by Bibek Debroy
601The text uses the word atman for both. But we have translated it in this way to make comprehension easier.
602The paramatman.
603The desire for obtaining powers through yoga is controlled. Otherwise, one will deviate from the objective.
604Other than the five great elements, time and the creator of all beings.
605This needs explanation. The five elements and time add up to six. The other two, making up eight, are past deeds and the resolution to create.
606In interpretations, this is explained in the following way. If one is emancipated, there is no difference in sentiments between states of being awake and dreaming. But in others, those sentiments differ.
607Five organs of knowledge, five organs of action, consciousness, mind, intelligence, strength and sattva, rajas and tamas.
608The atman.
609Ignorance has been added to the earlier tally of seventeen. The atman is now being counted as the nineteenth.
610Mithila was the capital of Videha.
611There is no difference between a tiger and its food, the lump of flesh.
612The thirst.
613Meaning that he will not reside in any fixed abode.
614When the house is through with the meals.
615 If he is invited to eat in a house, he should refuse it.
616This is also interpreted as retreating inside his own self.
617Earlier places refer to his former life as a householder.
618The five senses, the five organs of action, the five kinds of breaths of life, mind and intelligence.
619The five objects of the senses and the qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas.
620There is an end to the cycle of rebirth.
621Without having attained the brahman.
622Shukracharya, the preceptor of the demons.
623The cycle of death and rebirth.
624The word used is tata.
625All of these are Vishnu’s names, Vaikuntha being his abode, as well as his name. Shukla means pure or white. Ananta means infinite, Sanatana means eternal. Munjakesha is one with yellow hair, while Harishmashru is one with a tawny beard.
626The original austerities, as well as the rewards from seeing Hari. Since some of those fruits are still left, Vritra is entitled to ask Shukracharya about auspicious things.
627External acts are sacrifices and rites. Internal acts are in the form of purification inside. Provided these are done well, they do help.
628Of the sesamum seeds.
629The five senses, the five organs of action and the mind.
630Shruti is sacred texts that are in the nature of revelation, but there are other sacred texts too.
631There were four categories of priests—hotri, udhvaryu, udgatri and brahmana. While each of these was associated with one of the Vedas, in this case, the number four is probably being multiplied by the four Vedas.
632Kubera.
633Meaning, years. The text uses the word koti, naturally translated as crore. But this may very well be a mistranslation. A kalpa or period of creation lasts for one thousand divine years. Koti also means highest point or eminent position. So perhaps one thousand divine years is meant.
634Implicitly, each succeeding colour is superior to the preceding one.
635Lives.
636This has complicated interpretations and one shouldn’t interpret this in the straightforward sense of number of births. Five senses, five organs of action, mind, intelligence, ego and consciousness add up to fourteen. These have hundreds of thousands of variations and a creature rises or falls, depending on how these behave.
637The preceding colours signify birth as non-human species.
638The yellow colour signifies the status of a god. However, divinity isn’t permanent either.
639To the earlier fourteen, the five breaths of life have been added to get nineteen. Gods are still subject to these nineteen and thousands of consequences resulting from deeds undertaken by these nineteen. Therefore, they are still in hell.
640 Of a human.
641The five senses, the mind and the intelligence add up to seven. Each of these leads to hundreds of different kinds of acts.
642This probably means the worlds associated with the eight guardians of the worlds.
643That is, these regions of bliss are not permanent.
644These are sections that are extremely difficult to understand. The four states are of being awake (jagrata), sleeping with dreams (svapna), deep sleep without dreams (sushupti) and the supreme state of consciousness (turiya). Turiya is superior to the other three. There are five elements, five senses, five attributes of the senses, five organs of action, mind, intelligence, ego, consciousness and the gross body. When ignorance, desire, karma, the atman and the jagrata state are added, there is a number of thirty. For the svapna stage, one similarly has another thirty, adding up to sixty.
645Those other four worlds are those of mahar, jana, tapas and satya.
646 White.
647Bbu, bhuvar, svar, mahar, jana, tapas and satya.
648That is, those who have been emancipated. Because of their knowledge, they do not regress.
649Paravidya, knowledge about the self, and apara vidya, knowledge about the material world.
650Supreme knowledge is as evident as if with one’s own senses.
651Of time.
652There is no rebirth.
653The word used is tata.
654 Illusion.
655A kind of Sama hymn.
656Shiva.
657Brihaspati.
658In the form of fever.
659Indra.
660In personified form. Vritra was the son of a brahmana.
661That killing a brahmana would be a sin.
662The text uses havya-kavya for oblations. Havya is oblations offered to the gods. Kavya means offerings to the wise and represents oblations offered to the ancestors.
663Asking them to accept one-fourth of the sin.
664The sin.
665Indra’s name, meaning worshipped by many.
666The sin.
667Brahma.
668This is almost certainly a typo, though it is difficult to figure out what this should be. Probably some kind of cock that scratches the ground is meant.
669Shiva.
670Uma or Parvati.
671Kubera.
672Guhyakas are semi-divine species, companions of Kubera.
673Sati was originally born as Daksha’s daughter, married to Shiva. She self-immolated herself at Daksha’s sacrifice and was reborn as Uma or Parvati, the daughter of the Himalayas.
674Thus, the gods took Shiva’s permission before going to the sacrifice. Daksha’s sacrifice is believed to have taken place in Kankhal in Haridwar. Gangadvara is literally the gate of the Ganga, that is, the point from which the Ganga emerges. This is usually understood as Gomukh or Gomukha, where the Ganga becomes visible. However, the Ganga actually emerges unseen, 20 km away, on the Gangotri glacier.
675The followers.
676 Prostrate yourself down, with the chest touching the ground. Crossing has the image of crossing the river of life and ‘with your arms’ probably signifies self-dependence, as compared to relying on others.
677Because of earlier deeds.
678The word used is tata.
679It is by no means obvious that this refers to the ashramas of brahmacharya, garhasthya, vanaprastha and sannyasa. It might also refer to different kinds of religious belief.
680Dharma, artha and kama.
681Indulgence and abstinence refer to the objects of the senses.
682There is an image that requires interpretation. That image is one of deeds tying one down to the consequences, leading to death and rebirth, as if one is stretched out on a bed of thorns.
683Arishtanemi was descended from Tarkshya.
684 Lack of fear, or lack of anxiety, would have fit better.
685Sagara.
686Shukracharya, the preceptor of th
e demons. Kavya was his name, meaning the wise one.
687Of the demons.
688Shukra is the planet Venus and this is a reference to that.
689Shukra was descended from Bhrigu.
690Kubera.
691Ushanas. Ushanas penetrated Kubera.
692Shiva.
693Towards Shiva.
694Shiva.
695Since Ushanas was on the tip, the spear could not be hurled. Pinaka is the name of both Shiva’s bow and trident and the two are being equated here, with the spear bent into the form of a bow. The etymology of Pinaka is based on its being bent with the hand (pant).
696Shiva’s name, literally meaning the bull.
697Shiva.
698Shiva.
699Ushanas was growing inside the stomach.
700Ushanas.
701Ushanas.
702Shukra means semen.
703Ushanas came to be regarded as Parvati’s son.
704The word used is tata.
705This refers to the four varnas.
706Acts are divided into nitya (daily), naimittika (occasional), kamya (desirable) and nishiddha (prohibited).
707The path of knowledge.
708Meaning a shudra.
709An image for the body.
710The person who has refrained from action is superior.
711The good and the evil.
712That is, inappropriate acts.
713An earthen vessel that has not been baked.
714One of the attendants of the sun god, though this is a term also used for Vyasadeva.
715These are means of repaying those respective debts.
716Probably the words of the sacred texts.
717This is unclear. Richika’s son was Jamadagni. Vishvamitra’s son was Koushika. So Koushika must have gone to Jamadagni.
718Shiva.
719As the planet Venus.
720Dakshina, garhapatya and ahavaniya.
721 Gives up sexual desire.
722A shudra.
723This is specifically directed at shudras.
724The mountain behind which the sun rises.
725Dhata’s son is regarded as the god of the clouds.
726Cowrie shells used as money.
727Probably actors.
728This is the story of Tripura, the three cities of the asuras in the sky, destroyed by Shiva. However, this is sometimes interpreted in metaphorical fashion, the three cities standing for desire, anger and greed.
729The objects.
730Happiness that results from desire.
731Maruts are mentioned twice.
732Austerities performed in earlier lives.
733That is, unblemished austerities are those that are performed without any desire for the fruits.
734The text uses the word jati or class, not the same as varna.
735The vaishyas.
736The shudras.
737Subdivisions.
738The offspring.
739Parashara’s grandfather was Vasishtha.
740The word used is dvija. Here it clearly means the other three varnas, not brahmanas alone.
741They are born twice, the sacred thread ceremony representing the second birth.
742This is cryptic and requires interpretation. Brahma is equated with brahmanas and Vishnu with kshatriyas. The preceding sentence seems to say that shudras can become brahmanas in their next lives. But Parashara thinks that they can only become kshatriyas in their next lives.
743Presumably deeds in earlier lives.
744Meaning, if one’s life is over.
745Respectively, accidental and natural deaths.
746That is, obtains a similar kind of body. This seems to mean accidents and suicides.
747Compared to the immobile.
748Sattva, rajas and tamas. The fruits of deeds are not eternal.
749The text uses the word kashtha, which has more than one meaning. Solstice fits best, though it might also mean when the sun is in one of the northern cardinal directions.
750Brabma yajna, deva yajna, pitri yajna, manushya yajna and bhuta yajna.
751Therefore, that life must be preserved.
752This is the suryakanta jewel, the sun-stone.
753Has been emancipated.
754If boats are not being used, they are not left in the water, for fear of damage. When they are needed, ropes are used to lower them into the water.
755The text uses the word ashtapada, which is a measure of gold. Relatives are like etchings, they aren’t the real gold.
756Presumably, false knowledge.
757Through remorse.
758The right time for death.
759Extolling those who praise him. He is beyond both praise and censure.
760Yama.
761The moon waxes and wanes and the wind comes and goes.
762This is a hierarchy, in terms of desirability, of different kinds of speech.
763Dharana and samadhi are the last two stages in the eightfold path of yoga. Dharana can loosely be translated as concentrated meditation and samadhi as liberation.
764So that the liquid does not spill.
765Rough in the sense of not being mixed with anything else.
766Kartikeya.
767Brahma had ten sons. Because of the number six, this probably refers to the Vedangas.
768In this context, large birds.
769The ten qualities of sattva are delight, cheerfulness, enthusiasm, fame, virtue, contentment, faith, uprightness, generosity and power. The nine qualities of rajas are faith, generosity, enjoyment, enterprise, desire, anger, pride, malice and calumny. The eight qualities of tamas are lack of consciousness, confusion, delusion, lack of understanding, sleep, carelessness, procrastination and blindness towards consequences. The seven qualities of intelligence are Mahat, consciousness and the five elements. The six qualities of the sky are space, water, wind, light, earth and expanse. The five qualities in the mind are the five senses. The four qualities in intelligence are doubt, determination, pride and memory. The three qualities of tamas are inability to understand, partial understanding and wrong understanding. The two qualities of rajas are action and sorrow. The single quality of sattva is enlightenment. But this is only indicative and other listings also exist.
770The earth.
771The five elements, the five senses, the five organs of action and the mind.
772The river that flows in the nether regions.
773The body.
774Rajas.
775An eclipse.
776Of life.
777Because they confuse a person.
778Water pots used as buoys while swimming.
779Undertaking action.
780The atman.
781The jivatman.
782The body isn’t dead, but is in a state of samadhi.
783Brahma.
784Because they fall short of emancipation and are dislodged from heaven.
785Vasishtha’s name.
786This isn’t stated very clearly. A mahayuga consists of a cycle of satya yuga, treta yuga, dvapara yuga and kali yuga, made up of twelve thousand years of the gods. One thousand mahayugas make up one kalpa, one of Brahma’s days.
787This is a description of the great destruction, not temporary cycles of creation and destruction. Therefore, Brahma is himself destroyed.
788Svayambhu Shambhu.
789Yoga leads to eight major siddhis or powers. These are anima (becoming as small as one desires), mahima (as large as one desires), laghima (as light as one wants), garima (as heavy as one wants), prapti (obtaining what one wants), prakamya (travelling where one wants), vashitvam (powers to control creatures) and ishitvam (obtaining divine powers).
790Equated with Ishana.
791Literallly, the single one and the one without decay.
792Respectively, the one with many forms and the one with the universe as his form.
793Ahamkara. This also means self-consciousness or ego.
794Hiranyagarbha.
796The first being Hiranyagarbha and the second being Ahamkara.
797The five senses, the five objects of the senses, the five organs of action, the five elements, mind, intelligence, ego and consciousness.
798Rakshasas.
799There is probably a typo here, which is difficult to figure out. As stated, vaineyas can only be interpreted as those who have been converted back to the true religion.
800The word used is tata.
801Vishnu.
802Respectively associated with sattva, rajas and tamas.
803The atman. The text is gender neutral.
804 A cocoon.
805Disease treated by thermal cauterization.
806Spots. There were eighteen kinds of leprosy and this is one of those.
807Different kinds of austerities are being described.
808Literally, posture of a hero. A seated position used by ascetics.
809 A chandrayana is fasting determined by the moon’s progress. For example, during krishnapaksha, the food taken is diminished by one mouthful per day and during shuklapaksha, it is increased by one mouthful per day.
810Brahma’s day.
811Prakriti.
812The atman.
813The body.
814The atman.
815The body.
816The moon’s diameter is divided into sixteen kalas. The moon waxes and wanes by one kala each day and the sixteenth one is the one that remains on the night of the new moon.
817The five senses, the five organs of action, mind, intelligence, ego, ignorance and prakriti (or consciousness influenced by prakriti) are probably the fifteen which are modified. Pure consciousness (not influenced by prakriti) is the sixteenth.
818The fifteen.
819Vishnu.
820Have offspring.
821The atman.
822Non-male includes female and neuter.
823This is expressed in a convoluted way. Intelligent ones know about Vishnu. Those who know are those who know about the unmanifest. But since Vishnu and the unmanifest one are identical, the two destinations are also identical. Intelligent is an expression being applied to the practitioners of sankhya, while those who know is a label that is being applied to the practitioners of yoga.