1713. Literally, the world is only a hold of action, implying that creatures, coming here, have to act: these actions lead to rewards and punishments, both here and hereafter. The way to Emancipation is, as has been often shown before, by exhausting the consequences of acts by enjoyment or sufferance and by abstaining from further acts by adopting the religion of Nivritti.
1714. Kulapatam is explained by the commentator as Mahanadipuram. In Naram etc, venumivodahritam (as in the Bombay text) or venumivoddhhatam (as in the Bengal text) is rather unintelligible unless it be taken in the sense in which I have taken it. K. P. Singha mistranslates Kulapatam, and the Burdwan translator misunderstands both Kulaparam and venumivoddhatam.
1715. i.e., to uphold it by doing the duties of a Brahmanas.
1716. Prachalita-dharma etc, implies those that have fallen away from righteousness. The Burdwan translator misunderstands the verse. Karanabhih is kriabhih.
1717. The Commentator explains that this verse is for assuring Yudhishthira that kings are competent to obtain felicity in the next world. Anupagatam is explained by the Commentator as not attainable in even thousands of births.
1718. Rudhirapah is blood-sucking worms. Uparatam is dead.
1719. The ten boundaries or commandments, as mentioned by the Commentator, are the five positive ones, viz., Purity, Contentment, Penances, Study of the Vedas, Meditation on God, and the five negative ones, viz., abstention from cruelty, from untruth, from theft, from non-observance of vows, and from acquisition of wealth.
1720. Chirasya is grammatically connected with na vudhyase, meaning 'that thou art always blind etc.' The Burdwan translator misunderstands it completely and takes it as equivalent to achirena. K. P. Singha skips over it.
1721. The Burdwan translator gives a ridiculous version of the verse.
1722. Kevalam nidhim is literally, 'one's only treasure'. It may imply either Samadhi or Brahma. Acts, whether good or bad, all arise from error. Abstention from acts is the true way to Emancipation.
1723. The passions are spoken of as wolves.
1724. The sight of golden trees is a premonitory sign of Death.
1725. Literally rendered, the verse would run thus: Before the cooking is complete of the Yavaka of a rich man, in fact, while it is still uncooked, thou mayst meet with death. Do thou, therefore, hasten. By Yavaka is meant a particular kind of food made of ghee and flour or barley.
1726. In verse 53 it is said that the Soul is the witness in the other world of all acts and omission in this life. In verse 54, what is said is that the existence of the Soul when the body is not, is possible, for Yogins, in Yoga, live in their Soul, unconscious the while of their bodies. The entrance of the acting-Chaitanya into that Chaitanya which survives as the witness means the death of the body.
1727. The Burdwan translator gives an erroneous version of this verse.
1728. I think the sense is that only righteousness can bring a man to the path that leads to happiness and not mere instructions howsoever repeated.
1729. The Commentator explains that Pramadagah is equivalent to Pramadagrihavasin and refers to Antakah. Chamum is Indriyasenam. Grahitam is body. Yathagrahitam is dehamanatikramya. In this verse pura may mean either in the near future or soon, or pura may mean before, i.e., before the Destroyer makes thy senses so, etc.
1730. The road in which thyself shalt be in front and thyself in the rear is the road of Self-knowledge. The Burdwan translator does not understand how the first line comes to mean Knowledge of Self! Accordingly, though he uses the word amajnana (following the Commentator), yet he erroneously repeats some of the words used in the line.
1731. The last word of the second line is muchyate and not yujyate. If yujyate be adhered to, meaning would be 'freed the consequences of ignorance and error, he would succeed in attaining to Brahma.'
1732. This is a very abstruse verse. I have rendered it, following the lead of the Commentator, Srutam, he explains it 'the knowledge, born of vedic declarations like Tattwamasi etc.' Sarvamasnute is equivalent to samastam Brahmandam vyapnoti, meaning such knowledge leads to sarvatmyam, i.e., omniscience Tadetat etc., i.e., that omniscience is the darsanam, of parampurushartha or Moksha. Kritajna upadishtam artham is Samhitam.
1733. The sense is that in course of our repeated rebirths we have got these relations repeatedly and will get them as repeatedly. But we are, in reality, quite unconnected with them. Their union with us like the union of pieces of wood floating in a river, now joined together temporarily, now separated.
1734. Mokshadaisikam is explained by the commentator as Mokshandeshataram. K. P. Singha wrongly renders this word. This section is called pavakadhyayanam, meaning chitta-sodhakadhyayanam, that is, the lesson which, when read and mastered, is to lead to the cleansing of the heart.
1735. Time, as a personified agent, is throwing all creatures at unequal distances. Some are thrown near and some to a great distance. These distances are regulated by the nature of the acts done by the creatures thrown. Some are cast among animals, some among men. Throwing or hurling them thus, Time drags them again, the binding-cords being always in his hands.
1736. Both the vernacular translators have misunderstood the first line of this verse although there is no difficulty in it. Apastamva says drishto dharma-vyatikrama; Sahasancha purvesham. What Bhishma says here is that one should not speak of those instances of Vyatikramah and Sahasam.
1737. Although the Vedas came to Suka of their own accord, yet he was in deference to the universal custom, obliged to formally acquire them from a preceptor.
1738. Vyasa was the priest or Ritwija of the house of Mithila and as such the kings of Mithila were his Yajyas or Yajamanas. The duty of a Yajamana is to reverence every member of the priest's family. The sire, therefore, cautions the son that he should not, while living with the king of Mithila, assert his superiority over him in any respect.
1739. It is certain that one must abandon all acts before one can attain to Emancipation. But then acts should not be cast off all at once. It is according to this order that they should be abandoned, i.e., in the order of the several modes.
1740. The karanas are the inner faculties.
1741. i.e., when Emancipation and omniscience have been attained in the very first mode of life, no further need exists for conforming to the three other modes of life.
1742. i.e., behold the Supreme Soul by his own Soul.
1743. Instead of papakam some texts read pavakam, meaning of the nature of fire.
1744. After manasa, saha is understood. It does not mean that the senses are to be restrained by the mind, but the words imply that the mind and the senses are to be restrained. K. P. Singha renders the line correctly. The Burdwan translator, as usual, is careless.
1745. K. P. Singha skips over this verse.
1746. i.e., he turned his soul's gaze on his soul and withdrew himself from every worldly object.
1747. He no longer walked like ordinary men. Without trailing along the solid support of the Earth, he proceeded through the sky.
1748. Popularly, Bhimaraja, the Lanius Malabaricus.
1749. It is believed that a person, by performing austere penances, scorches the three worlds. It is in consequence of this effect of penances that the superior deities were always compelled by the Asuras and Danavas to grant them whatever boons they solicited.
1750. The sense is that if the Vedas are not constantly studied, they are likely to be forgotten.
1751. Upaplava is Rahu or the ascending node. In many parts of Upper India, during the hot months in particular, large quantities of dust are raised by whirl winds in the afternoon or at evening called Andhi the clouds of dust cover the moon for hours together.
1752. The lowest order of men, living by slaying animals.
1753. The verse in the Bengal texts is a triplet. In the Bombay edition, the third line is excluded from verse 36. There is no inconvenience in this, only, it should be construed as referring to the wind called Samana or Pravaha.
1754. Some texts read Jaytamvarah. If this be accepted, it should be an adjective of Parivaha, meaning the foremost of all in the strength or energy.
1755. The sacred river Ganga has it is said, three courses or streams. One flows on the surface of the Earth, the second flows through the nether regions, and the third flows through heaven.
1756. The first line runs into the second.
1757. Penances should be protected from wrath. By penances one attains to great power. The ascetic's puissance frequently equals that of Brahman himself. If, however, the ascetic indulges in wrath and curses one from wrath, his puissance becomes diminished. For this reason, forgiveness is said to be the highest virtue a Brahmana can practise. A Brahmana's might lay in forgiveness. Knowledge also should be protected from honour and dishonour, i.e. one should never _receive_ honour for his knowledge, that is, do anything for the object of achieving honour. Similarly, one should never do anything which may have the effect of dishonouring one's knowledge. These are some of the highest duties preached in scriptures.
1758. The saying Satyadapi hitam vadet is frequently misunderstood. The scriptures do not say that truth should be sacrificed in view of what is beneficial, for such view will militate with the saying that there is nothing higher than truth. The saying has reference to those exceptional instances where truth becomes a source of positive harm. The story of the Rishi who spoke the truth respecting the place where certain travellers lay concealed, when questioned by certain robbers who were for killing the travellers, is an instance to the point. The goldsmith's son who died with a falsehood on his lips for allowing his lawful prince to escape from the hands of his pursuers did a meritorious act of loyalty. Then, again, the germ of the utilitarian theory may be detected in the second line of this verse.
1759. To conquer the unconquerable means to attain to Brahma.
1760. In the Srutis, Paravara is an equivalent for the Supreme Soul. The correct reading is nasyati at the end of the first line, and not pasyati as in some of the Bengal texts. Adhering to pasyati (which gives no meaning), the Burdwan translator gives a ridiculous and unmeaning version of this verse. K. P. Singha, of course, adopts the correct reading.
1761. This verse is not at all difficult. The sense is that the man who transcends all attachments never comes to grief if brought into union with other creatures. The Burdwan translator gives a thoroughly unmeaning version of this couplet.
1762. The object of this verse is to show that men of knowledge do not perform sacrifices, in which, as a matter of course, a large number of creatures is slain. Men wedded to the religion of Pravriti perform sacrifices. Coming into the world in consequence of past acts, they seek happiness (by repairing to heaven) along the way of sacrifices and religious rites. A large number of creatures is slain, for besides the victims ostensibly offered, an infinite number of smaller and minuter creatures are killed in the sacrificial fires and in course of the other preparations that are made in sacrifices.
1763. Sorrow increases by indulgence.
1764. This is a very doubtful verse. The commentator is silent. I follow the meaning as it lies on the surface. The object of the verse seems to be this: there are men that are employed in reflecting upon the nature of things: these should know that such occupation is useless, for truly the nature of things is beyond the grasp of the mind. The greatest philosopher is ignorant of all the virtues of a blade of grass, the purpose for which it exists, the changes that it undergoes every instant of time and from day to day. Those men, however, who have such unprofitable occupation for walking along the highest path (the path, that is, which leads to Brahma) free themselves from grief.
1765. I am not sure that I have understood this verse correctly.
1766. What is intended to be said is that the gratification of the senses leaves nothing behind. The pleasure lasts as long as the contact continues of the objects with the senses. The Burdwan translator, not suspecting that the word used is adhana, gives a ridiculous version.
1767. What is said here is this: a man has spouses and children, or wealth, etc.: there was no sorrow when these were not: with his union with these his sorrow commences. Hence, when these things disappear, an intelligent man should not indulge in any sorrow. Bonds or attachments are always productive of grief. When bonds are severed or destroyed, there ought to be no grief.
1768. i.e., whose pleasures do not depend upon external objects such as spouses and children.
1769. Vidhitsabhih is pipasabhih. It comes from dhe meaning drinking.
1770. Vyasa lived in northern India and was evidently unacquainted with the tides that appear in the Bengal rivers.
1771. The object of this verse is to show the utility and necessity of acts. Without acting no one, however clever, can earn any fruit. Both the vernacular translators give ridiculous versions of this plain aphorism.
1772. Asi is used in the sense of akansha.
1773. Naprapyanadhigachchati is na aprayam etc.
1774. I do not quite understand in what the fault lies that is referred to here. Perhaps the sense is this. In Hindu philosophy, the vital seed is said to be generated by the sight of a desirable woman. When sexual congress takes place with one whose sight has not originated the vital seed but with another it fails to be productive. Whoever indulges in such intercourse is to blame.
1775. Parasarirani has prapnuvanti understood after it. Chinnavijam means whose seed has broken, that is the creature whose gross body has met with destruction. The gross body is called the Vijam or seed of (heaven and hell). The sense of the verse is that every one, after death, attains to a new body. A creature can never exist without the bonds of body being attached to him. Of course, the case is otherwise with persons who succeed in achieving their Emancipation by the destruction of all acts. The Burdwan translator, following the commentator faithfully, renders this verse correctly. K. P. Singha skips over it entirely.
1776. This is not a difficult verse. Then, again, the commentator explains it carefully. K. P. Singha gives a ridiculous version. The Burdwan translator is correct. Nirddagdham and vinasyantam imply the dying or dead. Jivar paradeham chalachalam ahitam bhavati means another body, as much subject to destruction, is kept ready.
1777. I expand this verse a little for bringing out its meaning. What is said here is that some come out of the womb alive; some die there before being quickened with life, the reason being that their acts of past lives bring for them other bodies even at that stage.
1778. This verse is certainly a 'crux.' The commentator, I think, displays considerable ingenuity in explaining it. The order of the words is Gatayushah tasya sahajatasya pancha saptamim navamim dasam prapnuvanti; tatah na bhavanti; sa na. The ten stages of a person's life are (1) residence within the womb, (2) birth, (3) infancy, up to 5 years, (4) childhood, up to 12 years, (5) Pauganda up to 16 years, (6) youth, up to 48 years, (7) old age, (8) decrepitude, (9) suspension of breath, (10) destruction of body.
1779. Niyuktah means employed. I take it to imply employed in the task of conquering Nature. It may also mean, set to their usual tasks by the influence of past acts. Nature here means, of course the grand laws to which human existence is subject, viz., the law of birth, of death, of disease and decrepitude etc.
1780. Uparyupari implies gradual superiority. If one becomes wealthy, one desires to be a councillor; if a councillor, one wishes to be prime minister; and so on. The sense of the verse is that man's desire to rise is insatiable.
1781. The reading I prefer is asathah and not sathah. If the latter reading be kept, it would mean of both descriptions are seen to pay court to the wicked.
1782. Avavandhah is low attachments, implying those that appertain to the body. In fact, the acquisition of the body itself is such an attachment. What is said here is that Jiva who has become enlightened becomes freed from the obligation of rebirth or contact with body once more.
1783. The mass of effulgence constituting the Sun is nothing else than Brahma. Brahma is pure effulgence. Savitri-mandala-madhyavartir-Narayanah does not mean a deity with a physical form in the midst of the solar effulgence but incorporeal and universal Brahma. That effulgence is adored in the Gayatri.
1784. The commentator takes Shomah to mean Shomagath Jivah. He does not explain the rest of the verse. The grammatical construction presents no difficulty. If Shomah be taken in the sense in which the Commentator explains it, the meaning would be this. He who enters the solar effulgence has not to undergo any change, unlike Shomah and the deities who have to undergo changes, for they fall down upon the exhaustion of their merit and re-ascend when they once more acquire merit. Both the vernacular translators have made a mess of the verse. The fact is, there are two paths, archiradi-margah and dhumadi-margah. They who go by the former, reach Brahma and have never to return. While they who go by the latter way, enjoy felicity for some time and then come back.
1785. Here, the words Sun and Moon are indicative of the two different paths mentioned in the note immediately before.
1786. What Suka says here is that he would attain to universal Brahma and thus identify himself with all things.
1787. Jahasa hasam is an instance in Sanskrit of the cognate government of neuter verbs.
1788. The Rishis knew that the height of the atmosphere is not interminable.
1789. In this Section, Bhishma recites to Yudhishthira the fact of Suka's departure from this world, and Vyasa's grief at that occurrence. He speaks of the fact as one that had been related to him bygone times by both Narada and Vyasa himself. It is evident from this that the Suka who recited the Srimad Bhagavat to Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, could not possibly be the Suka who was Vyasa's son.
1790. What Bhishma says here is that without faith this subject is incapable of being understood.
1791. This is a triplet. The last word of the third line, viz., Swayambhuvah refers to Krishnah, but it has no special meaning. It is an adjective used more for the sake of measure than for anything else.
1792. The golden cars referred to here are the fleshly bodies of the two deities. The body is called the car because like the car, it is propelled by some force other than the Soul which owns it for a time, the Soul being inactive. It is regarded as golden because every one becomes attached to it as something very valuable. The eight wheels are Avidya and the rest.
1793. i.e., the hands, the feet, the stomach, and the organ of pleasure. The hands are said to be protected when they are restrained from the commission of all improper acts; the feet are said to be duly protected when they are restrained from touching all improper places. The stomach is said to be protected when one never takes any kind of improper food, and when one abstains from all evil acts for appeasing one's hunger. And lastly, one is said to restrain the organ of pleasure when one abstains from all acts of improper congress.
1794. The word Mushka as ordinarily understood, implies the scrotum or testes. The commentator Nilakantha supposes that it may stand for the shoulder-knot. He believes that the phrase implies that the people of this island had each four arms.
1795. The Sattwata ritual is explained by the Commentator to mean the Pancharatra ritual. Tachecheshena implies with what remained after Vishnu's worship was over.
1796. i.e., dedicated his possessions to the service of Narayana, and held them as the great God's custodian. In other words, he never regarded his wealth as his own, but was always ready to devote it to all good and pious purposes.
1797. i.e., the treatise those Rishis composed was the foremost of its kind in respect of choice and harmony of vocables, of import or sense and of reasons with which every assertion was fortified.
1798. There are two religions, viz., that of Pravritti, implying act and observances, and that of Nivritti, implying a complete abstention from all acts and observances. The last is also called the religion of Emancipation.
1799. Whether any work on morality and religion was over actually composed by the seven Rishis or not, no such work, it is certain, is in existence now. Besides this mention of the work in the Mahabharata, no reference to it has been made anywhere else. As to Sukra-niti it is extant, Vrihaspati's niti-sastram is defunct. It is probable, however, that before Saba-niti there was an anterior work, brief if not exhaustive on the same subjects.
1800. Paryyaya literally means a list. The fact is, in all Sanskrit lexicons words expressive of the same meanings occur together. These lists are known by the name of Paryyaya. A more definite idea of the meaning of this word may be had by the English reader when he remembers that in a lexicon like Roget's Thesaurus, groups are given of words expressive of the same signification. Such groups are called Paryyayas.
1801. The Hotri has to pour libations on the sacrificial fire, reciting mantras the while. Sadasyas are persons that watch the sacrifice, i.e., take care that the ordinances of the scriptures are duly complied with. They are, what is called, Vidhidarsinas.
1802. Clarified butter offered in sacrifices, with cakes of powdered barley steeped in it.
1803. Professor Weber supposes that in this narrative of the three Rishis Ekata, Dwita, and Trita, the poet is giving a description of either Italy or some island in the Mediterranean, and of a Christian worship that certain Hindu pilgrims might have witnessed. Indeed, a writer in the Calcutta Review has gone so far as to say that from what follows, the conjecture would not be a bold one that the whole passage refers to the impression made on certain Hindu pilgrims upon witnessing the celebration of the Eucharist according to the ordinances of the Roman Catholic Church. The Honble K. P. Telang supposes that the whole passage is based on the poets imagination. Ekantabhavepagatah is taken by some to mean worshippers of the divine Unity. I do not think that such a rendering would be correct.
1804. The Bombay reading is tadapratihato abhavat. This seems to be better than the Bengal reading tato-apratihata. If the Bengal reading be adhered to, apratihatah should be taken in the sense of nasti pratihatoyasmat. The meaning, of course, would remain the same.
1805. Yapa means the silent recitation of certain sacred mantras or of the name of some deity. In the case of the inhabitants of White Island, the silent recitation was no recitation of mantras or words, but was a meditation on incorporeal Brahma. The next verse makes this clear.
1806. This would seem to show that it was the Roman Republic which the pilgrims saw.
1807. Professor Weber thinks that this has reference to the absence of idols or images. The pilgrims saw no deities there such as they had in their own temples.
1808. Professor Weber wrongly renders the words Purvaja and sikshaksharaiamanwitah. The first word does not, as he renders it, imply, eldest son of God, but simply first-born. It is seen in almost every hymn in the Mahabharata to the Supreme Deity. It is synonymous with Adipurusha. Then siksha etc. does not, as he thinks, mean 'accompanied by teaching,' but it is the science of Orthoepy and is one of the Angas (limbs) of the Vedas. The Vedas were always chanted melodiously, the science of Orthoepy was cultivated by the Rishis with great care.
1809. The Pancha-kala, or Pancha-ratra, or Sattwatas vidhi, means certain ordinances laid down by Narada and other Rishis in respect of the worship of Narayana.
1810. The sense is this: as all of them were practising that frame of mind which resembles Brahma, they did not regard us, i.e., neither honoured nor dishonoured us.
1811. Both the vernacular translators have erred in rendering this simple verse.
1812. The construction seems to be this: Parangatimanuprapta iti Brahmanah samanantaram naishthikam sthanam, etc. It does not mean, as K. P. Singha puts it, that he proceeded to Brahman's region, nor, as the Burdwan translator puts it, that having gone to Brahman's region he attained to the highest end. The sense, on the other hand, is that as his was the very highest end, he, therefore, ascended to a spot that is higher than Brahman's region. The simple meaning is that king Uparichara attained to identification with Brahma.
1813. i.e., when they have cursed thee, their curse should fructify. Thou shouldst not do anything that may have the effect of nullifying that curse.
1814. To this day, in many religious rites, these streaks of ghee are poured with mantras recited the while. They are called Vasudhara and are poured along the surface of a wall. First, a waving line of red is drawn horizontally on the wall. Then seven spots are made under that line. Then with the sacrificial ladle, Ghee is poured from each of the spots in such a way that a thick streak is poured along the wall. The length of those streaks is generally 3 to 4 feet and their breadth about half an inch.
1815. The mantras recited by Vasu were Vedic mantras.
1816. The Burdwan translator, as also K. P. Singha, both err in translating the first line of this verse. It does not mean that Narada worshipped them with a bend of his head and that they in return worshipped him mentally.
1817. In the sense of His being unmodified, even as space is an entity that cannot be modified in any way.
1818. i.e., as the commentator expands, who is displayed without any modification, all else being modifications of Thyself.
1819. i.e., from whom speech has flowed, or who is Vrihaspati the celestial priest, so famous for his learning and intelligence.
1820. i.e., the original home of the universe. The idea is that when the universal dissolution comes, all things take refuge in thee. I follow the commentator in all the interpretations he gives.
1821. i.e., who has performed the avabhrita or final bath upon the completion of all vows and observances and sacrifices.
1822. i.e., thou hast performed sacrifices.
1823. The Vedas have six limbs or divisions.
1824. Pragjyotish is the name of a particular Saman. The Rich beginning with Murdhanam etc. when sung, comes to be called by the name of jeshtha Saman. What is said here, therefore, is that thou art both the foremost of Samanas and he that sings that Saman.
1825. In the Bombay text, the reading for Vainagarbha is Vaikhanasa which means a class or sect of ascetics.
1826. The commentator explains that by Mahayajna--great sacrifice--is meant Yoga. The Jiva-Soul is like the libation poured in the sacrifice, for by Yoga the Jiva-Soul is annihilated and merged into the Supreme Soul.
1827. In treatises on the Smriti, the indications of these three kinds or degrees of modifications are given.
1828. By this word is meant a particular conjunction of heavenly bodies. This conjunction is represented as having a peculiar form.
1829. The word Upanaha used here in the dual number, has puzzled many persons. It is difficult to conceive why the great God should appear with a pair of shoes in one of his hands. Probably, the Upanaha, in ancient times, was a wooden sandal, and what the poet means to say is that Narayana, appeared with all the requisites of a Brahmacharin on his person.
1830. i.e., merges into.
1831. This cosmogony is agreeable to the Vaishnava scriptures. Above all, without beginning is Vasudeva. From Vasudeva is Sankarshana. From Sankarashana is Pradyumna. From Pradyumna is Aniruddha. Some persons find in this quadruple creation the distinct trace of the Christian Trinity. It is very difficult, however, to say which doctrine, the Hindu or the Christian, is the original and which is derived from which.
1832. The reader is requested to mark the address 'king of kings'. This is evidently a slip of the pen. The whole speech is that of Narayana and Narada is the listener.
1833. The commentator is silent. The sense seems to be that as Brahman is to be the son of Narayana in the beginning of a Kalpa when there is no other existent object mobile or immobile, the same Brahman is to be vested with dominion over all things which he would himself create through Ahankara. Of course, as long as Brahman is without Ahankara so long there can be no Creation, i.e., no subjects mobile and immobile, to be known by different names.
1834. Nityada is always. Some persons believe that Narayana has to manifest himself always for achieving the business of the deities. This Earth is not the only world where such manifestations needed. As to the object of the manifestations considerable difference of opinion prevails. In the Gita, the great deity himself explains that that object is to rescue the good and destroy the wicked. Others hold that this is only a secondary object, the primary one being to gladden the hearts of the devout by affording them opportunities of worshipping him and applauding his acts, and to indulge in new joys by serving his own worshippers.
1835. This is a reference to the well-known description of Narayana as Savitrimandalamadhyavartih etc. It is not the visible Sun whose disc is meant, but that pure fountain of effulgence which is inconceivable for its dazzling brightness that is implied.
1836. The tense used in the original is future. What is meant, however, is that the great deity does these acts at the beginning of every Kalpa when he recreates the Earth. All cycles or Kalpas are similar in respect of the incidents that occur in them.
1837. Maheswara is Mahadeva or Siva, Mahasena is Kartikeya, the generalissimo of the celestial forces.
1838. Vana, the son of Vali, was a devout worshipper of Mahadeva. Mina's daughter Usha fell in love with Krishna's grandson Aniruddha. Aniruddha was imprisoned by Vana. It was to rescue Aniruddha that Krishna fought with Vana, after having vanquished both Mahadeva and Kartikeya. The thousand and one arms of Vana, less two, were lopped off by Krishna. The episode of the love of Aniruddha and Usha is a very beautiful one.
1839. Saubha was the name of a flying city of the Danavas. Krishna felled this city into the ocean, having killed all its Danava inhabitants. As to Kala-yavana, his death was brought about by Krishna under the following circumstances. Pursued by the Danava, Krishna took refuge in a mountain-cave in which a king of the Satya Yuga was lying asleep. Entering the cave, Krishna stood at the head of the sleeping king. The Danava, entering the cave after Krishna, found the sleeping king and awaked him. As soon as the king looked at the Danava, the latter was consumed into ashes, for the gods had given a boon to the king that he who would awake him would be consumed by a glance of his.
1840. The idea of Eternity without any conceivable beginning and conceivable end was so thoroughly realised by the Hindu sages that the chiefdom of Heaven itself was to them the concern of a moment. Nothing less than unchangeable felicity for all times was the object they pursued. All other things and states being mutable, and only Brahman being immutable, what they sought was an identification with Brahma. Such identification with the Supreme Soul was the Emancipation they sought. No other religion has ever been able to preach such a high ideal. The Hindu's concern is with Eternity. He regards his existence here as having the duration of but the millionth part of a moment. How to prevent re-birth and attain to an identification with the Supreme Soul is the object of his pursuit.
1841. K. P. Singha has completely misunderstood the sense of verse 113, Bhishma does not certainly mean that Brahman was unacquainted with the narrative. What Bhishma says is that it was not to Brahman, but to the Siddhas assembled in Brahman's abode, that Narada recited his narrative.
1842. K. P. Singha misunderstands verses 115 and 116 completely. The fact is, Surya recited the narrative unto those that precede and those that follow him in his journey through the firmament. K. P. Singha confounded the two classes of persons together. The Burdwan translator, as usual, makes nonsense of verse 116. The correct reading (as given in the Bombay text) is lokan, the grammatical construction being lokan tapatah suryasya etc. The Burdwan translator makes Surya repeat the narrative to the worlds created and placed before Surya.
1843. The drift of Saunaka's queries seems to be this the religion of Pravritti is opposed to that of Nivritti. How is it that both have been created by the same Narayana. How is it that he has made some with dispositions to follow the one, and others with dispositions to follow the others.
1844. Atmanah parinirmitam pralayam means that destruction or cessation of existences which is brought about by self-realization. What the king says here is,--If the religion of Nivritti be so superior in consequence of its superior end, why is it that the deities who are all superior to us did not pursue it? Were they ignorant of the method by which Emancipation is attainable? Were they ignorant of the means by which to win cessation of existence? K. P. Singha renders the verse correctly. The Burdwan translator misunderstands it although he repeats the exact words of the second foot of the second line.
1845. That is, the attributes of vision to Light, taste to Water, sound to Space, touch to Wind, and smell to Earth.
1846. Avritti lakshanam means that the reward to be bestowed shall not be Emancipation whence there is no return, but such reward (as the felicity of heaven) whence there will be a return for each of the receivers.
1847. Taking their rise from the fruits of Pravritti implies having their origin in their desire for such fruits as appertain to the religion of Pravritti or acts.