Book 12 edition notes 201–300

Probably, in the sense of there being exceptions and limitations in respect to them.

i.e., 'spread confusion on earth.'

The sense seems to be that having failed, after such comparison, to resolve their doubts, they waited upon Vishnu.

The Bengal reading satwatah seems to be an error. The Bombay text has saswatah.

Yama is explained by Nilakantha to mean Kshatriya dharmena.

Nilakantha thinks that Lingantargatam means omniscient. He is for taking this verse to mean--'Listen now to those duties about which thou askest my omniscient self.' Bhishma having acquired omniscience through Krishna's boon, refers to it here. The interpretation seems to be very far-fetched.

That object is Brahma.

i.e.. such a man acquires the merits of all the modes of life.

Dasadharmagatam is explained by Nilakantha as 'overcome with fear, etc.' Keeps his eye on the duties of all men,' i.e., protects all men in the discharge of their duties.

If this verse has a reference to kings, nyastadandah would mean one who punishes without wrath.

In this and the preceding verse, Sattwa, without being taken as used for intelligence, may be taken to mean 'the quality of goodness' as well.

Anidram is explained by Nilakantha as a kingdom where anarchy prevails, sleeplessness being its certain indication.

The sense seems to be that men patiently bear the injuries inflicted upon them by others, without seeking to right themselves by force, because they can invoke the king to punish the offenders. If there were no kings, immediate vengeance for even the slightest injuries would be the universal practice.

i.e., becoming foremost and happy here, attains to blessedness hereafter.

The Wind is said to be the charioteer of Fire, because whenever there is a conflagration, the Wind, appearing aids in extending it.

i.e., no one should covet the possessions of the king.

Kalya means able or strong; anakrandam is 'without allies'; anantaram means, 'without friends'; and Vyasaktam is 'engaged at war with another.'

Tatparah is explained by Nilakantha as Karshanaparah.

I follow Nilakantha in reading this verse.

Chaitya trees are those that are regarded holy and unto which worship is offered by the people.

Nilakantha thinks that ucchvasa means breath or air. The small doors, he thinks, are directed to be kept for the admission of air.

The tirthas are eighteen in number, such as the council-room etc.

Pays off his debt, i.e., discharges his obligations to the subjects.

The ablative has here the sense of "towards."

The correct reading seems to be sreshtham and not srishtam. If the latter reading be preferred, it would mean "the age called Krita that comes in Time's course."

i.e., these are the true sources of the royal revenue.

The meaning is that if a king attends only to the acquisition of wealth, he may succeed in acquiring wealth, but he will never succeed in earning religious merit.

Literally, 'never flourishes.'

The charcoal-maker uproots trees and plants, and burns them for producing his stock-in-trade. The flowerman, on the other hand, waters his trees and plants, and gathers only their produce.

Dharmakosha literally means the 'repository of all duties.'

Children is a euphemism for subjects, suggested by the word pitris to which it is antithetical.

Mahapathika is believed to mean a person making a voyage by the sea or the ocean, The literal meaning seems to be 'a person making a long or distant voyage.'

A Ritwij is a priest employed on a special occasion. A Purohita is one who always acts as a priest.

Ama is raw food, such as paddy or uncooked rice, or fruits, etc.

The allusion is to such men as Utanka and Parasara, who although they performed such cruel acts as the snake-sacrifice and the Rakshasa sacrifice, were none-the-less entitled to heaven. So Kshatriya kings, by invading the kingdoms of their foes and slaying thousands of Mali and animals, are nevertheless regarded to be righteous and ultimately go to heaven.

Kshatrarthe, i.e., for protecting the subjects. Anya means someone who is not a Kshatriya. Abhibhavet means 'subdues.'

Idam sastram pratidhanam na is thus explained by Nilakantha. In cases of incapacity, again, to give the prescribed Dakshina, the sacrificer is directed to give away all he has. This direction or command is certainly terrible, for who can make up his mind to part with all his wealth for completing a sacrifice?

The falsehood consists in finding substitutes for the Dakshina actually laid down. They are morsels of cooked food for a living cow, a grain of barley for a piece of cloth; a copper coin for gold; etc.

The fact is that although the sacrificer may not be able to give the Dakshina actually laid down in the Vedas, yet by giving its substitute he does not lose any merit, for a single Purnapatra (256 handfuls of rice) is as efficacious if given away with devotion, as the richest Dakshina.

i.e., such a sacrifice, instead of producing no merit, becomes the means of extending the cause of sacrifices. In other words, such a sacrifice is fraught with merit.

A Pavitra is made by a couple of Kusa blades for sprinkling clarified butter upon the sacrificial fire.

The fact is that Ahuka and Akrura were bitterly opposed to each other. Both of them, however, loved Krishna. Ahuka always advised Krishna to shun Akrura, and Akrura always advised him to shun Ahuka. Krishna valued the friendship of both and could ill dispense with either. What he says here is that to have them both is painful and yet not to have them both is equally painful.

The belief is still current that a wounded snake is certain to seek vengeance even if the person that has wounded it places miles of distance between himself and the reptile. The people of this country, therefore, always kill a snake outright and burn it in fire if they ever take it.

i.e., as long as they are paid and have in their hands what has been given to them.

i.e., shows these virtues in his conduct.

Tryavarah is explained by Nilakantha as "not less than three." The number laid down generally is five. In no case it should be less than three.

Water-citadels are those that are surrounded on all sides by a river or rivers, or the sea. Earth-citadels are those that are built, on plains fortified with high walls and encircled with trenches all around. Human-citadels are unfortified cities properly protected by guards and a loyal population.

Nilakantha says that this has reference to the second variety of citadels mentioned in the previous verse.

Such as banian, peepul, etc. These afford refreshing shade to sunburnt travellers.

'Take wisdom,' i.e., consult with them. 'Should not always wait upon them, etc.' lest robbers should kill them, suspecting them to be depositories of the king's wealth.

The sense seems to be that if a sufficient margin of profit, capable of maintaining one at ease, be not left, one would refrain absolutely from work. The king, therefore, in taxing the outturns of work, should leave such a margin of profit to the producers.

The sense is that the subjects then, on occasions of their sovereign's want, hasten to place their resources at his disposal.

i.e., without injuring the source.

The Bengal reading of the first I me of this verse is vicious. The Bombay reading kinchidanapadi (for Kasyanchidpadi) is the correct one. The commentator explains that this has reference to alms, loans, and taxes. Both the Bengal translators have made nonsense of this and the following verse.

Karmabhedatah is explained differently by Nilakantha. He thinks that it means 'lest those acts suffer injury.'

Anga is literally a part. The idea, however, is that the wealthy form an estate in the realm. Kakud is the hump of the bull. The meaning, of course, is that the man of wealth occupies a very superior position.

i.e., before the Brahmanas get their fill.

The Brahmanas are authorities for guiding other men. When, therefore, a particular Brahmana leaves the kingdom, the people lose in him a friend, teacher, and guide.

The king should dissuade in the manner indicated in verse 4. If that does not suffice, and if the person intending to leave refers to the king's previous neglect, the king should ask forgiveness and, of course, assign to him the means of maintenance.

The original is elliptical in construction. The etat of the first line has been supplied in the translation. In rendering the second line, the second half should come first. The Burdwan version, as usual, is erroneous. K.P. Singh's also is incomplete and inaccurate.

The word used is Dasyus, literally, robbers; here, enemies of society and order.

Some texts read Yoddhyavyam for Boddhyavyam, and bhunjita for yunjita.

i.e., thou shouldst care for such opinion, without being angry with those that censure or blame thee.

i.e., they who have to undergo such privations in carrying on their useful occupation should not be taxed heavily.

The correct reading is bharanti. Taranti also may give the same meaning. K. P. Singh has erroneously rendered the second line.

i.e., goes to heaven.

Bhishma says that this discourse is very old. Probably this verse has reference to the writer's idea of the motives that impelled the Rishis of Brahmavarta when they devised for their Indian colony the kingly form of government.

This verse gives the etymology of the word Rajan and Vrishala. He in whom righteousness shines (rajate) is a Rajan; and he in whom righteousness, called Vrisha, disappear, is a Vrishala. Vide next verse.

The address Bharatarshabha is misplaced, seeing that it is Utathya who is speaking and Mandhatri who is listening. The sense of the verse is that it is the king who causes the age, for if he acts righteously, the age that sets in is Krita; if, on the other hand, he acts sinfully, he causes the Kali age to set in; etc. etc.

He who protects Weakness wins heaven, while he who persecutes it goes to hell. Weakness, thus, is a great thing. Its power, so to say, is such that it can lead to heaven and hell everyone with whom it may come into contact.

The keeper of a cow has to wait, till it calves, for milk.

The sense is, I suppose, that if the king be overtaken by destruction, his officers also do not escape.

Rajnah, Nilakantha thinks, is an accusative plural.

Some texts read Saranikan, meaning traders that make journeys and voyages.

The king is God (incarnate) unto all righteous men, because they may expect everything from him. As regards the second line, the meaning depends upon bharati, which as the commentator explains means, "obtains affluence or prosperity." For Patukah some texts read Pavakah. The meaning then would be "becomes as a fire," i.e., destroys his own roots, or, probably, becomes destructive to others.

K.P. Singh, I think, translates this verse erroneously. The Burdwan version is correct. The speaker, in this verse, desires to illustrate the force of righteous conduct. Transcriber's note: There was no corresponding footnote reference in the text, so I have assigned this footnote to an arbitrary location on the page--JBH.

Teshu i.e., unto the ministers already spoken of.

The sense of the passage is that the king should not ride vicious elephants and horses, should guard himself against poisonous reptiles and the arts of women, and should take particular care while ascending mountains or entering inaccessible regions such as forests and woody valleys.

The sense is that although it is laid down that kings should fight with those only that are of the kingly order, yet when the Kshatriyas do not arm themselves for resisting an invader, or other orders may fight for putting down those that so arm themselves against the kings.

The Bengal reading of this verse, which I adopt, is better than the Bombay reading. The Bengal reading is more consistent with what follows in verse 8. If the Bombay reading be adopted, the translation would run thus:--"One should not fight a Kshatriya in battle unless he has put on armour. One should fight with one, after challenging in those words--'Shoot, for I am shooting at thee.'" K.P. Singh's rendering is substantially correct. The Burdwan version, as usual, is wrong.

The distress referred to here is of being unhorsed or deprived of car or of weapons, etc.

The original is very elliptical. I, therefore, expand it after the manner of the commentator. Regarding the last half of the second line, I do not follow Nilakantha in his interpretation.

This verse also is exceedingly elliptical in the original.

The sense seems to be that in fighting with the aid of deceit the enemy should not be slain outright, such slaughter being sinful. Slaying an enemy, however, in fair fight is meritorious.

This verse is not intelligible, nor does it seem to be connected with what goes before.

The meaning is that king Pratardana took what is proper to be taken and hence he incurred no sin. King Divodasa, however, by taking what he should not have taken, lost all the merit of his conquests.

Nilakantha takes Mahajanam to mean the Vaisya traders that accompany all forces. Following him, the vernacular translators take that word in the same sense. There can be little doubt, however, that this is erroneous. The word means "vast multitudes." Why should Yudhishthira refer to the slaughter of only the Vaisyas in the midst of troops as his reason for supposing Kshatriya practices to be sinful? Apayana means "flight." I prefer to read Avayana meaning 'march.'

The protection of subjects is likened here to the performance of a sacrifice that has the merit of all sacrifices. The final present in that sacrifice is the dispelling of everybody's fear.

i.e., not at the weapon's edge, but otherwise.

Ajya is any liquid substance, generally of course clarified butter, that is poured upon the sacrificial fire.

Sphis is the wooden stick with which lines are drawn on the sacrificial platform.

The van of the hostile army is the place of his wives, for he goes thither as cheerfully as he does to such a mansion. Agnidhras are those priests that have charge of the celestial fires.

To take up a straw and hold it between the lips is an indication of unconditional surrender.

I do not understand how this is an answer to Yudhishthira's question. Nilakantha thinks that truth, in the above, means the ordinances in respect of Kshatriya duties; that Upapatti, which I understand means reasoning (or conclusion), indicates a disregard for life, for those ordinances lead to no other conclusion. Good behaviour, according to him, means encouraging the soldiers, speaking sweetly to them, and promoting the brave, etc. Means and contrivances consist in punishing desertion and cowardliness, etc. If Nilakantha be right, what Bhishma says is that battles (which, of course, are intended for the protection of righteousness) become possible in consequence of these four causes.

The seven stars of this constellation are supposed to be the seven great Rishis, viz., Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, and Vasishtha.

Venus.

Like Bhurisravas on the field of Kurukshetra.

Probably, one that has begun a sacrifice extending for a long period. The Yadava hero Akrura avoided challenges to battle by beginning a sacrifice. See Harivansa, the sections on the Syamantaka stone.

A form of expression meaning shameless.

This refers to death and physical pain, as explained by Nilakantha.