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.
160 Indra.
161 Rama.
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.
168 Semi-divine species.
169 Takshaka.
170 Astika.
171 Takshaka.
172 Lohitaksha.
173 Names of great sages.
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.
19 Bhishma.
20 Kunti.
21 Literally, winner of riches and one of Arjuna’s names.
22 Krishna.
23 Indra’s wife.
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.
30Ayuta, 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.
37 In the morning.
38 Indra.
39 Beyond death.
40Vimana.
41 Literally, that which produces victory.
42 Uparichara.
43 An epithet of Indra’s.
44 Vasu.
45Maharatha 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.
50 Lakshmi.
51 After swallowing the semen.
52 The fishermen.
53 Brahma.
54 Semi-divine, pure and holy species.
55 Celestial singers.
56 Parashara.
57Gandha 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.
61Shakuntika 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.
64Kavacha in the original text. A charm that works like armour is another possible translation.
65Kundala.
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.
77 Parashurama.
78 Indra.
79 This is a reference to Shesha naga.
80 The earth.
81 Conflicts with the demons.
82 Indra.
83 Club.
84 Vishnu.
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.
5 The sun.
6 The moon.
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 (nakshatras) 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.
32 Vivasvat’s son. Identified with Vishvakarma, architect of the gods.
33 Daughter of the sun.
34 Indra.
35Paksha.
36Kula.
37Gana.
38 A class of demi-gods; a semi-divine species, Kubera’s attendants.
39 Brahma.
40 Brahma.
41 That is, set her free from her pregnancy.
42 Shukra’s.
43 Ourva is another name for Chyavana. He was thus named because he was born through splitting open the thigh (uru).
44 Parashurama.
45 Not to be confused with Richika’s son Jamadagni. Richika’s son is the more famous Jamadagni.
46 Jamadagni.
47 The goddess of liquor.
48 Her sons.
49 Fear.
50 Great fear.
51 Death.
52 Monkeys with tails like those of cows, with dark bodies and red cheeks.
53 The cardinal points are guarded by elephants.
54 Snakes or serpents.
55 There were probably two Surasas, one who was Kadru’s daughter and another who was Krodha’s daughter.
56 A shyena is a hawk or falcon, Shyeni is the feminine. So Shyeni could have been married to Vinata’s son Aruna, though the text doesn’t make it clear if the two Arunas were the same.
57 The moon.
58 Mayura’s.
59 Rahu.
60 Vritra’s.
61 Indra.
62 This was the seventh.
63 Literally, those who are slaves to anger.
64 This is known as Dhanur Veda.
65 Destruction.
66 Desire.
67 Anger.
68 Indra.
69 The eight vasus, sons of Manu, were reborn on earth as Shantanu’s sons.
70 Maharatha.
71 The maruts.
72 The rakshasas.
73 A class of gods often described as ten in number. Their mother was Vishva.
74 Goddess Lakshmi.
75Vaiduryamani.
76 Gandhari.
77 Also spelt Dushyanta.
78 Barbarians, non-Aryans, those who did not speak Sanskrit.
79 The god of rain. That is, Indra.
80 Large mountain.
81 Indra.
82 That is, Garuda. The speed was like that of Garuda.
83 Indra’s garden.
84 The word used in the text is shatapada, one with six legs. This is a word for a bee.
85 That is, a tree.
86 Duhshanta.
87 Sacrificial fires.
88 A yati is specifically an ascetic.
89 The word used in the text is kaccha. This is usually the word used for a marsh. But a marsh does not seem right, given the context.
90 The ruddy goose.
91 The king of the gandharvas.
92 This is probably a reference to the Yajur Veda. The critical edition jumps from the Rig Veda to the Atharva Veda, at least by name. The Yajur Veda is not explicitly mentioned. Some regional variations mention the Yajur Veda explicitly and there are shlokas, missing in the critical edition, that mention the Sama Veda.
93 Kanva.
94 Kanva.
95 Goddess Lakshmi.
96 Kanva.
97 Indra.
98 Indra.
99 Vishvamitra’s name is Koushika.
100 Vishvamitra.
101 A nakshatra, that is, a star or constellation.
102 The wind-god. Vayu is another one of his names.
103 The god of love. Kama is another one of his names.
104 She is actually repeating Kanva’s words.
105 Indra.
106 The word used is shakuna. In a general sense, this means bird. But in a specific sense, it means vultures or kites.
107 This is Kanva speaking.
108 One of the eight forms of marriage. In this form, there are no ceremonies and no relatives are present. The bride and the groom willingly marry each other in what is a marriage of love.
109 Brahma.
110 It is not clear what this number five refers to, probably the last five of the eight mentioned forms.
111 With infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots.
112 Kanva.
113 A wheel, the sign of a king.
114Sarva is everything and damana is to subjugate.
115 The word used is yuvaraja, which can be translated as prince or young king. However, this appellation also signifies the person becoming an heir apparent.
116 That is, paternal relatives.
117 Literally, the city of the elephant and another name for Hastinapura, Duhshanta’s capital.
118 From the word for ‘being born’.
119 Brahma.
120 Dharma, artha and kama.
121 There are three kinds of sacrificial fires—ahavaniya, garhapatya and dakshina. The garhapatya fire burns in the household, the ahavaniya fire is the one into which sacrificial offerings are placed and the dakshina fire is the one that faces the south.
122 There were originally thirty or thirty-three gods —eleven in heaven, eleven in the sky and eleven on earth. Another way of getting the number is by adding twelve adityas, eleven rudras and ten vishvadevas.
123 Alternatively, wise instead of aged.
124 That is, the gift of a pond.
125 Bharata means to maintain.
126 A universal monarch or sovereign of the world. Sarvabhouma has the same meaning.
127 It is not clear what this means. A padma is a lotus. But this doesn’t quite fit the requirement. Were one thousand lotuses given? A padma is also one trillion. In that case, one trillion of what is left unsaid. Perhaps a padma simply connotes a large number and a large number of cows were given.
128 In this context, Brahma.
129 One of six schools of philosophy, attributed to the sage Kapila.
130 The word for men is manava.
131 Manu is not the name of a single person. There were fourteen Manus, each presiding over the interval between a round of destruction and recreation. The first Manu (Svayambhuva) produced the first round of human beings. However, the present round of human beings is descended from the seventh Manu (Vaivasvata).
132Nagas or serpents.
133 Robbers or dacoits. The word also means evil beings or demons that were enemies of gods and men. It can also mean outcasts or outcastes.
134 Yayati.
135 Devayani.
136 Brihaspati, the preceptor of the gods.
137 The demons. That is, the demons also had a priest for the same purpose.
138 Ushanas is another name for Shukra or Shukracharya, the preceptor of the demons. The text has the word kavya, which has been translated as wise. However, Kavya is also another name for Shukra and Kavya is the son of Kavi.
139 The knowledge of bringing the dead back to life.
140 The king of the demons.
141 Sacrificial fire kindled in the evening. Presumably, this was Kacha’s task.
142 Shukra.
143 The brighter half of the lunar month.
144 Shukra.
145 Angirasa was Shukra’s preceptor.
146 Indra. Literally, the performer of a hundred sacrifices.
147 Indra. Literally, the destroyer of cities.
148 Indra.
149 Meaning that the forest or the wood was beautiful. Chitraratha was the king of the gandharvas.
150 The text actually has Devayani addressing Sharmishtha as her disciple. This is because Devayani’s father (Shukra) was the preceptor to Sharmishtha’s father (Vrishaparva).
151 One of Devayani’s companions or maids.
152 Before the quarrel, Devayani and Sharmishtha were friends.
153 There is a break in continuity in the critical edition. Other editions have a shloka where Shukra goes and tells Devayani what has occurred.
155 Devayani.
156 Indra.
157 This isn’t clear at all. There was a kingdom of Bhoja in the Vidarbha or Malwa region. But why should that be a curse? Or is this appellation a reference to people who were addicted to food (bhojana)?
158 Usually there is reference to three sacrificial fires—ahavaniya, garhapatya and dakshina. The other two sacred fires are samya and avasadhya.
159 Indra.
160 Clearly, not material prosperity, but riches obtained through righteousness.
161 The text should literally be translated as those born from sweat.
162 Another name for Indra.
163 Meaning Vishnu.
164 From an earlier reference, one knows that Ashtaka was a king. Yayati was his maternal grandfather.
165 The first of the four yugas, also known as Satya Yuga.
166 The word used is shitikantha, which means white in the neck. This means a peacock, though some kind of vulture with a white neck is also possible.
167 That is, through the merits of one’s earlier deeds.
168 As enumerated in what immediately follows, the five sense organs and mind.
169 That is, ritualistic deeds.
170 None of this is to be interpreted in a literal sense. For instance, the teeth are clean because he lives on pure food, the nails are clipped because he does not hurt anyone, he is always bathed and without dirt because his actions are pure and his deeds are white because they are good.
Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) Page 52