, but the term is usually applied to those that feed on human flesh.

  87 King of the gandharvas.

  88 Henceforth, we will translate nagas as serpents and sarpas as snakes. Though the two words are often used synonymously, there is usually a difference between nagas and sarpas. Nagas are semi-divine and have powers, including the ability to assume any form at will. Unlike sarpas, nagas also have a world of their own, in the nether regions.

  89 Airavata arose from the churning of the ocean and became Indra’s elephant. Uchchaishrava also arose in similar fashion and became Indra’s horse.

  90 The holy fig tree.

  91 Dvipa means a continent or region of the earth. The earth was commonly believed to be divided into seven continents.

  92 The word used is tata. This means father, but is used for anyone who is senior and superior.

  93 Vena’s mother was Sunitha.

  94 Mrityu and Kala are both being used as words for Death.

  95 Vashatkara is the exclamation ‘vashat’ made at the time of offering an oblation. Svadha is said at the time of offering oblations to the ancestors and svaha is said at the time of offering oblations to the gods.

  96 Nishadas were mountain-dwelling tribes who were outside the caste system. The word nishad means an instruction to sit.

  97 This is also the name of Shiva’s bow.

  98 One goes to the hell named put if one does not have a son. Since a son saves (trayate) from the hell named put, a son is known as putra.

  99 Rajan means king and this is being etymologically linked to delighting (ranjana).

  100 On his chariot, along the water and along the sky.

  101 The text uses the word putaka. This means the hands, held together in the form of a cup. But it also means leaves arranged in the form of a cup. Therefore, one could also have said, there was honey in every flower.

  102 The sutas were charioteers, as well as raconteurs of tales. Magadhas were minstrels and bards. So were bandis. But magadhas seem to have also composed, while bandis sung the compositions of others.

  103 The land of Anupa was in Vidarbha, in Maharashtra now. Magadha is mostly in Bihar, with some parts of Bengal, Odisha and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

  104 In the sense of subhuman.

  105 Vasundhara is a name for the earth. One explanation for the word vasundhara is that the earth holds and sustains (dhara) riches (vasu).

  106 Prithu.

  107 Brahman or paramatman is the supreme soul or being.

  108 Indra.

  109 Meaning amrita.

  110 Airavata and Dhritarashtra are also the names of nagas.

  111 The poison.

  112 The powers of illusion.

  113 Antardhana means disappearance. Here, it means the knowledge of being able to disappear (and appear) at will.

  114 Kubera.

  115 The rishi who has said this is Vedavyasa. The yakshas sustain themselves on antardhana.

  116 A tree, the flame of the forest.

  117 Madhu and Kaitabha were two demons killed by Vishnu. Their fat (meda) created the earth and led to the name Medini.

  118 Or Prithivi, named after Prithu.

  119 Vedanga means a branch of the Vedas and these were six kinds of learning that were essential to understand the Vedas—shiksha (phonetics), kalpa (rituals), vyakarana (grammar), nirukta (etymology), chhanda (metre) and jyotisha (astronomy).

  120 The seven rishis, the constellation of Ursa Major.

  121 The wind god.

  122 They were reborn as Vasishtha’s sons during the third manvantara and became the saptarshis of that manvantara.

  123 During the fifth manvantara of Raivata.

  124 These were the sons of Chakshusha Manu and his wife was Nangla.

  125 Maruts.

  126 Ruchi’s wife.

  127 Meaning Kripacharya.

  128 The sun god. Martanda is another one of his names.

  129 Meaning harmony or consciousness.

  130 Kashyapa was married to Aditi and Aditi conceived Surya. At that time, Budha arrived, asking for alms. Since she was pregnant, and not because of a deliberate insult, Aditi was late in serving Budha. Budha cursed her that the egg/embryo (anda) would be dead (mrita). Kashyapa nullified the curse, using his energy. Hence, Surya is known as Martanda.

  131 Yama, the god of shraddhas (funeral ceremonies).

  132 Chhaya means shadow or reflection. Savarna means with an identical complexion, and Chhaya is also known as Savarna.

  133 The preceding Manu was Vivasvat Manu. Savarna has been explained earlier. Hence, because he was like Vivasvat Manu, he was known as Savarni. However, he could have also been known as Savarni because Chhaya’s name was Savarna.

  134 The second Samja.

  135 The Critical Edition excises a shloka where Vivasvat seized her by the hair, preparatory to cursing her.

  136 Surya.

  137 Thereby assuming the form of a mare.

  138 Ashva means horse.

  139 Saturn is known as Shani, or Shanaishchara, the one who moves slowly. We haven’t been told anything about Shani yet. He was the son of Surya and the shadow Samja and a brother to Savarni Manu.

  140 Of the children born through Surya and the real Samja. Yami is another name for Yamuna.

  141 Alternatively, Ila.

  142 Manu.

  143 Mercury.

  144 This seems to be a reference to Vaivasvata Manu.

  145 Identified as Dvaravati/Dvaraka. After Anarta, the kingdom was also known as Anarta.

  146 In Raivata’s absence.

  147 Balarama.

  148 Raivata.

  149 Kshut means to sneeze. Hence the name.

  150 Vikukshi means one with a broad chest or belly.

  151 Ikshvaku, not Vikukshi.

  152 Literally, the northern road. The northern part of Jambudvipa.

  153 The last of Ikshvaku’s sons.

  154 Shashada, because he had been banished.

  155 In Uttar Pradesh, the capital of the Kosala kingdom.

  156 The same as Shrava.

  157 Royal sage.

  158 She was Samhatashva’s wife.

  159 Trasadasyu.

  160 Shvapakas are sometimes equated with chandalas. Shva means dog and paka means to cook. Thus, shvapaka means someone who cooks dogs (eats dogs) or cooks for dogs (lives with dogs).

  161 Because there was no king in the kingdom.

  162 Satyavrata.

  163 Vishvamitra was descended from Kusha and is therefore Koushika. Gala means throat or neck and Galava’s name was derived from that.

  164 Trayyaruna, abandoning a kingdom without a king.

  165 Vasishtha was putting Satyavrata through a test.

  166 Tri means three. Shanku means cone, being used here in the sense of sin.

  167 The Critical Edition excises a shloka where Trishanku desires the boon that he might be able to go to heaven in his own physical body.

  168 Vishvamitra.

  169 Trishanku’s son.

  170 Bahu.

  171 Bahu was defeated by the Haihayas and Talajanghas and fled to the forest with his two wives. One of the wives was expecting and the other wife fed her poison (gara). The son was born with the poison (the meaning of the word Sagara). The sage Ourva, born in the Bhargava lineage, saved the mother and the child.

  172 Divine weapon named after Agni, the fire god.

  173 The dharma followed by them wasn’t proper dharma.

  174 Sagara’s mother.

  175 Sagara. Hence, the ocean is known as Saagara.

  176 That is, Saagara.

  177 The sixty thousand.

  1
78 King Dilipa went to heaven to visit Indra and there is a story about how he slighted the divine cow there. Here, the sense seems to be that he didn’t go to heaven after death. He went on a short visit, and thus came back to life.

  179 This was to save Sagara’s sixty thousand sons. Ganga is known as Bhagirathi, Bhagiratha’s daughter.

  180 That is, Nishadha’s son.

  181 Vivasvat is the sun god and this is the solar dynasty. Ikshvaku was Vivasvat’s grandson, so Vivasvat’s lineage and Ikshvaku’s lineage are synonymous.

  182 The text uses the word Shraddhadeva, the god of funeral ceremonies. Here, it is being used for the sun god. However, Shraddhadeva is also Yama, Vivasvat’s son.

  183 Dharmaraja is Yudhishthira. Yudhishthira asked Bhishma, when he was lying down on the bed of arrows, and Bhishma repeated what he had heard from Markandeya.

  184 The standard story in the Mahabharata is of Bhishma obtaining this boon after he took a vow of celibacy.

  185 Family name, denoting common lineage.

  186 Padya is water for washing the feet, offered to a guest. Arghya is a gift that is given to a guest.

  187 The seven great sages, saptarshis. Marichi’s name has not been mentioned explicitly.

  188 Sanatkumara, Sanaka, Sanatana and Sanandana.

  189 Kumara means boy or child and sanat means forever. He was known as Sanatkumara because he remained a child perpetually.

  190 The text does not say that it is Markandeya speaking. We have added it for comprehension, though it is obvious.

  191 Active in worshipping Brahma.

  192 Since they had been instructed as students, the gods had become like the sons of their sons.

  193 How could fathers become sons?

  194 Ganga’s son, that is, Bhishma.

  195 This is Markandeya, asking Sanatkumara.

  196 The four embodied ones are Sukala, Angiras, Susvadha and Somapa. The three without form are Vairaja, Agnishvat and Barhishad.

  197 We have taken this as a proper name. It can also be an adjective, meaning eternal.

  198 The six schools of philosophy (darshana) are sankhya, yoga, nyaya, vaisheshika, mimamsa and vedanta. The text doesn’t make it clear whether sankhya and yoga are treated as separate entities here (the way we have translated it), or whether the word sankhya is merely being used as a qualifier for yoga.

  199 In the sense of rebirth.

  200 The word used is tata.

  201 Himalayas.

  202 Eka means one and parna means leaf. Hence, Ekaparna means ‘one leaf’ and Aparna means ‘no leaf’, or ‘not even a leaf’. Patala is a pale red flower.

  203 ‘U’ is an exclamation and can’t really be translated, unless one renders it as ‘Oh’. ‘Ma’ means don’t.

  204 They practised celibacy. Holding up the seed is normally an expression used for males. This usage is rare.

  205 She married Mahadeva.

  206 Asita-Devala are sometimes spoken of as two different sages (Asita and Devala) and sometimes a single sage.

  207 She didn’t know who her real father was.

  208 The word used is trasarenu. This means minute. Trasarenu is the small and mobile speck of dust that is seen to move inside a sunbeam.

  209 This identifies Achchhoda as Satyavati, who gave birth to Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa, as Parashara’s son. Shantanu married Ganga and had Devavrata (Bhishma) as a son. Subsequently, Shantanu married Satyavati and had Vichitravirya and Chitrangada as sons. In an earlier life, Shantanu was Mahabhisha.

  210 Twenty-eighth dvapara means the twenty-eight mahayuga. She was born as the daughter of King Vasu, more specifically, Uparichara Vasu. Satyavati’s mother was an apsara named Adrika. Cursed, Adrika was born as a fish. Adrika wasn’t Uparichara Vasu’s wife. Uparichara Vasu’s semen was swallowed by Adrika, in the form of a fish. Eventually, this fish gave birth to Satyavati, also known as Kali or Matsyagandha. Though the child was presented to Uparichara Vasu, he gave the daughter to a fisherman to rear.

  211 Arani is a stick used to kindle fire, two being used to create the friction. Shuka was Vedavyasa’s son.

  212 Shuka.

  213 Shuka.

  214 In the sense of rebirth.

  215 The ones without form.

  216 There may be a typo here, Shukra being intended instead.

  217 The sons of Angiras.

  218 There were two famous sages named Shandilya. One was the son of Asita and the other was Vasishtha’s son. This is probably the one who was Asita’s son, since this Shandilya had a disciple named Agnivesa.

  219 Sukala, Angiras and Susvadha.

  220 Svadha is uttered when offerings are rendered to the ancestors. When offering are rendered to the gods, the invocation used is svaha.

  221 Yama.

  222 The ritual is symbolically performed in water.

  223 This is Markandeya repeating Sanatkumara’s words.

  224 Lake Manasa.

  225 Sanatkumara spoke for eighteen years, but it seemed like a single day to Markandeya.

  226 Bhishma is recounting the story to Yudhishthira.

  227 That is, Brahmadatta.

  228 From among the seven brahmanas.

  229 We have interpreted shiksha as one of the six Vedangas. However, since Galava’s name is associated more with a treatise on vyakarana, shiksha may well mean instruction in general.

  230 Brahmadatta’s.

  231 This is probably a reference to the brahmana Galava and the kshatriya Brahmadatta.

  232 The word samara means fight or battle.

  233 Written in this way to distinguish from Para.

  234 Sukrita means the performer of good deeds.

  235 The text says Bibhraja. But since this is subsequently written as Vibhraja, we have changed it here.

  236 Radha’s son, Karna.

  237 Bhallata.

  238 Because Bhishma is speaking to Yudhishthira, this should really be addressed to Yudhishthira, though everything is being retold to Janamejaya.

  239 The word sarvabhouma means the entire earth.

  240 Sannati means righteousness or virtue.

  241 Prishata is a named used for both Drupada and Dhrishtadyumna. Here, it is not clear who is meant by Prishata. Moreover, grandfather is used in a loose sense and could mean any ancestor. Subsequently, Prishata is referred to as Drupada’s father.

  242 That is, Nipa was slain through Karta’s valour.

  243 The Critical Edition excises some shlokas and there is a break in continuity. With those shlokas added, Ugrayudha was descended from Karta and it was Ugrayudha who killed Prishata’s grandfather, not Karta.

  244 Bhishma was performing the funeral rites for Shantanu.

  245 Satyavati.

  246 As part of the funeral rites.

  247 These are Ugrayudha’s words and should have come earlier.

  248 Ugrayudha’s.

  249 Respectively, sama, dana and bheda (sowing dissension in the enemy’s ranks). The fourth method of handling an enemy is danda (chastisement).

  250 Maghavan is Indra and Shambara was a demon killed by Indra.

  251 Sama, dana, and bheda.

  252 Ahichhatra was the capital of North Panchala and is now in the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. Since Kampilya is separately mentioned, Panchala was divided into North Panchala and South Panchala, with Kampilya as the capital of South Panchala. Kampilya is today’s Aligarh.

  253 This incident has been described in the Mahabharata. There was enmity between Drupada and Drona. As Drona’s student, Arjuna performed this task.

  254 These seven lives were as Bharadvaja (sons of Bharadvaja), Koushika (sons of Koushika or Vishvamitra), Vyadha (as hunters), Mriga (as animals), Chakravaka (as birds), Hamsa (as swans) and Shrotriya (as learned brahmanas).

  255 Vagdushta means someone who is evil in speech and is a term also applied to a brahmana who doesn’t have a sacred thread. Krodhana is someone who is prone to anger. Himsra is someone who is violent. Pishuna is someone who is wic
ked, in the sense of indulging in calumny. Kavi is someone who is wise. Khasrima is someone who roams around in the sky, metaphorically meaning someone who is interested in the life hereafter. Pitrivarti is someone who is devoted to his father.

  256 Meaning Vishvamitra.

  257 Kapila is a brown cow and is also a term generally used for an auspicious cow.

  258 We have translated this extremely literally. They sacrificed the cow and ate it.

  259 Their preceptor, Gargya.

  260 They were reborn as hunters, the third birth.

  261 There is a typo in the Critical Edition, which says jama. This makes them daughters of a hunter, which is contradictory. The word must be jata (born).

  262 They did not kill excessively.

  263 In the former lives.

  264 Specifically, wild animals. This is the fourth birth.

  265 They were anxious because they would be hunted by predators. As hunters, they had used force and caused fright in their former lives.

  266 Such as to female deer.

  267 Happiness and unhappiness, heat and cold, enmity and friendliness and so on.

  268 This is the fifth birth.

  269 The bird is thinking this. Otherwise, he would have been reborn as a king.

  270 If you become a king.

  271 Svatantra.

  272 The word used is tata.

  273 Reborn as Panchika, Kandarika and Brahmadatta.

  274 The shloka occurs in Chapter 19.

  275 Anu means a minute particle.

  276 One of those birds.

  277 The sun.

  278 The same as Chhidradarshana.

  279 Alternatively, Panchika.

  280 There were four classes of priests, though the classification varied over time. The hotri is the chief priest and is accomplished in the Rig Veda. The adhvaryu is the assistant priest and is accomplished in the Yajur Veda, though later, the udgatri came to be identified with the Sama Veda. In addition, there was the brahmana or purohita.