The Mahabharata

by Bibek Debroy

  ‘“Kushika said, ‘O great sage! This is enough of a boon, since you are pleased with me. O unblemished one! Let my grandson become a brahmana through his austerities. O illustrious one! Grant me the boon that my lineage should always have that status. O illustrious one! Once again, I wish to ask you about this in detail. O descendant of the Bhrigu lineage! How will my lineage obtain the status of a brahmana? Who will be my relative? Whom will I honour?’”’

  Chapter 1737(56)

  ‘“Chyavana said, ‘O bull among men! I should certainly tell you this. O lord of men! That is the reason I came here, wishing to exterminate your lineage. O lord of men! Kshatriyas always have the assistance of the Bhrigus in the performance of sacrifices. However, because of reasons determined by destiny, there will be conflict between them. O lord of men! The kshatriyas will slay all the Bhrigus. Struck by the rod of destiny, they will not even spare those who are in the wombs. Then, in our lineage, a person will be born to extend the line. His name will be Ourva and he will be greatly energetic. His resplendence will be like that of the blazing fire. The flames of his anger will be such that they will be capable of destroying the three worlds. He will be capable of reducing the earth, with its mountains and oceans, to ashes. He will control the fire of his anger for some time. That supreme of sages will hurl it into the ocean, in the form of the subterranean fire. However, the descendant of the Bhrigu lineage will have an immensely fortunate son named Richika. O unblemished one! The entire dhanurveda will present itself before him. Because of reasons determined by destiny, so as to destroy the kshatriyas, he will receive it and pass it on to his son, Jamadagni, who will be immensely fortunate and will clease his soul through austerities. But that tiger among the Bhrigu lineage will still hold that knowledge. O supreme among kings! The one with dharma in his soul will unite with a maiden from your lineage, for spreading that knowledge on. The great ascetic will obtain your granddaughter and Gadhi’s daughter. He will give birth to Rama, who will be a brahmana, but will follow the dharma of kshatriyas. In your lineage will be born Visvamitra, as Gadhi’s son. He will be extremely devoted to dharma and will be like Brihaspati in his energy. He will be a kshatriya, but will follow the dharma of brahmanas. O immensely radiant one! Gadhi will have this son, who will be devoted to great austerities. There will be a mixing up because of women.1339 This has been determined by the grandfather. It will happen and there can be no reversal. In the third generation from you, there will be a brahmana. The Bhrigus, cleansed in their souls, will be your matrimonial allies.’”

  ‘Bhishma continued, “Hearing the words of the sage, the great-souled Chyavana, Kushika was delighted. The king, with dharma in his soul, replied in the following words. ‘Let it be this way.’ O supreme among the Bharata lineage! The greatly energetic Chyavana again spoke to the king. He urged the king to ask for a boon, who said, ‘O great king! I will accept it and let my desire truly come true through you. Let my lineage have the status of brahmanas and let their minds always be fixed on dharma.’ The sage, Chyavana, replied that it would indeed be this way. Having taken the king’s permission, he then departed for a visit to the tirthas. O king! I have told you everything, exactly as it occurred. This is the reason for the matrimonial alliance between the Bhrigus and the Kushikas. O king! Everything happened exactly as the sage had said. The births of Rama and the sage, Vishvamitra, occurred in that way.”’

  Volume 9 ends here. Section 87 will be concluded in Volume 10.

  The final volume ends the instructions of the Anushasana Parva. The horse sacrifice is held, and Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Kunti, Vidura and Sanjaya leave for the forest. Krishna and Balarama die as the Yadavas fight among themselves. The Pandavas leave on the great journey with the famous companion—Dharma disguised as a dog. Refusing to abandon the dog, Yudhishthira goes to heaven in his physical body and sees all the Kurus and the Pandavas are already there.

  Footnotes

  Introduction

  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.

  5 Wealth. But in general, any object of the senses.

  6 Desire.

  7 Release from the cycle of rebirth.

  9 Krishna or Krishnaa is another name for Droupadi.

  Section Eighty-Six

  Moksha Dharma Parva

  1Parashurama.

  2Vedavyasa.

  3 Famous sages, Asita and Devala, but often referred to together as Asita-Devala.

  4 Bow made of horn. Vishnu and Krishna’s bow.

  5 The text uses the word samkarshana. This is also interpreted as consciousness.

  6 Madhu wished to kill Brahma.

  7 Madhusudana means the slayer of Madhu. The Satvatas are Yadavas and Krishna is the bull among the Satvatas. Krishna is being equated with Vishnu.

  8 Accounts of creation and names differ and are not always consistent.

  9 Prajapati literally means the lord of beings. The term is applied to those of Brahma’s sons who had offspring and became lords of their creations.

  10Daksha.

  11 The moon.

  12Kashyapa’s other wives.

  13Gandharvas are celestial musicians and are semi-divine.

  14 Kinnaras or kimpurushas are mythical beings who were followers of Kubera and could sing well. They were also physically deformed, sometimes described as possessing human heads and bodies of horses.

  15 Vishnu’s vamana (dwarf) incarnation. In this incarnation, Vishnu tricked the demon king, Bali, and took his kingdom away.

  16 There are three terms for demons, often used synonomously. Asura is actually the antithesis of sura, god. Danavas are the offspring of Danu, while daityas are the offspring of Diti.

  17 Meaning Brahma. The words Dhata and Vidhata are used synonymously, but have slightly different nuances. Vidhata is more like creator, while Dhata is more like presever.

  18 Yuga is an era or epoch. Each of Brahma’s days consists of four yugas—satya, treta, dvapara and kali. But before that, time is not the same for the gods and humans. Six human months correspond to a divine day and six human months correspond to a divine night. Therefore, 360 human years are equivalent to one divine year. Measured in divine years, satya yuga is 4,000 years, treta yuga is 3,000 years, dvapara yuga is 2,000 years and kali yuga is 1,000 years, giving a total of 10,000 years. But there are also some years as transition periods from one yuga to another, so a four-yuga cycle actually consists of 12,000 divine years. A four-yuga cycle, known as mahayuga, is therefore 4,320,000 human years, satya yuga contributing 1,728,000, treta yuga 1,296,000, dvapara yuga 864,000 and kali yuga 432,000 years, one thousand mahayugas are Brahma’s day and another 1,000 mahayugas are Brahma’s night. Each of Brahma’s days is called a kalpa. The beginning of a kalpa is when creation occurs and at the end of the kalpa, there is destruction.

  19 Probably the intervening period between treta yuga and dvapara yuga.

  20 The other name being Kashyapa.

  21 Clearly, another of Bhouma’s sons.

  22 Meaning, the eighth in the list of Adityas. The eighth is Vivasvat or Martanda, the sun god, and the Ashvins were descended from him.

  23A person can also be tainted by the sins of others.

  24The seven great sages.

  25 A respectful offering made to guests or bridegrooms, consisting of honey and curd.

  26 Dragged down into the nether regions.

  27Vishnu in his boar (varaha) incarnation.

  28Indra.

  29Nether region. There are seven nether regions—atala, vitala, sutala, rasatala, talatala, mahatala and patala.

  30This is contrived. Sanatana means eternal. Nadana means sound and Sana
dana would mean someone with a sound.

  31With a lotus in the navel.

  32Respectively, the one without decay and the lotus-eyed one.

  33The word used is tata. This means father, but is affectionately used towards anyone who is older or senior.

  34If people are the same, why are there different ordinances for different people?

  35Literally, the syllable or the word. Akshara also means the brahman and is one of Vishnu’s names. The word also means immutable.

  36 Not manifest.

  37Immortal.

  38Yakshas are semi-divine species and companions of Kubera, the god of treasure.

  39The text uses the word prakriti, which also has nuances other than nature.

  40The six Vedangas are sbiksba (articulation and pronunciation), cbbanda (prosody), vyakarana (grammar), nirukta (etymology), jyotisha (astronomy) and kalpa (rituals).

  41Bhargava means Shukra or Shukracharya. We have translated niti as good policy. Shukracharya was descended from Bhrigu.

  42Singing, dancing and music.

  43Archery and the science of fighting.

  44Logical principles, or the school of philosophy known as Nyaya.

  45Brahma.

  46In sankhya philosophy, prakriti is the original source of the material world and is active. Purusha is inert or inactive.

  47Intelligence, ego, space, wind, energy, water and earth add up to seven. Prakriti must be added to get eight. More plausibly, mind has been missed out in the listing.

  48The mind.

  49The Critical edition uses the word shabda (sound). Non-critical versions have nabha (space), which fits better.

  50The brahman.

  51The body. The nine gates of the body are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the mouth, the anus and the genital organ.

  52The atman.

  53Because of death.

  54The mind.

  55This is difficult to understand, since it is left dangling. The sense probably is that one can transcend the natural propensities.

  56This shloka is also difficult to understand. The plain meaning seems to be that there are inferior propensities and superior propensities.

  57The kshetra is the body. The kshetrajna is someone who knows the body, that is, the soul.

  58Because of ignorance, further reasons for acts.

  59Wind and dust.

  60The text does not state this. But Bhishma clearly takes over again.

  61Of ignorance and desire.

  62The Vedas talk about both action and abstention from action. But absention from action is superior, because it leads to emancipation.

  63Rajas and tamas are the qualities of passion and darkness respectively.

  64These are material objects and possessions.

  65That is, the senses.

  66The quality of purity.

  67This earth means food, which is a manifestation of earth.

  68The journey is the progress of life.

  69The ego has a base in ignorance.

  70Of this world and life.

  71Sattva.

  72Sattva.

  73We have translated samsara, the cycle of worldly existence, as cycle.

  74Kritya, evil female spirits.

  75Tamas clouds both sattva and rajas.

  76Jiva has multiple meanings. Here, it means the principle of life in beings and intelligence and consciousness. For present purposes, jiva can be equated with the atman.

  77There is the implied suggestion that the atman remembers these past deeds in the womb.

  78Being used here for the atman.

  79The text uses the word lingam. While this has diverse meanings, given the context, the male genital organ is the obvious one.

  80Such as fasting.

  81This is a reference to the Aghamarshana suktam (after the sage Aghamarshana) from the Rig Veda. This is used for consecration ceremonies, ablutions and at times of bathing.

  82The text uses the word dhamani, which is really an artery. Shira is technically a vein. The number of arteries is actually described as twenty-four, but ten of those (two each) are associated with sound, sight, smell, taste and speech.

  83The three seeds, as in reasons, behind semen have to be deduced. They probably are food, desire and manovaha. Semen is shukra and there may be a pun with Indra’s name of Shakra. Indriya means senses and there may thus be another pun with Indra.

  84Sattva, rajas and tamas.

  85Manovaha is also known as sushumna.

  86These are stolen sheep and the king’s soldiers will catch them along the way.

  87This presumably means that yoga and tantra must not be practised so as to obtain any special powers. They are not an end. They are the means to the end of good conduct.

  88Kulmasha. Alternatively, a kind of bean.

  89There is ignorance because the knowledge is clouded.

  90 External and internal knowledge, respectively. The former is learnt from teachers, the latter from one’s own self.

  91Presumably the atman and the brahman.

  92Svapnadosha, in general, refers to sins that arise from dreaming. But more specifically, it means seminal discharge in sleep.

  93The cycle of life. This is thus not just about desires in this life, but about desires in earlier lives too.

  94The qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas and earlier deeds.

  95It disappears in some cases. This is known as sushupti, as opposed to ordinary sleep. Sushupti is deep slumber. The body sleeps. But though the mind is awake, there are no dreams.

  96The spiritual, concerning the supreme spirit.

  97The conduct of the asuras.

  98Rajas and tamas.

  99The number four is left dangling and it’s not immediately obvious which four are meant. In all probability, this means the brahman with qualities, the brahman without qualities, that which is manifest and that which is not manifest.

  100As will soon be evident, this supreme rishi is the sage Narayana. Tattvam means the truth, the real state, the essence.

  101Inclination towards, and attachment for, action and its fruits, pravritti.

  102Detachment from fruits and renunciation of action, nivritti.

  103Rebirth.

  104Purusha and prakriti.

  105Sattva, rajas and tamas.

  106In the sense that the kshetrajna or purusha is inactive and is beyond the three qualities.

  107The brahman.

  108Between purusha and prakriti.

  109Similarities between purusha and prakriti, differences between them, similarities between purusha and the brahman and differences between them.

  110Freed from the senses. But this does not mean that one has attained moksha.

  111There are subtleties left implicit in the text. These concern transitions, after death, from the gross body to the subtle body and so on. When one is truly emancipated, one is freed from these subtler forms of the body too.

  112Rebirth.

  113The text uses the word dharana, which is concentrated meditation. Dharana is one of the steps in the eight components of yoga.

  114Of the brahman.

  115With desire.

  116This Janaka is not to be confused with Sita’s father. This Janaka was descended from that Janaka’s lineage and is also referred to as Janaka.

  117Like pleasure and pain, happiness and unhappiness.

  118One of the six schools of philosophy.

  119As will be evident, this is a reference to Asuri and not to Panchashikha. Kapila was also known as Asuri.

  120Literally, the one with five flows, a description of the mind.

  121That is, Kapilaa.

  122 Asuri’s.

  123It is not clear who told Bhishma the story. It is presumed to have been Markandeya or Sanatkumara.

  124Panchashikha.

  125The text does not indicate this clearly. But this seems to be the place where Panchashikha’s quote begins.

  126Since the body is destroyed, nothing beyond the body can exi
st.

  127The word death is used twice, one for the body, the second for the atman.

  128If a non-existent entity is thought of in that way, an existent entity must also be thought of in a similar way.

  129Instead of the other way round. The word used is nastika. The various arguments advanced here are those of non-believers, specifically, some aspects of Buddhism.

  130Ayaskanta and suryakanta respectively.

  131These instances illustrate that though there are tranformations, there is some direct evidence.

  132As distinct from the atman.

  133The next body.

  134 From one body to another.

  135The spirit, distinct from the atman.

  136If one believed the non-believers.

  137There is an implicit image of carnivores craving for meat.

  138Panchashikha.

  139The text does not clearly indicate the beginning of a quote. But it is obvious.

  140The darkness of ignorance.

  141A reference to the state of emancipation.

  142Because it leads to emancipation.

  143Literallly, the right state of mind.

  144Five organs of sense, five organs of action, and intelligence.

  145Each of the five senses being associated with three attributes. Consciousness is a constant. In addition, there is an organ and something that triggers the organ.