by Bibek Debroy
146Hearing and sound.
147Five organs of sense and five organs of action.
148Most of this is directed at Buddhist philosophy. The middle is a reference to consciousness, as distinct from the atman.
149Sacrifices performed for the gods.
150This king was Janaka, Janadeva’s ancestor.
151Janaka had renounced everything.
152These enemies are vices.
153Awaiting death.
154That is, even if he is a householder.
155The interpretation is that the eating of the flesh of animals killed at sacrifices is acceptable.
156Gods, ancestors, guests and servants.
157Prahlada. Prahlada, or Prahrada, was devoted to Vishnu and there are no stories about his being deprived of his prosperity.
158The daityas were the sons of Diti, who was married to the sage Kashyapa.
159Above probably means heaven, while below means the nether regions. In that case, transverse may be used in the sense of the earth.
160By the soul.
161Indra.
162Indra.
163Brahma.
164Bali was extremely generous. He was Virochana’s son and Prahlada’s grandson. He conquered the three worlds and dislodged Indra from heaven. In his dwarf (vamana) incarnation, Vishnu took advantage of Bali’s generosity and robbed him of the three worlds. According to some stories, Bali was thereafter tied down by Varuna’s nooses.
165The sun.
166The moon.
167Indra.
168Since Indra had defeated Bali.
169Shachi is Indra’s wife.
170Having been reborn.
171This probably means that Bali may have been reborn as a man.
172The name of Indra’s elephant.
173The celestial damsels.
174 A shamya is a wooden rod. It is hurled from the hand and a sacrifice is performed wherever it happens to land. In this way, the entire earth is covered.
175Bali.
176 Of an ass.
177From virtue.
178Because of destiny.
179Destiny is being compared to an ocean.
180It has not progressed.
181Bali had become Indra then.
182Time is being equated with Brahma.
183Interpreted as the senses.
184These five sheaths cover the atman and are annamaya (related to food), pranamaya (related to energy), manomaya (related to the mind), vijnanamaya (related to knowledge) and anandamaya (related to bliss).
185The atman.
186The embodied form of prosperity, in particular, royal prosperity.
187Indra killed a demon named Paka.
188Maya was the architect of the demons.
189Respectively, someone who is difficult to withstand and the desire for action.
190All three names mean plenty and prosperity.
191Respectively, the creator and the ordainer.
192Towards Bali.
193The text uses the word ucchishta. This means, he touched clarified butter while eating. Or, having eaten, he touched clarified butter without having washed his hands first.
194Probably implying that Bali did not need priests any longer.
195The north.
196This is given the following interpretation. Mount Meru is in the centre of the earth. The sun travels around Meru and shines everywhere. But this is during the present manvantara of Vaivasvata. When this is followed by Savarni manvantara, the sun will only shine on Mount Meru and there will be darkness everywhere else.
197Brahma.
198Namuchi.
199Moksha or emancipation.
200A wise person doesn’t regard himself as an actor and thinks of this as destiny. But a foolish person is miserable because he ascribes it to his own action.
201This sentence hangs loose and there is no obvious connection with what comes before or after.
202The sage Goutama’s wife, Ahalya, was seduced by Indra, who adopted Goutama’s form. Goutama cursed Ahalya that she would turn to stone. However, in the process, Goutama also suffered.
203In his vamana incarnation, Vishnu obtained the worlds from Bali and gave them to Indra.
204Prajapati means the sage Kashyapa, who was married to several of Daksha’s daughters.
205Indra was destined to rule for one thousand divine years.
206The personification of time.
207Indra.
208In heaven, the Ganga flows in Brahma’s world and Dhruva is the pole star.
209Garuda, Vishnu’s mount.
210Narada.
211Bhuti means wealth and prosperity.
212Shraddha means faith, medha means wisdom.
213Respectively, humility, victory and permanence.
214Resolution.
215Success.
216Blazing prosperity.
217Respectively, praise, fortune and deeds.
218This is a reference to the danavas earlier, before they deviated.
219Saktu, colloquially known as sattu.
220An auspicious sacrificial fire has a flame that blazes upwards.
221The text uses the word ucchishta. This means, having eaten, one touches clarified butter without having washed the hands first.
222Rice cooked in sweetened milk.
223Dish of milk, sesamum and rice, kind of dessert.
224Cakes made out of rice or barley.
225Not as sacrificial offerings.
226Of the varnas.
227Instead of learned brahmanas.
228Respectively, hope, faith, resolution, radiance, victory, humility and forgiveness.
229Conduct.
230Narada.
231We have translated prakriti as nature. Brahma is not affected by the transformations of prakriti.
232Censure and praise.
233Ugrasena was the king of Mathura and belonged to the Kukkura clan. He was deprived of the kingdom by his son, Kamsa, and imprisoned. After Kamsa was killed by Krishna, Ugrasena became the king again. Krishna’s father was married to Kamsa’s sister, Devaki.
234This is Vyasa speaking.
235The twinkling of the eye.
236Respectively, the sun’s movement north of the equator and south of the equator.
237For men
238Non-critical versions often reverse the order, with ancestors sleeping during krishnapaksha.
239 For numans
240Of the gods.
241Sandhya, the intervening period between two yugas. Krita yuga thus consists of four thousand and eight hundred divine years.
242Treta yuga has 3,000 main years and 300 years in each sandhya, with a total of 3,600 years. Dvapara yuga has 2,000 main years and 200 years in each sandhya, with a total of 2,400 years. Kali yuga has 1,000 main years and 100 hundred years in each sandhya, with a total of 1,200 years.
243The word used is tata.
244Twelve thousand divine years represent one cycle of krita, treta, dvapara and kali and one such cycle is a mahayuga.
245Mahayugas.
246The universe is destroyed when it is Brahma’s night. During the night, Brahma meditates.
247The great being, also known as Mahat. This is nothing but intelligence.
248Mind.
249Mahat, Mana and the five elements.
250Space.
251Wind.
252Light.
253Water.
254Earth.
255Space only possesses the quality of sound, wind has the qualities of both sound and touch, light has the qualities of sound, touch and form, water has the qualities of sound, touch, form and taste and earth has the qualities of sound, touch, form, taste and scent.
256The five elements, the five senses, the five organs of action and the mind.
257Earlier deeds.
258Humans are mentioned twice.
259A difference is being drawn between domestic animals and wild animals.
260The Vedas were only revealed to the
rishis, not composed by them.
261This shloka is an extremely difficult one to translate and there are complicated issues of interpretation. For example, Nama is understood as referring to the Rig Veda and means the study of all the Vedas. Bheda is division and is here interpreted as half, that is, the wife, dharma being performed with the wife. Tapas is austerities. Karma stands for rituals and Yajna is sacrifices. Akhya means fame and is the undertaking of public works that bring one fame. Loka-siddhi is success in this world, while Atma-siddhi is success in the next world. This leaves the ten techniques. One possible interpretation is patience, forgiveness, self-control, honesty, purity, control of the senses, intelligence, learning, truthfulness and lack of anger—required for studying the Vedas.
262Brahma.
263End of the Vedas, Vedanta.
264Shabda means sound and Shabda-Brahma stands for the Vedas. Para-Brahma is beyond the Vedas and is supreme.
265Interpreted as agriculture.
266Understood as rituals.
267Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu (the third) have different manifestations.
268Brahma.
269Sound.
270In a straightforward translation, Chandrama is the moon. However, the word has special meanings in yoga.
271Resolution, but being used as a synonym for Chandrama.
272Consciousness.
273Strength.
274Knowledge.
275These are samskaras or sacraments and there are thirteen of these. The list varies a bit. But one list is vivaha (marriage), garbhalambhana (conception), pumshavana (engendering a male child), simantonnayana (parting the hair, performed in the fourth month of pregnancy), jatakarma (birth rites), namakarana (naming), chudakarma (tonsure), annaprashana (first solid food), keshanta (first shaving of the head), upanayana (sacred thread), vidyarambha (commencement of studies), samavartana (graduation) and antyeshti (funeral rites).
276By paying the fee due to the preceptor.
277Scrapes away all the attachments.
278Offspring repays the debt to ancestors, studying repays the debt to the sages and sacrifices repay the debt to gods.
279Vanaprastha and sannyasa.
280Maidens clearly refers to marriage. Anything beyond that is a matter of deduction, since the text doesn’t elaborate. However, both dowry and brideprice were not approved of.
281The brahmana must receive for the sake of subsistence and for performing pious acts towards these.
282The name of Indra’s horse. That is, everything can be given to them.
283Presumably Shukracharya.
284Nothing more is known about this incident. King Satyasandha occurs in the Skanda Purana, but that story is different.
285Shibi was a generous king. A hawk pursued a pigeon and Shibi gave up his own flesh to protect the pigeon from the hawk. But that story has nothing about a brahmana, or about Shibi’s son.
286Parashurama.
287This may be an inaccurate translation. The text uses the word shankha. A natural translation for this is conch shell. However, giving away a conch shell does not fit the context. Shankha also means a large number. So he may have given away a large amount of treasure.
288Trayi means three. Though the Atharva Veda is also mentioned here, trayi means the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda and the Yajur Veda.
289Varna is letter, while akshara is syllable.
290Studying, teaching, performing sacrifices, officiating at the sacrifices of others, giving and receiving.
291 Studying, worshipping the gods, offering oblations to the ancestors, feeding other people and feeding other living beings.
292The three Vedas.
293The rituals connected with the three Vedas. Alternatively, teaching, officiating at sacrifices and accepting gifts.
294Mix up the tasks of different varnas.
295He goes through the cycle of birth and death.
296There are thus twelve requirements and there is interpretation involved. These twelve are: (1) a clean place where yoga must be performed; (2) pure acts; (3) attachment towards others who are devoted to yoga; (4) sacred objects; (5) the methods used; (6) destruction of desire and attachment; (7) certainty of belief about yoga; (8) restraint of the senses; (9) purity in food; (10) suppression of attachment towards material objects; (11) regulation of the mind, or not resorting to bad practices (anupaya); and (12) contemplation, or strategy (upaya).
297As a surrogate for the senses.
298There is the imagery of a chariot and upastha is the seat on which the charioteer sits.
299Upaya means good practices, the opposite of anupaya. Varutha is the wooden bumper around a chariot. Kubara is the pole for attaching the yoke.
300In pranayama, the breath of life is prana and this has five actions—prana (exhalation), apana (downward inhalation), vyana (diffusion through the body), udana (upward inhalation) and samana (digestive breath). Aksha is the wheel and yuga is the yoke.
301The part of the yoke attached to the pole.
302The circumference of the wheel.
303Central part of the chariot, where the warrior, as opposed to the charioteer, is seated.
304The goad.
305The two horses at the front.
306The one without decay, the brahman.
307Concerning the five elements, intelligence and consciousness.
308These shlokas are difficult to understand and some liberty has been taken.
309The five elements.
310The unmanifest.
311The sankhya school of philosophy.
312As a school of philosophy.
313The number twenty-five cannot quite be pinned down.
314Birth, growth, decay and death.
315Dharma, artha, kama and moksha.
316Sattva is the physical body (kshetra) and kshetrajna is the soul or jivatman.
317Implying a denial of the existence of the brahman.
318This is difficult to understand and needs explanation. In both views, nature is assumed to be everything and the cause. But in one case, nature is itself held to be an illusion. In the other case, nature is real and is not an illusion, but is regarded as the cause.
319But those other and preceding entities also originate with nature. Both doctrines thus ascribe nature alone to be the primordial cause.
320By bipeds that do not live on land, one means birds.
321While jati is not varna, in this context, the dharma of jatis can be understood to be varnashrama dharma. Medium men follow this. Superior men have transcended the dictates of varnashrama dharma. Why should medium men be better? This seems contradictory. The resolution of this is a matter of interpretation. Medium men being better is a popular belief, but is not the truth. That is one possible line of reasoning.
322Speculatively, the Vedas were not in writing and were passed down through oral transmission. The Vedas were vested in them in the sense that they had learnt the Vedas by heart.
323They are freed from the cycle of birth and death.
324Attachment to tasks and detachment from tasks.
325In the sense of possessing powers.
326Para-Brahma.
327Inside their own selves and outside.
328The word used is tata.
329These are the kinds of questions that lead to doubts. Knowledge can be obtained other than through acts. Therefore, are acts mandatory?
330They know that everything results from the brahman.
331In treta, dvapara and kali yugas, people regarded one or the other of the Vedas as superior. But no such artificial differences were drawn during krita yuga.
332The brahman.
333The interpretation is that kshatriyas slaughter animals at sacrifices and vaishyas grow crops that are offered as oblations.
334Towards all beings.
335A roundabout way of stating that they became invisible.
336The Vedan gas.
337The word used is tata.
338Shuka.
339That is, t
he senses.
340The sixteen are the five senses, the five organs of action, the five elements and consciousness. The atman is the seventeenth.
341Svapaka.
342This is a cryptic and difficult shloka and some liberties have been taken. The sense is that knowledge of the paramatman is determined by knowledge of one’s own atman.
343The brahman.
344The body has nine gates—two eyes, two ears, one mouth, two nostrils, one anus and the genitals.
345We have deliberately not translated this. While hamsa means swan, it is also used as an expression for the soul.
346This is interpreted as signifying unity between the jivatman and the paramatman.
347They go beyond the cycle of birth and death.
348Meditation should be in the evening, or at dawn.
349The five senses.
350This is interpreted as a period of six months.
351Through yoga, several such powers are obtained. But these are distractions and must be ignored.
352Dawn, noon and evening.
353The wind does not get attached to anything.
354This is interpreted as meaning that he no longer has to undertake any rites, but passes beyond them.
355Because of their attachments.
356Of acquisition.
357By implication, the Vedas and sankhya are prohibited to inferior varnas and women. But the path of yoga is available to everyone.
358That is, those who do not undertake the rites.
359Vedavyasa was the son of the sage Parashara.
360Believers in the rites and those who do not believe in the rites.
361In this context, pravritti is attachment to action and nivritti is detachment.
362 A man who has obtained knowledge.
363The moon is made out of sixteen kalas. These wax and wane, during shuklapaksha and krishnapaksha. On the night of the new moon, the moon cannot be seen, but its kala still exists. A wise person is being compared to this.
364This is taken to be the sage Yajnavalka.
365A person engaged in tasks is being compared to the moon, with the fruits of those tasks contributing to growth and decay, like the kalas of the moon. A person who has knowledge is freed from the kalas and the growth and decay. The eleven transformations result from the five organs of sense, five organs of action and intelligence.
366There are actually fourteen worlds (lokas), seven above and seven below. This is a reference to the seven above—bhurloka, kharloka, svarloka, maharloka, janarloka, taparloka and satyaloka (brahmaloka).