Book 12 edition notes 401–500

i.e., yield with ease.

Grammatically, the last line may mean,--'The very robbers dread a king destitute of compassion.'

Their wives and children ought to be saved, and their habitations and wearing apparel and domestic utensils, etc., should not be destroyed.

i.e., 'he that has wealth and forces.'

The sense seems to be that a poor man can have only a little of all earthly things. That little, however, is like the remnant of a strong man's dinner.

It is always reproachful to accept gifts from persons of questionable character.

The king should similarly, by punishing the wicked, cherish the good.

The sense seems to be that sacrifice proceeds more from an internal desire than from a large sum of money lying in the treasury. If the desire exists, money comes gradually for accomplishing it. The force of the simile consists in the fact that ants (probably white ants) are seen to gather and multiply from no ostensible cause.

The meaning is that as regards good men, they become friends in no time. By taking only seven steps in a walk together, two such men become friends.

Virtue prolongs life, and sin and wickedness always shorten it. This is laid down almost everywhere in the Hindu scriptures.

i.e., if ex-casted for irreligious practices.

The correct reading is Jatakilwishat.

The sense, of course, is that such a man, when filled with fear, becomes unable to ward off his dangers and calamities. Prudence requires that one should fear as long as the cause of fear is not at hand. When, however, that cause has actually presented itself, one should put forth one's courage.

The hostility between Krishna and Sisupala was due to the first of these causes; that between the Kurus and the Pandavas to the second; that between Drona and Drupada to the third; that between the cat and the mouse to the fourth; and that between the bird and the king (in the present story) to the fifth.

The sense seems to be that the act which has led to the hostility should be calmly considered by the enemy before he gives way to anger.

If it is Time that does all acts, there can be no individual responsibility.

i.e., they are indifferent to other people's sorrow.

Honey-seekers direct their steps through hill and dale by marking intently the course of the flight of bees. Hence they meet with frequent falls.

Everything decays in course of time. Vide the characteristics of the different Yugas, ante.

i.e., do any of these or all as occasion may require.

The king should imitate the cuckoo by causing his own friends or subjects to be maintained by others; he should imitate the boar by tearing up his foes by their very roots; he should imitate the mountains of Meru by presenting such a front that nobody may transgress him he should imitate an empty chamber by keeping room enough for storing acquisitions he should imitate the actor by assuming different guises; and lastly, he should imitate devoted friend in attending to the interests of his loving subjects.

The crane sits patiently by the water side for hours together in expectation of fish.

i.e., if he passes safely through the danger.

The triple aggregate consists of Virtue, Wealth, and Pleasure. The disadvantages all arise from an injudicious pursuit of each. Virtue stands as an impediment in the way of Wealth; Wealth stands in the way of Virtue; and Pleasure stands in the way of both. The inseparable adjuncts of the three, in the case of the vulgar, are that Virtue is practised as a means of Wealth, Wealth is sought as a means of Pleasure; and Pleasure is sought for gratifying the senses. In the case of the truly wise, those adjuncts are purity of the soul as the end of virtue, performance of sacrifices as the end of Wealth; and upholding of the body as the end of Pleasure.

Literally, 'preservation of what has been got, and acquisition of what is desired.'

These depend on the king, i.e., if the king happens to be good, prosperity, etc., are seen. On the other hand, if the king becomes oppressive and sinful, prosperity disappears, and every kind of evil sets in.

In India, during the hot months, charitable persons set up shady thatches by the sides of roads for the distribution of cool water and raw sugar and oat soaked in water. Among any of the principal roads running through the country, one may, during the hot months, still see hundreds of such institutions affording real relief to thirsty travellers.

Such as Rakshasas and Pisachas and carnivorous birds and beasts.

Abandoning his Homa fire.

i.e., flowers already offered to the deities.

No one of the three regenerate orders should take dog's meat. If thou takest such meat, where would then the distinction be between persons of those orders and men like Chandalas?

Agastya was a Rishi. He could not do what was sinful.

The idea that man comes alone into the world and goes out of it alone. Only the wife is his true associate for she alone is a sharer of his merits, and without her no merit can be won. The Hindu idea of marriage is a complete union. From the day of marriage the two persons become one individual for the performance of all religious and other acts.

The sense seems to be that our strength, though little, should be employed by us in attending to the duties of hospitality in our own way.

Literally, 'thou art at home,' meaning I will not spare any trouble in making thee feel and enjoy all the comforts of home in this place.

Mahaprasthana is literally an unreturning departure. When a person leaves home for wandering through the world till death puts a stop to his wanderings, he is said to go on Mahaprasthana.

The theory is that all distresses arise originally from mental error which clouds the understanding. Vide Bhagavadgita.

Making gifts, etc.

Here amum (the accusative of adas) evidently means 'that' and not 'this.' I think the reference, therefore, is to heaven and not to this world.

These are Mleccha tribes of impure behaviour.

i.e., for my instructions.

So great was the repugnance felt for the slayer of a Brahmana that to even talk with him was regarded a sin. To instruct such a man in the truths of the Vedas and of morality was to desecrate religion itself.

The version of 5 is offered tentatively. That a person possessed of affluence should become charitable is not wonderful. An ascetic, again, is very unwilling to exercise his power. (Witness Agastya's unwillingness to create wealth for gratifying his spouse.) What is meant by these two persons not living at a distance from each other is that the same cause which makes an affluent person charitable operates to make an ascetic careful of the kind of wealth he has.

That which is asamikshitam is samagram karpanyam.

Nilakantha explains that vala here means patience (strength to bear) and ojas (energy) means restraints of the senses.

Both the vernacular translators have rendered the second line of verse 25 wrongly. They seem to think that a person by setting out for any of the sacred waters from a distance of a hundred yojanas becomes cleansed. If this meaning be accepted then no man who lives within a hundred yojanas of any of them has any chance of being cleansed. The sense, of course, is that such is the efficacy of these tirthas that a man becomes cleansed by approaching even to a spot within a hundred yojanas of their several sites.

These mantras form a part of the morning, noon and evening prayer of every Brahmana. Aghamarshana was a Vedic Rishi of great sanctity.

In the first line of 26 the correct reading is Kutah not Kritah as adopted by the Burdwan translators.

i.e., beasts and birds. The vernacular translators wrongly render it--'Behold the affection that is cherished by those that are good towards even the beasts and birds!'

The correct reading is Murtina (as in the Bombay text) and not Mrityuna. The Burdwan version adopts the incorrect reading.

The allusion is to the story of Rama having restored a dead Brahmana boy. During Rama's righteous reign there were no premature deaths in his kingdom. It happened, however, one day that a Brahmana father came to Rama's court and complained of the premature death of his son. Rama instantly began to enquire after the cause. Some sinful act in some corner of the kingdom, it was suspected, had caused the deed. Soon enough Rama discovered a Sudra of the name of Samvuka engaged in the heart of a deep forest in ascetic penances. The king instantly cut off the man's head inasmuch as a Sudra by birth had no right to do what that man was doing. As soon as righteousness was upheld, the deceased Brahmana boy revived. (Ramayana, Uttarakandam).

Literally, 'by giving up their own bodies'.

i.e., he is sure to come back to life.

The word sramana is used in Brahmanical literature to signify a certain order of ascetics or yatis that have renounced work for meditation. It is also frequently employed to mean a person of low life or profession. It should be noted, however, that in Buddhistic literature the word came to be exclusively used for Buddhist monks.

This is how Nilakantha seems to explain the line, Bhishma is anxious about the effect of his instructions. He says that those instructions would bear fruit if the gods will it; otherwise, his words would go for nothing, however carefully he might speak.

The commentator explains that including the first, altogether 12 questions are put by Yudhishthira.

This is an answer to the first question viz., the general aspect of ignorance.

The word Sreyas has a peculiar meaning. It implies, literally, the best of all things; hence, ordinarily, in such passages, it means beatitude or the highest happiness that one may acquire in heaven. It means also those acts of virtue by which that happiness may be acquired. It should never be understood as applicable to anything connected with earthly happiness, unless, of course, the context would imply it.

The sense is that such a man never sets his heart upon things of this world, and accordingly these, when acquired, can never satisfy him. His aspirations are so great and so high above anything this world can give him that the attainment of even the region of Brahma cannot, as the commentator explains, gratify him. At first sight this may look like want of contentment, but in reality, it is not so. The grandeur of his aspirations is sought to be enforced. Contentment applies only to ordinary acquisitions, including even blessedness in heaven.

i.e., such a man is sure of attaining to a blessed end.

Such as distinctions of caste, of dress, of food, etc., etc.

A reference to the region of Brahma, which is supposed to be located within every heart. One reaches that region through penances and self-denial. The sense, of course, is that his is that pure felicity of the heart who has succeeded in driving off all evil passions therefrom.

The word used here is Buddhasya (genitive of Buddha.) May not this verse be a reference to the Buddhistic idea of a Buddha?

i.e., both are equally efficacious.

In the Bengal texts, verse 9 is a triplet. In the second line the correct reading is nirvedat and not nirdesat. Avadya is fault. Vinivartate is understood at the end of the third line, as suggested by Nilakantha. Both the Bengali versions of 9 are incomplete, the Burdwan one being also incorrect.

The commentator explains that compassion, like the faults enumerated above, agitates the heart and should be checked for the sake of individual happiness or tranquillity of soul.

In India, from the remotest times, preceptors are excluded from charging their pupils any fees for the instruction they give. No doubt, a final fee, called Gurudakshina, is demandable, but that is demandable after the pupil has completed his studies. To sell knowledge for money is a great sin. To this day in all the indigenous schools of the country, instruction is imparted free of all charges. In addition to this, the pupils are fed by their preceptors. The latter, in their turn, are supported by the charity of the whole country.

Dakshina is the present or gift made in sacrifices.

Vahirvyedichakrita, etc., is the correct reading.

i.e., such a person may perform a grand sacrifice in which Soma is offered to the gods and drunk by the sacrificer and the priests.

The Burdwan translator, misled by the particle nah, supposes that this verse contains an injunction against the spoliation of a Sudra. The fact is, the nah here is equal to 'ours'.

Who has fasted for three whole days.

Aswastanavidhana is the rule of providing only for today without thinking of the morrow.

The sense, of course, is that if a Brahmana starves, that is due to the king having neglected his duty of providing for him.

I follow Nilakantha in rendering abrahmanam manyamanah. It may also mean 'regarding himself to be a fallen Brahmana (for the time being)'.

It should be noted that the word foeticide used in such texts frequently means all sins that are regarded as equivalent to foeticide. Hence, killing a Brahmana is foeticide, etc.

There is a material difference of reading in this verse. Following the Bengal texts, the above version is given. The Bombay text runs as follows: 'upon his body being burnt therewith, or by death, he becomes cleansed.' The Bombay text seems to be vicious. Drinking is regarded as one of the five heinous sins. The severer injunction contained in the Bengal texts seems therefore, to be the correct reading.

The true reading is nigacchati and not niyacchati. The Burdwan translator has misunderstood the word papam in this verse.

Nilakantha correctly explains the connection of Susamsitah.

Nilakantha explains that the question of Nakula excited the heart of Bhishma and caused a flow of blood through his wounds. Hence Bhishma compares himself to a hill of red-chalk.

Durvarani, Durvaradini, Durvachadini, are some of the readings of the first line.

Literally, family or clan; here origin.

The second line of 19 is unintelligible.

Taddhitwa is tat hi twa. Nilakantha thinks that twa here is twam.

In the Bengal texts, 41 is made a triplet, and 42 is made to consist of a single line; 42 is represented as Vaisampayana's speech. This is evidently an error; 41 a couplet. 42 also is so. Rajna etc., refer to Bhima. K.P. Singha avoids the error; the Burdwan translator, as usual, makes a mess of 41 by taking it to be a triplet.

There can be very little doubt that the second line has a distinct reference to the principal article of faith in Buddhism. Emancipation here is identified with Extinction or Annihilation. The word used is Nirvana. The advice given is abstention from attachments of every kind. These portions of the Santi are either interpolations, or were written after the spread of Buddhism.

The doctrine set forth in 48 is the doctrine of either Universal Necessity as expounded by Leibnitz, or that of Occasional Causes of the Cartesian school. In fact, all the theories about the government of the universe are strangely jumbled together here.

i.e., they that have wives and have procreated children.

Raktamivavikam and not Raktamivadhikam, is the correct reading. The Burdwan translator accepts the incorrect reading.

The true reading is Brahmavarjitah and not that word in the accusative. Both the Bengali versions have adhered to the incorrect reading of the Bengal texts.

i.e., it was not a piece torn off from a full piece, but both its dasas or ends were there.

To this day there are many Brahmanas in India who are asudra-pratigrahins, i.e., who accept no gift, however rich, from a Sudra.

Kimpurusha is half-man and half-horse. The body is supposed to be that of a horse, and the face that of a man.

Literally, 'for obtaining goods'.

At such entertainments, Hindus, to this day, sit on separate seats when eating. If anybody touches anybody else's seat, both become impure and cannot eat any longer. Before eating, however, when talking or hearing, the guests may occupy a common seat, i.e., a large mat or blanket or cloth, etc., spread out on the floor.

Agni or fire is a deity that is said to have Vayu (the wind-god) for his charioteer. The custom, to this day, with all travellers in India is to kindle a large fire when they have to pass the night in woods and forests or uninhabited places. Such fires always succeed in scaring off wild beasts. In fact, even tigers, raging with hunger, do not approach the place where a blazing fire is kept up.

Surabhi is the celestial cow sprung from the sage Daksha.

Whether the word is chirat or achirat is difficult to make out.

In Sanskrit the ablative has sometimes the sense of 'through'. Here, mitrat means both from and through. What is said is that wealth, honours, etc., may be acquired through friends, i.e., the latter may give wealth or be instrumental in its acquisition, etc.

It is very difficult to literally translate such verses. The word Dharma is sometimes used in the sense of Religion or the aggregate of duties. At other times it simply means a duty or the course of duties prescribed for a particular situation. Tapah is generally rendered penance. Here, however, it has a direct reference to sravana (hearing), manana (contemplation), and nididhyasana (abstraction of the soul from everything else for absolute concentration). The Grammar of the second half of the first line is Sati apretya etc., Sat being that which is real, hence, the Soul, or the Supreme Soul, of which every individual Soul is only a portion.