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The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 by or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli

o >> or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli >> The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2




129. i.e. added his voice to that of Jayadratha, requesting Drona to
protect the latter.

130. A kind of car or vehicle.

131. Nilakantha supposes that tasmai here refers to the Three-eyed and
not to Krishna. This seems to be right.

132. The second note of the Hindu gamut.

133. Vasavamiva is a mistake for Vasavasyeva.

134. Apavrittam is explained by Nilakantha as endangered or made
doubtful. What Sanjaya says is that if it is not so, thou shalt then have
to undergo the bitterness of ruling over the whole world bestowed upon
thee by the Pandavas. Either the Pandavas will snatch away thy kingdom or
make thee ruler of the whole after slaying thy sons. Either of these
alternatives would be bitter to thee.

135. The original is pleonastic.

136. This verse obviously needs correction. Instead of "golden coats of
mail," I think some such correction is needed, viz. coats of mail, of
black iron, decked with gold and dyed with blood, etc.

137. The original is pleonastic.

138. This Sloka occurs in all the texts. It would seem, therefore, that
Sanjaya was not always a witness only of the battle for narrating what he
saw to Dhritarashtra, but sometimes at least he took part in the battle.

139. The words tatsainyanyabhyapujayan seem to be unmeaning in this
connection. The Bengali translators, unable to do anything with them,
have left them out.

140. The celestial weapons were forces dependent on mantras. Ordinary
shafts, inspired with these mantras, were converted into celestial
weapons.

141. In other words. Arjuna's car shot as quickly through the enemy as
the arrows themselves sped from it.

142. The Bengal reading of the first line is vicious. The Bombay reading
is Vamatkum Vipathum, Vanan. The first word means the froth in the mouth
of the steeds.

143. i.e., his funeral obsequies. The vernacular translators do not see
the intended joke.

144. I give the sense of this verse, without giving a closely literal
version.

145. Avabhritha is the final bath undergone, on completion of as
sacrifice by the person performing the sacrifice. The slaughter of
Duryodhana would according to Krishna, be the avabhritha of the sacrifice
of battle.

146. Praviddham means fallen down or loosened from its usual place. Thus
Nilakantha.

147. Tripura means the three cities constructed by the Asura artificer
Maya. The Asura, however, who owned those cities is also called Tripura.
It was Mahadeva who destroyed the three cities with all their population
vide the close of the Harivansa.

148. The true reading is alohita and not lohita. Arka here is crystal and
not the sun. It was a silvern boar, which could not, evidently, be like
the sun.

149. Owners of golden cars.

150. Nidas were niches or drivers boxes.

151. Many of the opening slokas of this section are nearly the same as
those of section 76 of Bhishma Parva, vide ante. In a few instances I
have adopted the readings of the Bombay edition.

152. I prefer the reading Samakulam to Jhashakulam.

153. i.e., using cars and elephants as weapons for destroying cars and
elephants.

154. The fear behind them was from the Pandava army. The fear before them
was from the car-warriors who had succeeded in penetrating the Kuru host.

155. Many of the Bengal texts have Calabhairiva. This is a mistake, the
word being Calada, and not Calabha which would be unmeaning here.

156. I render the second line of 4 too freely. The sense seems to be that
when two persons fight, one cannot say beforehand who will succeed. Both
have chances of success, as, indeed, both have chances of defeat.

157. The genius of the two languages being entirely different, I give the
sense of the first line of 14 separately, without seeking to connect it,
in the assertive form, with the second half of 13.

158. Literally, 'disregard of Krishna.'

159. The Bombay reading, which I adopt, seems to be better than the
Bengal one.

160. I think that both Vrikodaram and nisitais in this verse as given in
the Bombay text are incorrect. I read Vrikodaras and navavhis following
the Bengal texts.

161. The sense seems to be that Karna and Bhima were like fire and wind.

162. Verse 28 is a triplet. The second line is obscure. It seems that a
line has been omitted.

163. Literally, mustered all his rage.

164. In the first line of the 62 the Bengal reading Ayastam is better
than the Bombay reading Ayastas.

165. Literally, 'a mountain overgrown with medicinal herbs of great
efficacy.' Of course, the allusion is to Hanumat's removal of
Gandhamadana for the cure of Lakshmana.

166. i.e., the little indent caused by a cow's hoof.

167. The sense is that he that will slay me will always be victorious in
battle, will always slay the warriors with whom he may be engaged in
battle. Defeat will never be his.

168. do not render 55 literally. Satyaki is called 'Satyavikrama,' i.e.,
of true prowess' or 'of prowess incapable of being baffled.' If he
sustains a defeat today at Bhurisrava's hand, that title of his will be
falsified. This is all that Krishna means.

169. Verse 20 is incomplete. I supply the words,--'Why then should I not
protect' in order to make the meaning intelligible. The first line of 21
is grammatically connected with 20. To avoid an ugly construction I
render it separately.

170. Literally, 'who could witness with indifference Satyaki reduced to
that plight?'

171. Generally, to die, abstaining from all food. It is a method of
freeing the soul from the body by Yoga.

172. Literally, 'near the place assigned for the sacrificial butter.'

173. Nilakantha explains chakram as Pratapam.

174. The second line of 94 I render a little freely to make the sense
clearer.

175. A Kavandha is a headless trunk moving about as if endued with life.
Tales are told of these headless beings drinking the blood of victims
falling within their grasp.

176. The second of the seven notes of the Hindu gamut.

177. The printed editions and the manuscripts do not agree with one
another in respect of the order and numbering of the last dozen verses.
The Bombay edition omits a few of the verses.

178. Everything even the inanimate creation, exists and adores the
Supreme deity.

179. This is a triplet in the Calcutta edition.

180. Literally, 'the fact of the Dhartarashtras having sunk (into
distress).'

181. Literally, 'of persons whose coronal locks have undergone the sacred
bath.'

182. Praluvdhas is explained by Nilakantha differently. He supposes that
Duryodhana here characterises Sikhandin to be a deceitful fowler or
hunter in consequence of the deceit with which he caused Bhishma's fall.
This is far-fetched.

183. I adopt the Bombay reading.

184. The Bombay edition reads this verse differently and introduces
another after it which does not occur in the Bengal texts.

185. I am not sure whether I have rendered the 31st and the first half of
32nd correctly. The vernacular translators have made a mess of the
passage. The difficulty lies with Surhittamais. I take it to mean that
Duryodhana says, 'Karna, Sakuni, Duhsasana, with myself, had taken thee,
O preceptor, for a friend, and had engaged thee in this battle. We did
not, however, then know that thou art an enemy in disguise.'

186. i.e., 'he should, by very means in his power, avenge himself on the
Somakas, those enemies of mine.'

187. This is a triplet in the Bengal texts.

188. I render the second line freely, following Nilakantha.

189. Literally, 'with shafts resembling his rays.'

190. Or, 'as a lake overgrown with lotuses is agitated on every side by
an elephant.'

191. Sixteen lines, occurring after this in the Bombay edition, have been
omitted in the Calcutta edition.

192. Drums of diverse kinds and sizes.

193. The Bombay reading is apalavam and not viplatam.

194. This is a triplet in all the editions.

195. The brother of the Kalinga prince.

196. Patanipam is explained by Nilakantha as something that causes the
patana or downfall of a person hence sin. [There is no reference for this
note in the body of this page, so I have placed it in a likely
location.--JBH]

197. A nalwa measured four hundred cubits.

198. Nilakantha explains that there were Pisachas.

199. Aswatthaman and the Pandavas were like brothers, for both were
disciples of Drona Ghatotkacha, therefore, having been Bhima's son was
Aswatthaman's brother's son.

200. i.e., the weapon endued with the force of the thunder.

201. Different species of Rakshasas.

202. Tripura, belonging to an Asura of the same.

203. Asani literally means the thunder. Probably, some kind of iron mace.

204. The Bengal texts read Utkrisha-vikramas. The correct reading seems
to be Aklivhtavikramas. Then again Sahanujam seems to be inaccurate. I
follow the Bombay reading Sahanugam.

205. Achyuta, when used as a proper noun, refers to Krishna. It means of
unfading glory and 'the immortal.'

206. Sight differences are observable between the Bengal and the Bombay
texts as regards the last three verses.

207. This is a triplet.

208. This is a triplet.

209. In the second line of 4, utsedha and not udvrita is the true
reading. So also kanchit and not kinchit. The paraphrase, according to
Nilakantha, in kanchit dhanurdharam na ganayan, etc.

210. 147 is a triplet.

211. The Bengal reading sudakshinas at the end of 49 dose not seem to be
correct. I adopt the Bombay reading sudarnnam.

212. The Bombay edition reads the first line of 3 differently. The Bengal
reading is also defective. The correct reading seems to be Rathanaga
instead of Naranaga.

213. This is a Triplet.

214. Instead of mattagaje, the Bombay edition reads tatragaje.

215. There seems to be a mistake in this sloka in its reference to the
Pandavas. The reading, however, that occurs in all the printed edition,
is the same. In one manuscript I find Kamrava-yodhavurgais (which I
adopt) for Pandava-Kauraveyais.

216. The second line of 30, as it occurs in the Bengal texts, is adopted
by me. A slight difference of reading occurs between the Bengal and the
Bombay editions.

217. As regards almost every one of these slokas, differences of reading
are observable between the Bengal texts and the Bombay edition. The
readings of the Bombay edition are almost uniformly better. Then, again,
many of those verses are disfigured with syntactical pleonasms and other
grave errors. Abounding with tiresome repetitions that scarcely attract
notice amid the variety of synonyms with which the language of the
original abounds and amid also the melodious flow of the rhythm, the
defects become glaring in translation. At the latter, however, of
faithfulness, I have been obliged to sacrifice elegance, in rendering
this section.

218. The Bengal reading tatha loka is incorrect. The Bombay text
correctly reads tadaloka. Then also, instead of the Bengal reading
rajasacaa samavrite (which is faulty), the true reading is raja tamasa
vrite.

219. Lokanamabhave is explained by Nilakantha as pralaya-kale.

220. A different reading occurs in the Bombay edition.

221. Nalikas, as used here, appear to have been some species of shafts.
In an earlier note, relying on other authorities, I took it to mean some
kind of air-gun.

222. Vaikartana may also mean one who has peeled off his skin of natural
armour. To preserve dramatic propriety, the Hindu commentators explain it
in this sense when it occurs in any such passage, for the real origin of
Karna, viz., his procreation by the deity of the sun, became known after
his death.

223. 'The second line of 9 is read differently in the Calcutta edition. I
adopt the Bombay reading.

224. In the second line of 13, Avyayatturnam instead of Maharaja is the
correct reading.

225. This sloka seems to be a vicious one.

226. Yena and tena here are equal to yatra and tatra.

227. In the first line of 30 Vaganais and not Vanaganan is the true
reading.

228. The second line of 30 is read differently in the Calcutta edition.
In consequence also of some differences between two printed editions, 30
of the Calcutta text is 32 of the Bombay text.

229. In the Bengal texts this is a triplet.

230. It is for this that I see thee with this head as a tribute.

231. An arani is a cubit measuring from the elbow to the end of the
little figure.

232. Both reading, viz., asaktam and asaktam are correct. The former
means engaged' the latter, 'to the measure of his might!'

233. The second line of 85 is differently in the Bombay edition.

234. Rakshasas at certain hours were believed to be inspired with greater
strength.

235. Mainaka the son of Himavat, has a hundred heads.

236. i.e., they thought they obtained a new lease of life.

237. Literally means, "united by Jara."

238. Nilakantha thinks that Sagadaya in one word, meaning 'deprived of
the both Rakshasas and the mace.' This is far-fetched.

239. Fire being the mouth of the celestials, without fire, the celestials
become mouthless. Thus Nilakantha.

240. This is a triplet in the Bengal texts.

241. 66 is a triplet in the Bengal texts.

242. Triyama, literally, consisting of three Yamas, a Yama being a watch
of three hours. The first hour and a half of the night and the last hour
and a half, being regarded as twilight, the night, truly as such, with
the ancient Hindoos, consisted of only nine hours.

243. Literally, 'of a thousand Yamas.'

244. The moon is called the lord of lilies because the water-lily is seen
to bloom at moonrise, just as the sun is called the lord of the lotuses
because the lotus blooms at sun-rise, The direction presided over by
Indra means the East.

245. Dasatakasha-kkupa means the Kakup or direction presided by him of a
thousand eyes; hence the East.

246. Instead of Vrishodara, the Bombay text reads Vrishottama, which I
adopt.

247. In the first line of 31, the Bengal texts read Rajanam probably
referring to Drupada. The correct reading, however, is Rujendra in the
vocative case as in the Bombay edition.

248. I render this a little too freely. The form of the oath is, "Let
that man lose, etc. whom Drona escapes today with life or whom Drona
vanquishes today."

249. This, in the Bengal texts, is a triplet.

250. I adopt the Bombay reading of the first line of this verse.

251. All these arrows inflicted had wounds and could not be easily
extracted. Shafts of crooked courses were condemned because the
combatants could not easily baffle them, not knowing at whom they would
fall.

252. This verse is omitted in the Bombay text. There can be no doubt,
however, about its genuineness.

253. The celestial weapons were all living agents that appeared at the
bidding of him who knew to invoke them. They abandoned, however, the
person whose death was imminent, although invoked with the usual formulae.

254. I adopt the Bombay reading.

255. Deprived of both the worlds, having sustained a defeat, they lost
this world, and flying away from the field, they committed a sin and lost
the next world.

256. Celestial weapons were invoked with mantras, as explained in a
previous note. They were forces which created all sorts of tangible
weapons that the invoked desired. Here the Brahma weapon took the form of
broad-headed arrows.

257. Dharmadhwajin literally means a person bearing the standard of
virtue, hence, hypocrite, sanctimoniously talking only virtue and
morality but acting differently.

258. I think the correct reading is aputrinas and not putrinas. If it is
putrinas, literally rendered, the meaning is, 'Why should persons having
children, feel any affection for the latter?' It the worthy of remark
that the author of Venisamhara has bodily adopted this verse, putting it
in the mouth of Aswatthaman when introduced in the third Act.

259. The last line of 37 is read differently in the Bombay edition.
Nilakantha accepts that reading, and explains it in his gloss remarking
that the grammatical solecism occuring in it is a license. The Bengal
reading, however, is more apposite.

260. Literally, "the animals kept the Pandavas to their right."

261. Dasaratha's son Rama, during his exile, slew the monkey-chief Bali,
the brother of Sugriva, while Bali was engaged with Sugriva in battle.
Bali had not done any injury to Rama. That act has always been regarded
as a stain on Rama.

262. I expand the original to make the sense clear.

263. The first line of the 23rd verse in the Bengal editions, is made the
second line of that verse in the Bombay text. There seems to be a
mistake, however, in both the texts. Vishnu slew Hiranyakasipu without
allowing, the latter to say anything unto him. Vide Vishnu Purana, if
instead of Hiranyakasipu Harim, the rendering be Hiranyakasipu Haris, the
line may then be connected with Bhima's speech, and the comparison would
become more apposite.

264. The Nishadas were and to this day are the lowest caste in India.

265. The Bengal reading is vicious, I adopt the Bombay reading which is
Surorgurunsha bhuyopi, meaning, "this preceptor again." The fact is,
Arjuna was Satyaki's preceptor; Drona, therefore, was the latter's
preceptor's preceptor.

266. Kimpurushas were fabled creatures, half men and steeds. Not a
mountain but had its Kimpurushas, according to the Hindu belief. Yakshas
were a sort of superhuman beings inhabiting inaccessible halls and
mountains.

267. I adopt the Bombay reading of the 2nd line of 35 and think that
Nilakantha explains it correctly.

268. I adopt the Bombay reading.

269. Nilakantha explains this to mean that when he became unconnected
with the world, rising superior to everything connected with the world.

270. The terrible.

271. Amritasya yonim, literally, the origin or cause of immortality,
i.e., he from whom immortality springs. Hence, as explained by
Nilakantha, the phrase means the source of salvation, for those only that
are emancipate became immortal as the Supreme Soul itself.

272. i.e., the five attributes perceivable by the five senses, with the
five objects of Nature with which they are directly connected or in which
they manifest themselves.

273. Having given it away to Rama, his disciple.

274. All these terms imply Death or the Destroyer.

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