by Bibek Debroy
959The transformed one.
960With a staff and shaved head.
961One who can assume different forms.
962Tawny-eyed.
963Distinguished one.
964Wielding the vajra.
965With a flaming tongue.
966With a thousand feet.
967With a thousand heads.
968Lord of the gods.
969One with all the gods in him.
970Preceptor.
971With a thousand arms.
972Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
973One with whom refuge is sought.
974Creator of all the worlds.
975Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
976One with three (Rig, Sama and Yajur Vedas) sweet mantras.
977Youngest one, in the sense of being younger to Vishnu and Brahma.
978One who is dark and tawny.
979One who fashioned the staff of chastisement.
980Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
981One who wields one hundred nooses.
982Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
983Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
984One who originated in the water.
985Shining one.
986Creator of Brahma.
987One who knows about the brahman.
988The objective of brahmanas.
989Infinite in form.
990With more than one atman.
991Fierce in energy.
992Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
993One whose atman heads upwards.
994Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
995With the speed of the wind.
996With the speed of thought.
997Smeared with sandalwood paste.
998The tip of the stamen of a lotus.
999One who brought Surabhi down. Surabhi is the divine cow. Because Surabhi lied, alternatively, forced Brahma to lie, Surabhi was cursed by Shiva and brought down to earth.
1000One who is adorned with a giant garland of karnikara (Indian laburnum) flowers.
1001With a blue crest.
1002Wielder of Pinaka.
1003Uma’s consort.
1004Uma’s beloved.
1005One who holds up Jahnavi (Ganga).
1006Uma’s husband.
1007Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1008Boar.
1009Supreme lord.
1010One with the extremely loud roar.
1011One who is great in his favours.
1012One who subdues.
1013Slayer of enemies.
1014One who is white and tawny.
1015One whose atman is cheerful.
1016One to whom all atmans go.
1017One whose atman is restrained.
1018One who holds up everything that is important.
1019One whose sons are on every side.
1020Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1021One who is general dharma.
1022Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1023One who is the soul of everything mobile and immobile.
1024One whose soul is subtle.
1025Excellent bull.
1026Lord of cows and bulls.
1027One who delights sadhyas, rishis, Vasus, Adityas, Vivasvan and Savitri.
1028Everything composed by Vyasa, in brief and in detail.
1029Change, progression.
1030Guidance.
1031Season.
1032Year.
1033Month.
1034Fortnight.
1035Numbers that indicate the end (of those measures of time).
1036Musical unit of time.
1037Day.
1038Night.
1039With the universe as a field.
1040Seed of beings.
1041Original linga.
1042Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1043Heaven and earth.
1044Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1045Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1046Father.
1047Mother.
1048Grandfather.
1049Gate to heaven.
1050Gate to offspring.
1051Gate to emancipation.
1052Resident of heaven.
1053Liberation.
1054Refreshment.
1055Brahma’s world.
1056Supreme objective.
1057Creator of gods and asuras.
1058Devoted to gods and asuras.
1059The god who is the preceptor of gods and asuras.
1060Worshipped by gods and asuras.
1061Best among gods and asuras.
1062The refuge of large numbers of gods and asuras.
1063Supervisor of large numbers of gods and asuras.
1064Foremost among large numbers of gods and asuras.
1065God of the gods.
1066One who grants boons to devarshis, gods and asuras.
1067Lord of the gods and the asuras.
1068Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1069The great lord of the gods and the asuras.
1070Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1071One who cannot be thought of.
1072One who is the atman of the gods.
1073One who has not been generated.
1074Fountain.
1075One with three steps, an allusion to Vishnu’s vamana (dwarf) incarnation.
1076Learned one, physician.
1077Shining one.
1078One with shining garments.
1079One who is praiseworthy.
1080Elephant.
1081God of tigers.
1082God of lions.
1083Bull among men.
1084Supreme among the foremost of gods.
1085The best.
1086Supreme among all the supreme among gods.
1087One who is yoked (to yoga).
1088Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1089Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1090Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1091Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1092Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1093Desired one.
1094One’s own.
1095Creation.
1096Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1097One who conveys everything.
1098Horned one.
1099One who loves horns.
1100Tawny, reddish brown.
1101King of kings.
1102Lack of disease.
1103Pleasant.
1104All the gods together.
1105Pause, the end.
1106One who accomplishes everything.
1107One with an eye on the forehead.
1108One whose body is the universe.
1109Deer.
1110With the radiance of Brahma.
1111Lord of immobile objects.
1112One who enhances control over the senses.
1113One whose objectives have been accomplished.
1114The objective of all creatures.
1115Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1116One who is truthful in vows.
1117Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1118Lord of vows.
1119Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1120Since this has already been listed, we have not numbered it.
1121The supreme objective of those who are liberated.
1122Freed.
1123Free in energy.
1124Prosperous one.
1125Enhancer of prosperity.
1126Universe.
1127Obtains the brahman inside one’s own atman.
1128Other gods do not desire that men should become like gods, using the power of their austerities.
1129This is Upamanyu speaking now.
1130Descended from Bhrigu’s lineage, meaning Shukra.
1131Vedavyasa was speaking to Yudhishthira.
1132Shiva’s names.
1133The name of a sage.
1134This was a metaphorical and not literal killing of a brahmana and concerned a dispute over Sama rituals.
1135Parashurama.
1136On his father’s instructions, Parashurama had killed his mother. There are no stories about his having killed brahmanas. His elder brothers (brahmanas) were actually killed by his father, Jamadagni, and Parashurama revived them.
1137Yudhishthira’s name.
1138Vasishtha.
1139Gritsamada was cursed that he would become an animal.
1140With Indra.
1141The eight powers associated with yoga.
1142There was more than one Gargya. This is clearly the one who contributed to astronomy (jyotisha). There is no obvious way to pin down the number sixty-four.
1143Parashara was the father of Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa.
1144The manvantara that will follow the current one.
1145Itihasa is history and is used to mean the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Vedavyasa being the composer of the Mahabharata.
1146Animandavya’s story has been recounted in Section 6 (Volume 1).
1147Dharma has four feet. The sage was born from dharma’s fourth foot, regarded as truth.
1148Galava had studied under Vishvamitra. After completing his studies, he obtained Vishvamitra’s permission and returned home. By that time, Galava’s father was dead.
1149Vishvamitra’s.
1150This is Krishna Vasudeva and not Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa.
1151Puruhuta is Indra. It is not clear who is meant by Ishvara.
1152Kubera.
1153A class of gods.
1154A class of gods.
1155We have deliberately used the Sanskrit. Sahadharma means that husband and wife follow dharma together.
1156There were eight kinds of marriage. Three of these were arsha, prajapatya and asura. In arsha, the father gives away his daughter after receiving a bride price. In prajapatya, husband and wife are instructed to follow dharma together. In asura, the bridegroom pays whatever he can afford to the bride’s family. Yudhishthira evidently is asking which of these forms of marriage develop the concept of sahadharma.
1157The word used is tata.
1158If women are wicked, how can there be dharma with them? If dharma is interpreted as rituals, what happens when one of the couple dies? If dharma is not interpreted as rituals, it is individual. In that case, what is the concept of practising dharma together? Since the couple may not be married to each other in their next lives, how can the fruits of dharma be carried over?
1159Uma.
1160At the time of universal dissolution.
1161Of the daughter.
1162Mandakini is that part of the Ganga which flows through Kailasa. Nalini is a lake, full of lotuses, owned by Kubera.
1163Vadanya.
1164Kama meaning the god of love. Anila is the god of the wind and Agni is the god of the fire.
1165Under the influence of desire.
1166There is a pun which the translation misses. Kula means both family/lineage and bank.
1167There is an implied suggestion that if Ashtavakra remains there, he may-find the lady attractive.
1168The Critical edition excises shlokas and there is a break in continuity. As on the previous night, the lady leaves her own bed and comes to Ashtavakra’s bed.
1169That is, she wasn’t anyone else’s wife.
1170If she has lied about not being married.
1171The woman had assumed a beautiful form.
1172Vadanya.
1173Vadanya.
1174For the marriage.
1175A brahmana with the signs is someone in the state of brahmacharya or sannyasa. Other brahmanas will not have any obvious signs.
1176The word used is tata.
1177Havya is offered to the gods and kavya is offered to the ancestors. The learned texts say that before engaging a brahmana in offering havya, the brahmana’s qualities need not be tested. However, an examination is needed before offering kavya. Hence, Yudhishthira’s question.
1178This isn’t a shloka that is easy to understand and we have taken some liberties.
1179The text does not tell us what these three are. They are interpreted as teaching, officiating at sacrifices and receiving gifts.
1180This entire segment hangs loose. We are not told who these four were asked by, and where they went away from. In addition, though Markandeya was descended from Bhrigu, it is somewhat unusual to find him described as the possessor of weapons. That Bhargava is normally Parashurama.
1181Good conduct by whom? That remains unclear. Evidently, out of reverence for brahmanas, a person performing a sacrifice is giving the offerings to a brahmana.
1182Through gifts made to such a brahmana.
1183A translation cannot do justice to what is intended. The text uses the word niromkara, meaning a person who is not worthy to utter the syllable ‘Om’.
1184The emphasis is clearly on payment in certain professions. For instance, the temple bit is about a brahmana who is paid to serve in a temple.
1185A vrishala is an inferior person, usually equated with a shudra.
1186A putrika-putra son is the outcome of a special kind of contract. The father of a maiden may have a daughter, but no sons. The daughter is married off, with the understanding that the first son will be regarded as her father’s son, rather than her own. This son is known as putrika-putra and he has no links with his biological father’s family.
1187The word affectionately requires explanation. These brahmanas are actually unworthy. However, out of affection towards them, they have been permitted some kind of atonement and become worthy.
1188Implying that the wealth has been spent on good purposes.
1189Gavanrita is a lie about a cow. The sense is that the sin is the same as that when one lies in a dispute over a cow.
1190The sacred word is Om.
1191Ceremonies at the time of birth.
1192The word is murva, which means hemp. Since hemp was used to make bowstrings, one could have also translated this as bowstring.
1193A type of grass.
1194The sin from a lie becomes that many multiples of a brahmana’s sin.
1195Meaning, the futile slaughter of animals, when no sacrifices are intended.
1196For instance, for a limited period of time, one is impure when there is a birth or a death in the immediate family.
1197That is, feed the husbands.
1198Interpreted as heretical in the sense of not believing in the Vedas.
1199This is probably a reference to wages and salaries not being paid to servants.
1200Accept payment for teaching the Vedas.
1201This is a reference to kings.
1202If he doesn’t do this, he goes to heaven.
1203The word vihara has many meanings, including temple. In this case, a public pleasure ground is probably intended.
1204The word vapra has multiple meanings—fortification, embankment, ditch, wall, rampart. All of these fit.
1205Fourth in line, the line being Vasishtha, Shakti, Parashara and Vedavyasa.
1206This is actually Vedavyasa speaking to Bhishma. However, Bhishma can also be addressed as a descendant of the Bharata lineage.
1207Respectively Chenab and Jhelum.
1208Indus.
1209Pushkara is in Rajasthan, Prabhasa is in Gujarat, by Naimisha one probably means the waters of the
Gomati, Devika is in Udhampur, Indramarga and Svarnavindu (also known as Suvarnavindu) are rivers in Kashmir. The identification of most of these is difficult.
1210All these places are near Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
1211The rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Kaveri, Narmada and Sindhu are known as Sapta-Ganga. By Tri-Ganga, one usually means Bhagirathi, Jahnavi and Alakananda.
1212This is probably Lake Bhrigu, in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
1213River Beas.
1214Chitrakuta is in Madhya Pradesh and Janasthana has been identified as Nashika (Maharashtra), the capital of the Dandaka kingdom.
1215Purushamedha is a sacrifice where human beings were sacrificed.
1216In the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.
1217Prayaga is the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna and is in Uttar Pradesh. Magha is January-February. Bathing in Prayaga during the first half of Magha is believed to be extremely auspicious.
1218Gaya is in Bihar The hills around Gaya were formed out of the body of a demon named Gayasura. Since Nirriti means demon, that probably explains Mount Nirriti.
1219Indra’s pleasure garden.
1220Lohitya is the Brahmaputra. Krittika is a nakshatra. But what does the conjunction of Urvashi and Krittika mean? While this is difficult to understand, urvashi also means wide.
1221Yama’s.
1222The text doesn’t say this explicitly. But this is obviously Bhishma continuing.
1223There are grains left after a crop has been harvested, or after grain has been milled. If one subsists on these leftovers, that is known as unchhavritti. Shila means gathering the stalks. Shilonchhavritti can be therefore regarded as equivalent to unchhavritti or to shilavritti.
1224Literally, the successful one.
1225Garuda.
1226Here, sudha is best understood as milk and not as nectar.
1227On the father’s side and on the mother’s side.
1228Ganga flows in heaven (as Mandakini), on earth (as Bhagirathi/Ganga) and in the nether regions (as Bhogavati).
1229This can also be loosely translated as a lord among men, or king.
1230The sage Kapila reduced Sagara’s sons to ashes. A descendant, Bhagiratha, brought Ganga down to earth and when those ashes were washed by the waters of the Ganga, Sagara’s sons were saved.
1231Guha is Kartikeya. In the story of Kartikeya’s birth, Agni handed over the energy to Ganga, who then deposited it in a clump of reeds.
1232Since Shilavritti is being addressed, this is an inconsistency.
1233Vishnu.
1234This will be explained soon.
1235Matanga.
1236Indra.
1237Subhuman.
1238We have followed non-Critical versions in translating the duration. Non-Critical versions say, ten times one hundred, that is, one thousand. The Critical edition states, ten times. This makes deduction of the duration difficult.