53 Partha means Pritha’s (Kunti’s) son and Bhimasena is also Partha.
54 Yudhishthira.
55 The text translates as an animal with five nails. Specifically, it could be a tiger, a lion, an elephant, a turtle, or any other such animal.
56 Arjuna.
57 Dhana means riches and jaya means to win.
58 Vijaya means victory.
59 Shveta means white and vahana means mount.
60 In the list of twenty-seven nakshatras, Purva Phalguni is eleventh and Uttara Phalguni is twelfth. Both are in the constellation of Leo, Uttara Phalguni being Denebola.
61 Kirita means a diadem or crown and one who wears it is Kiriti.
62 Bibhatsu means someone who terrifies. There is a bit of a contradiction, since Arjuna does perform terrible deeds in battle.
63 Savyasachi actually means the left-handed one. Most people draw the string of the bow with the right hand. Arjuna could do this with the left hand too. Thus, he was Savyasachi. But he could do this with the right hand also and both of his hands were like right hands. Thus, he was ambidextrous.
64 Arjuna means white or clear.
65 Arjuna is Indra’s son and Indra killed a demon named Paka.
66 Jishnu means one who is victorious or triumphant and it is also one of Indra’s names.
67 Krishna means dark or black.
68 Shiva is the wielder of the trident.
69 Shatakratu is Indra’s name and literally means the performer of one hundred sacrifices.
70 Yudhishthira.
71 Meaning Yudhishthira.
72 Because the one year of disguise is over.
73 Daruka is Vasudeva’s (Krishna’s) charioteer and Matali is Shakra’s (Indra’s).
74 Sugriva, Sainya, Meghapushpa and Balahaka are the names of Krishna’s horses.
75 Arjuna.
76 Because that was Uttara’s.
77 This was Arjuna’s banner. Vishvakarma is the architect of the gods.
78 The fire god Agni.
79 Alternatively, birds in general.
80 Addressing Duryodhana.
81 The Trigartas.
82 Ashvatthama.
83 Indra wields the vajra.
84 The sense is that soldiers wouldn’t flee alive from the field of battle.
85 Drona.
86 The Pandavas.
87 Indra.
88 The text uses the word ayushmat, which means someone with a long life. But it is also used for someone who has been born in a noble lineage.
89 A makara is a mythical aquatic animal, which can loosely be translated as crocodile or shark. The abode of makaras is the ocean.
90 Adding up to thirteen. Arjuna has been thinking of the impending battle for thirteen years.
91 Duryodhana.
92 Karna was taught by Parashurama, Jamadagni’s son.
93 The word used is bhalla, which can mean some other kind of missile too.
94 The cattle.
95 Arjuna saved the Kurus from the gandharvas, a story told in Section 39 (Volume 3). Arjuna satisfied the fire god Agni in Khandava, a story told in Section 19 (Volume 3).
96 This is the story of Arjuna’s sojourn in heaven, recounted in Section 32 (Volume2).
97 Recounted in Section 17 (Volume 2).
98 As has been mentioned earlier, Krishna is one of Arjuna’s names. The other Krishna in the sentence is Krishnaa or Droupadi and the reference is to her abduction by Jayadratha, recounted in Section 42 (Volume 3).
99 Section 32 (Volume2).
100 Samyamini means the self-restrained one, or an ascetic. It is also the name of Yama’s city. However, there is no record of Arjuna having fought with Yama. Thus, it is difficult to pinpoint this.
101 Section 39 (Volume 3).
102 Described in Section 35 (Volume 3).
103 The Pandavas.
104 Goad for the elephant, ankusha.
105 Indra.
106 Drona, Duryodhana, Bhishma, Karna, Ashvatthama and Kripa.
107 The supreme soul, brahman or paramatman.
108 Droupadi.
109 The sense seems to be that one was myopic and didn’t allow the sandalwood tree to grow.
110 This is a reference to Vidura’s censure, described in Section 27 (Volume 2).
111 Leaving none of us alive.
112 Indra.
113 Krishna’s.
114 Divine and human weapons respectively.
115 Though spoken to Karna, Ashvatthama is indirectly addressing Duryodhana.
116 Other than yugas or eras, krita, treta, dvapara and kali are also the names of the number of spots when a die is thrown. Krita is when four spots show up on top, treta is three, dvapara is two and kali is one.
117 Antaka and Shamana are both names of Yama, the god of death.
118 The subterranean fire, vadava.
119 Drona.
120 The five Pandavas.
121 Ashvatthama.
122 Ashvatthama.
123 Drona, Ashvatthama and Kripa are brahmanas. Brahmastras are divine weapons, immensely powerful.
124 The four Vedas stand for knowledge.
125 Indra killed a demon named Paka.
126 The cattle.
127 The son of Ganga, Bhishma.
128 A kala is a small unit of time. Its precise length varies according to the source and can be one minute, forty-eight seconds or eight seconds. A muhurta is forty-eight minutes.
129 There is a minor misstatement in the numbers. The twelve lunar months, with their respective days, add up to 354 days and eight hours. But the solar year has 365 days and six hours. Hence, there is an excess of eleven days in every year and fifty-five days in every five years, just short of two months.
130 There is an implicit astronomical calculation that is not obvious. If one takes the simple statement of two additional months in every five years, the text should have stated five months and fourteen or fifteen days (depending on what is being taken as the length of the lunar month). On the other hand, if one is being precise, there are an extra 143 days in thirteen years. Whatever be the length of the lunar month, this doesn’t add up to five months and twelve days. For example, if the average lunar month is taken to be twenty-eight days, there are 140 days in five months and one has an excess of three days, not twelve.
131 Duryodhana.
132 Duryodhana.
133 Indra has a thousand eyes.
134 Arjuna.
135 An unrivalled warrior, whose valour is unlimited, greater than a maharatha.
136 Arjuna.
137 Vikarna.
138 An arrow tipped with the nail of a tortoise.
139 Shatrumtapa.
140 The word used is naga, which means tree, as well as rock or mountain. So it could also have been translated as a rock being dislodged from the top of the mountain.
141 Arjuna.
142 Because Karna has been defeated earlier.
143 Celestial chariot.
144 Kripa’s.
145 Arjuna.
146 Kripa was descended from the Goutama lineage, since Sharadvat was Goutama’s grandson.
147 Yamaka means double, as well as restraint. So this was some kind of double turn and could have been a figure of eight.
148 Drona, written better as Bhaaradvaja. He is Bharadvaja’s son.
149 Shukracharya, the preceptor of the demons.
150 The preceptor of the gods.
151 Dhanurveda.
152 Drona’s horses were red and Arjuna’s horses were white.
153 This is difficult to understand. It probably means that the arrows looked like beings that travel in the sky, such as birds.
154 The arrows were released so fast that they seemed to be joined to one another.
155 Vasava (Indra) killed a demon named Vritra.
156 Divine weapons named after Indra, Vayu and Agni respectively.
157 Of enemy warriors.
158 A kimshuka is a tree with red flowers.
160 The god of rain, Indra.
161 Ashvatthama.
162 Implying that the period of exile is not yet over.
163 Arjuna’s.
164 Karna.
165 Bhishma’s standard had a golden palm.
166 Arjuna was ambidextrous.
167 Described in Section 35 (Volume 3).
168 Prajapati means the lord of all beings. Since Brahma has been separately mentioned, it is not clear who is meant here.
169 Described in Section 35 (Volume 3).
170 More correctly, Vaaruna.
171 Another name for Vayu.
172 Bhishma.
173 Arjuna.
174 Duhshasana’s.
175 Duryodhana.
176 The reference is to the destruction at the end of an era.
177 Arjuna.
178 Named after Indra.
179 Indra’s weapon (bow) is the rainbow.
180 Bhishma was Ganga’s son.
181 The word used is pradakshina, which means to circle. But more specifically, it means to circle from the right.
182 Vasava is Indra. Bali was a demon who defeated and conquered Indra, and was later vanquished by Vishnu in his vamana (dwarf) incarnation. However, a typo is possible, since there was a demon named Bala who was killed by Indra.
183 Divine weapons named after Prajapati, Indra, Agni, Kubera, Varuna, Yama and Vayu respectively.
184 Shvetavahana is Arjuna’s name.
185 The divine weapons.
186 That is, Duryodhana pierced Arjuna.
187 Duryodhana.
188 Arjuna.
189 Ajamidha was a common ancestor.
190 The elephant.
191 Duryodhana.
192 Partha means son of Pritha (Kunti) and Yudhishthira, Bhima and Arjuna are all Parthas.
193 Kings.
194 Duryodhana means someone who it is difficult to fight with.
195 An atiratha is greater than a maharatha. In this context, atiratha is being used for Arjuna and maharatha for Duryodhana.
196 Duryodhana’s.
197 Sammohana is a divine weapon that causes one to lose one’s senses. The god of love has five arrows and one of these is also named sammohana.
198 Because they were unconscious. Presumably, the sammohana weapon, rather than the conch shell, made them unconscious.
199 Virata’s daughter Uttaraa.
200 Kripa’s.
201 Duryodhana.
202 Bhishma’s own army had not lost its senses, thanks to Bhishma.
203 Rahu is the demon who causes an eclipse. But the sun (the one with one thousand rays) emerges from the eclipse.
204 Asked Bhishma.
205 Heaven, earth and the nether regions.
206 Devadatta is the name of Arjuna’s conch shell.
207 Arjuna.
208 The critical edition skips some shlokas where Arjuna explains why Uttara should take the credit for the victory.
1 Horses, elephants, chariots and infantry.
2 Yudhishthira, Kanka being the name he assumed.
3 The sister, Uttaraa.
4 The word used is shringara.
5 The sign of the svastika, an auspicious symbol.
6 Sairandhri is a maidservant. Sairandhri is also the name Droupadi assumed. It is not clear whether Virata is addressing Droupadi, or some other maidservant. Since Droupadi is present, as a later incident shows, it could have been Droupadi.
7 Yudhishthira.
8 Virata is so delighted that he will give everything away in a fit of generosity.
9 Kshatta has different meanings, attendant, doorkeeper, charioteer, the son of a shudra man and a kshatriya woman, the son of a female slave. Here, the reference is to the gatekeeper.
10 Yudhishthira.
11 Droupadi.
12 Because of Arjuna’s vow.
13 Uttara’s mother Sudeshna hailed from Kekaya. Thus, she is referred to as Kaikeyi.
14 Drona.
15 The Yadavas.
16 Indra.
17 Kripa.
18 Karna.
19 Arjuna.
20 Arjuna and Prince Uttara respectively. Arjuna and Uttara decided on a plan for the Pandavas to reveal themselves.
21 Of living in concealment for the thirteenth year.
22 An auspicious sign.
23 Kubera is the lord of riches.
24 A snataka is a brahmana who has completed his period of celibate student life and is about to step into the householder stage.
25 The story has been recounted in Section 35 (Volume 3). The word used in the text for demons is krodhavasha, those who are prone to anger.
26 This has been recounted in Section 46. It was said that a gandharva had killed Kichaka.
27 Shringara.
28 Meaning Arjuna. This is the princess Uttaraa.
29 In the fight with the Trigartas.
30 A sign of affection towards someone younger or junior.
31 Arjuna.
32 The Kouravas.
33 Abhimanyu’s mother Subhadra was Krishna’s sister.
34 Krishna is the wielder of the chakra.
35 Virata is addressing Yudhishthira now.
36 Arjuna.
37 Upaplavya was the name of a city in Virata’s kingdom.
38 The Dasharhas are the Yadavas and they lived in the Anarta region, roughly corresponding to today’s Sourashtra. When the Pandavas were banished, Abhimanyu and Subhadra went to live with the Yadavas.
39 An akshouhini is a large army and consists of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 horses and 109,350 soldiers on foot.
40 Drupada.
41 For the cause of the Pandavas.
42 Balarama is the wielder of the plough. Vanamali is one of Krishna’s names.
43 The names of various Yadavas. Yuyudhana is one of Satyaki’s names. Hardikya is one of Kritavarma’s names.
44 Yudhishthira’s charioteer.
45 Virata gave Abhimanyu.
46 The one without decay, Krishna’s name.
1 The grandfather is Shurasena. Shurasena’s son was Vasudeva. Vasudeva had two wives, Devaki and Rohini. Rohini’s son was Balarama, the Rama referred to in the text. Krishna (Janardana) was younger to Balarama and was Devaki’s son.
2 Drupada is the king of Panchala. Rohini’s son is Balarama. The foremost among the Shinis is a reference to Satyaki. The Yadavas are referred to by different names, depending on the ancestor from whom the lineage is being drawn. They were all descended from Yadu. Further down the line, there were ancestors like Andhaka, Satvata, Vrishni, Shini and Bhoja.
3 Pradyumna was Krishna’s son, through Rukmini. Samba was Krishna’s son, through Jambavati.
4 Shakuni.
5 The Pandavas.
6 Yudhishthira.
7 This is a reference to the conquest by the Pandavas, described in Section 23 (Volume 2).
8 The Kouravas.
9 Yudhishthira.
10 The Kouravas.
11 The Pandavas.
12 The Kouravas.
13 Balarama. Balarama is also known as Baladeva.
14 Other than Devaki and Rohini, Vasudeva had other wives too. In different texts, the number of his wives is given as twelve, thirteen or fourteen. One of these wives was Devarakshita and Gada is Devarakshita’s son. Gada’s elder brother is thus Krishna.
15 Ajatashatru is one of Yudhishthira’s names, meaning one without enemies, one for whom enemies have not been born.
16 Meaning, half of the kingdom.
17 Dhritarashtra. Vichitravirya was Dhritarashtra’s father.
18 Shakuni.
19 Karna.
20 The first gambling match has been described in Section 27 (Volume 2). Balarama’s statement is not quite correct. The only one who had warned Yudhishthira was Vidura.
21 Yudhishthira’s name.
22 The messenger.
23 Madhu is one of the ancestors of the Yadavas.
; 24 Satyaki.
25 A fine distinction is being drawn. In Section 27 (Volume 2), Yudhishthira told Vidura that he was under a vow that he would not refuse to go if summoned to a gambling match. Had that match been held in his house, while he was already gambling, that vow would not have come in the way.
26 As described in the critical edition, there is nothing in Section 27 (Volume 2) which suggests that there was an actual act of deceit.
27 The Kouravas.
28 This jumps the gun and there is an inconsistency. Thus far, the Kouravas have not claimed this and the question has not arisen.
29 Satyaki’s name.
30 Krishna.
31 Parshata is Drupada’s name and Dhrishtadyumna is Drupada’s son.
32 Subhadra’s son, Abhimanyu.
33 The word used is atatayin and is used for someone who commits a heinous crime, like a thief, a felon, an arsonist, a murderer, or a rapist.
34 Yudhishthira’s.
35 The word used is karpanya and the best translation is poverty. The sense is that Bhishma and Drona owe their living to the Kouravas. Radheya is Karna and Soubala is Shakuni.
36 The king of Madra.
37 The king of Chedi.
38 The king of Magadha.
39 The region of the Punjab.
40 Drupada was the king of Panchala and the Somakas seem to have been synonymous with the Panchalas. However, in some places, there is a suggestion that the Somakas were a sub-branch of the Panchalas.
41 Krishna is addressing Drupada.
42 Before Drona arrived, Kripa was the preceptor. However, Drona and Drupada’s relationships were subsequently strained.
43 The other kings.
44 The Pandavas.
45 Shukra is the preceptor of the demons. Though the text says Angirasa, it should be interpreted as Angirasa’s son. The sage Angirasa’s son was Brihaspati, the preceptor of the gods.
46 Pushya is the eighth nakshatra and is regarded as the most auspicious. The etymology of the word Pushya also means ‘nourishing’. A muhurta is a period of forty-eight minutes and there are fifteen muhurtas during the day and fifteen muhurtas during the night. Some of these are good, while others are not. In the standard listing of these thirty muhurtas, the name ‘Jaya’ does not occur. Instead, some conjunctions on specific lunar days (tithis) signify ‘Jaya’ or victory. The best muhurta is ‘Brahma’, which occurs towards dawn, the specific time depending on the time of sunrise. However, in the standard listing of muhurtas, there is a name Pushya, which is good, but not as good as ‘Brahma’. This occurs late in the evening, the specific time depending on the time of sunrise. Therefore, the priest probably left at dawn or late in the evening.
Mahabharata: Volume 4 Page 60