1 The one who is spoken about in excellent shlokas, Vishnu.
2 The highest state of asceticism and meditation.
3 The supreme soul.
4 Svayambhuva Manu.
5 Brahma.
6 The three qualities (guna) of sattva, rajas and tamas.
7 Celestial vehicles.
8 Siddhas are sages who have been successful in attaining their objectives.
9 Gandharvas are celestial musicians and are semi-divine.
10 Relatively minor gods.
11 Celestial singers.
12 Brahma arrived while Narada was instructing Priyavrata.
13 Manu and Priyavrata. At that time, Manu had also arrived.
14 Vishnu.
15 The five senses and the mind.
16 To the subsequent ashramas.
17 Brahma.
18 The path of devotion.
19 The supreme soul.
20 The individual soul.
21 Priyavrata.
22 A period during which a Manu presides and rules over creation.
23 The three sons mentioned earlier, Kavi, Mahavira and Savana.
24 One arbuda is ten million.
25 Mount Meru.
26 Priyavrata.
27 Across Puranas, the names and the order of the islands (dvipas) marginally varies.
28 The seven oceans are Lavana, Kshira, Sura, Ghrita, Ikshu, Dadhi and Svadu. These have been speculatively identified as Lavana (Indian Ocean), Kshira (Shirwan, part of the Caspian Sea), Sura (Sarain, the remaining part of the Caspian Sea), Ghrita (Erythraean Sea), Ikshu (the river Oxus), Dadhi (Dahae, the Aral Sea) and Svadu (Tchadun, the river in Mongolia). The terms used here for the composition are kshara (salt water), ikshu-rasa (sugar cane juice), sura (liquor), ghrita (clarified butter), kshira (milk), dadhi-manda (curds) and suddhoda (fresh water).
29 Kavi, Mahavira and Savana were not interested.
30 Shukracharya, also known as Kavya.
31 One with long strides, Vishnu’s name.
32 The five senses and the mind.
33 Obtained by getting a son.
34 Mount Mandara.
35 Brahma.
36 Kama, the god of love. Makaradhvaja (the one with a makara on his standard) is one of Kama’s names.
37 Who could not distinguish between man and woman.
38 The eyebrows.
39 Meaning the glances.
40 Because of the fragrance in Purvachitti’s body, bees were circling her. These are the disciples.
41 Partridge.
42 Meaning the breasts. Instead of mounds, one can also translate them as horns.
43 Purvachitti was chewing betel leaf.
44 A makara is a mythical aquatic creature, but can loosely be translated as shark or crocodile. Earrings like makaras.
45 Meaning swans.
46 And has therefore sent you here.
47 Varsha; varsha is a subdivision of dvipa.
48 Gifts given to brahmanas after the sacrifice.
49 Koustubha.
50 Nabhi.
51 The objectives of human existence—dharma, artha, kama and moksha.
52 We are worshipping you for the purusharthas.
53 Hence, Nabhi is not asking for anything more.
54 The hymn should have been in poetry. Nabhi bows down before the priests, who praised the illustrious one.
55 As in Bharatavarsha.
56 Vishnudatta is one of Parikshit’s names.
57 The word used is shramana. Literally, the text states that the mendicants are clad in air.
58 Meaning best or excellent.
59 After Nabhi, this varsha was initially known as Ajanabha. It came to be known as Bharatavarsha later.
60 Vasudeva’s.
61 Dakshina.
62 Jayanti was Indra’s daughter.
63 ‘Both’ is interpreted as the shruti and smriti texts.
64 This occurs later, in the Ninth Skandha.
65 That is, he behaved like an ordinary human being.
66 This is reminiscent of 3.21 of the Bhagavad Gita.
67 The supreme soul.
68 The traditional four means are sama (conciliation or negotiation), dana (bribery), danda (punishment) and bheda (dissension).
69 Interpreted as something that belonged to someone else and was therefore non-existent.
70 Such as pigs and dogs.
71 In an earlier life.
72 Past deeds.
73 Gratification of the senses.
74 Ahamkara.
75 Brahma.
76 Spiritual truth.
77 Celibacy.
78 Restraint.
79 We have translated vijnana as self-knowledge, the transcendental consciousness. We will use jnana for knowledge.
80 The subtle body.
81 Ego.
82 The yoga should not become an end in itself.
83 He should not get angry if they do not listen.
84 The cycle of life.
85 Pramatha is a tormentor and is used for a ghost or goblin.
86 Virinchi or Brahma.
87 The body is interpreted as the Vedas.
88 A householder has to maintain three fires, ahavaniya, garhapatya and dakshinatya.
89 An avadhuta is an ascetic who has renounced all worldly attachments. However, it also has the nuance of someone who has been cast off from society and has been excluded by it.
90 A malevolent being that survives on human flesh.
91 The body and the atman.
92 A yojana is a measure of distance, between 8 and 9 miles.
93 Emancipation.
94 Yoga leads to eight major siddhis or powers. These are anima (becoming as small as one desires), mahima (as large as one desires), laghima (as light as one wants), garima (as heavy as one wants), prapti (obtaining what one wants), prakamya (travelling where one wants), vashitvam (powers to control creatures) and ishitvam (obtaining divine powers).
95 Therefore, he didn’t use them.
96 Why did Rishabha dislike them?
97 Shri-Shuka.
98 A cunning hunter does not trust an animal that has been captured.
99 Because of distractions.
100 With the mind.
101 Konka has speculatively been identified with Konkana, Venka with the Venkatadri hill and Kutaka with the Kutaka hill near Nagpur.
102 Rishabha.
103 Bharatavarsha.
104 The speaker and the listener.
105 The wheel of life, the circle of birth and death.
106 Detachment from fruits and renunciation of action.
107 The Pandavas.
108 Rishabha.
109 Five tanmatras or subtle elements and five mahabhutas or gross elements,
110 A yajna and a kratu are both sacrifices. However, the former is performed with a sacrificial post and the latter without one. More specifically, the former is performed with sacrificial animals and the latter without sacrificing animals.
111 Apurva means the forces and powers harnessed through a sacrifice.
112 Bharata.
113 The adhvaryu is the assistant priest and is accomplished in the Yajur Veda.
114 River Gandaki.
115 This is reminiscent of the gayatri mantra.
116 A muhurta is a measure of time equal to forty-eight minutes.
117 A lion.
118 As a metaphor for time and destiny.
119 The fawn got tired from running around.
120 Were the fawn ever to go away.
121 The sun.
122 The footprints of a black antelope mark an auspicious spot for a sacrifice.
123 Pulastya and Pulaha’s hermitage was in Shalagrama. Kalanjara is the name of a famous mountain. As a deer, Bharata had been born in Kalanjara.
124 Place of pilgrimage.
125 These nine sons were born through the elder wife.
126 After this, he would be liberated and would not be born again.
127 There are thirteen samskaras or sacraments. The list varies a bit. But one list is vivaha (marriage), garbhalambhana (conception), pumshavana (engendering a male child), simantonnayana (parting the hair, performed in the fourth month of pregnancy), jatakarma (birth rites), namakarana (naming), chudakarma (tonsure), annaprashana (first solid food), keshanta (first shaving of the head), upanayana (sacred thread), vidyarambha (commencement of studies), samavartana (graduation) and antyeshti (funeral rites). After samavartana, one ceases to be a student and becomes (usually) a householder.
128 Bharata.
129 The savitri (gayatri) mantra has three padas. Vyahriti means the words bhuh, bhuvah and svah, uttered after Oum.
130 The father’s.
131 Without wages.
132 One who is a brahmana only in name.
133 While this means shudra, it also means outcast.
134 A form of the goddess Kali. The text does not clearly indicate whether the sacrificial animal had escaped, or whether another man, who was no more than an animal, had escaped. Either interpretation is possible. The sacrifice is offered at night.
135 The left one of his lotus feet was placed on his right thigh and his left hand was on his left knee.
136 The word used is panis.
137 Several layers of interpretation are possible. Violence is sanctioned when there is danger and there was no danger now. Human sacrifices are meant to be token and notional, not actual. Even if there is a human sacrifice, it should not be that of a brahmana. Even if a brahmana is sacrificed, it should not be such an excellent brahmana.
138 These two kingdoms are often mentioned in conjunction, as one kingdom. Sindhu was probably to the west of the River Sindhu and Souvira to the east.
139 So that he did not step on a living creature by mistake.
140 Danda or punishment as the fourth mode.
141 That of a kshatriya.
142 Bharata’s.
143 Rahugana’s.
144 Yama.
145 The essence is that ‘I’ am not my body.
146 Of you as the master and I as the servant.
147 If I have realized my atman, I no longer identify myself with my body, which will be punished. And if I am mad, I will not comprehend the punishment.
148 Whose son or disciple are you?
149 Interpreted as—are you the sage Kapila?
150 Rahugana was going to meet Kapila.
151 If a king punishes subjects to make them follow their own dharma, that is Achyuta’s service, it must be beneficial.
152 Such as between the master and the servant.
153 Of the Vedas.
154 The sixteen are the five gross elements, the ten organs of perception and action and the mind, the mind being the chief.
155 From one life to another.
156 Kshetra is the field, that is, the body. Kshetrajna is one who knows the body, that is, the soul, both human and universal.
157 The body.
158 Mind as the eleventh and ahamkara as the twelfth.
159 By those who are deluded.
160 The six enemies or vices are kama (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (avarice), moha (delusion), mada (pride) and matsarya (jealousy).
161 The mind.
162 Carrying the load and fatigue, the master and the servant.
163 The palanquin bearers.
164 A paramanu is an ultimate particle characterized by the trait that it cannot be divided further. It alone is combined with others.
165 Worshipping water, fire or the sun. Performing austerities in water, before a fire or exposed to the sun is a better interpretation.
166 Artha means dharma, artha and kama.
167 The six senses and the mind, the mind being the leader.
168 The image of the forest.
169 As a metaphor for something that is unreal.
170 The image is of a caravan lost in the forest.
171 There is a double meaning, with the menstrual cycle of a woman indicated. Thus, the whirlwind is a metaphor for attraction towards women. All the other metaphors are subject to detailed interpretations.
172 Minor gods.
173 Honey.
174 There are four elephants that dwell in the four directions. These are known as diggaja, the elephant (gaja) for a direction (dik).
175 The arms of women.
176 A metaphor for death or past deeds.
177 That is, Bharata.
178 Rahugana.
179 Parikshit.
180 The five senses and the mind.
181 The five senses.
182 Of weeds and grass.
183 Literally, a pishacha who carries fire in the night. The phosphorent glow known as will-of-the-wisp.
184 Karaskara is a poisonous medicinal plant and karatunda is the dark Agallochum.
185 They are dead.
186 The fire of hunger.
187 ‘Both’ is subject to different kinds of interpretation, such as in this life or the next, or pravritti and nivritti.
188 Of the king or the husband. Devadatta and Vishnumitra are names for any individuals, like ‘X’ and ‘Y’.
189 Destiny, nature and one’s own nature, respectively.
190 Kakinika, a very small amount, twenty cowries or less.
191 Of a woman.
192 One parardha is fifty years of Brahma’s life.
193 In this life, or in a past life.
194 One of the schools of darshana (philosophy).
195 Devatajit’s son.
196 Pratiha’s mother and wife had the same name.
197 These daughters are Shraddha, Maitri and Daya, the personified forms of faith, friendship and compassion.
198 Viraja.
199 We have deliberately used the word ‘ultimate’. The word used is charama. Therefore, one can take this either as the last son, or the greatest son.
200 Jambudvipa.
201 A great mountain.
202 Jambudvipa.
203 Meru’s root extends inside the earth for sixteen thousand yojanas. Therefore, it rises eighty-four thousand yojanas from the surface of the earth.
204 Kshara.
205 The wording is such that this can be interpreted in different ways. The same length and breadth, but one-tenth the height, or the same height and breadth, but one-tenth the length.
206 Charanas, gandharvas, apsaras, vidyadharas, kinnaras.
207 Yakshas.
208 A vyama is a measure of length. It is the distance between the tips of the fingers of the two hands, when the arms are extended out.
209 Of Meru.
210 Brahma.
211 Since it is made out of gold, shatakumbha meaning gold.
212 Indra’s Amaravati to the east, Agni’s Tejovati to the south-east, Yama’s Samyamini to the south, Nirrita’s Krishnagana to the south-west, Varuna’s Shraddhavati to the west, Vayu’s Gandhavati to the north-west, Kubera’s Mahodaya to the north and Shiva’s Yashovati to the north-east.
213 Compared to Brahma’s city.
214 This is a reference to Bali’s sacrifice and the vamana incarnation. Specifically, the description is of Vishnu taking the second step.
215 The egg.
216 From the feet of the illustrious one. This is the river Ganga.
217 Dhruva.
218 In Dhruvaloka.
219 The saptarshis are the seven great sages. The list varies, but the standard one is Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasishtha. In the sky, the saptarshis are identified with the constellation of Ursa Major (Great Bear).
220 On Meru.
221 In satya yuga, people are not interested in sexual pleasures and there are too many miseries in dvapara and kali yuga.
222 In the Ninth Skandha.
223 Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Samkarshana and Aniruddha.
224 Madhu is honey and asava is liquor made through distillation, not mere fermentation.
225 Serpents. Nagas (also known as uragas) are different from snakes. They are semi-divine, can assume any form at will and reside in specific locations.
226 As Shesha.
227 Associated with rajas and tamas, respectively.
228 Hayagriva.
229 There are seven nether regions—atala, vitala, sutala, rasatala, talatala, mahatala and patala.
230 Brahma.
231 Narasimha.
232 In the Seventh Skandha.
233 Prahlada.
234 Daityas are a specific category of demons, the progeny of Diti.
235 Demons, progeny of Danu.
236 Kshroum is a mystic akshara used to worship Narasimha.
237 Presumably meaning that the attachment has not matured.
238 If the lifespan for a human is 100 years, theirs is 360x100 = 36,000 years.
239 The chakra.
240 Kamadeva’s.
241 Lakshmi.
242 All three are mystic aksharas, bijas.
243 The ten senses, five objects of the senses and the mind.
244 Day and night.
245 On your chest.
246 The attention to Lakshmi is token, while that to devotees is substantial.
247 The fish incarnation.
248 The turtle or tortoise incarnation.
249 Demons.
250 Constellations.
251 The twenty-four principles of samkhya.
252 Since sacrifices disappear in kali yuga, this form is not manifested then.
253 Hiranyaksha.
254 Paramatman.
255 In the Valmiki Ramayana, Rama exiled Lakshmana.
256 The two sages, Nara and Narayana, are often referred to jointly in the singular.
257 A kalpa is the longer cycle of creation and destruction.
258 The four classes and four stages of life, respectively.
259 Narada.
260 Brahma.
261 The one without qualities or attributes, the brahman.
262 Respectively associated with sattva, rajas and tamas.
263 Of Bharatavarsha.
264 A forest-dwelling bird may be captured by a fowler and escape, only to be caught again. The cycle of birth and death is like that.
265 Bharatavarsha.
266 This seems to be the place where the chant of the gods and Narada’s quote both end.
267 Sagara’s sons were looking for the horse from a horse sacrifice.
268 That is, 100,000 yojanas.
269 That is, 200,000 yojanas.
270 This is the mantra used by the inhabitants of Plaksha-dvipa.
271 This is interpreted as auspicious and inauspicious results respectively.
272 The silk-cotton tree.
273 Garuda.
274 The four varnas there.
275 The dark lunar fortnight.
276 The bright lunar fortnight, when the moon waxes.
277 This is the mantra used by the inhabitants of Shalmali-dvipa.
278 The four varnas there.
279 This is the mantra used by the inhabitants of Kusha-dvipa.
280 Guha/Kartikeya shattered Krouncha with his spear.
281 The four varnas there.
282 Varuna.
283 The four varnas there.
284 Breathing.
285 This is the mantra used by the inhabitants of Shaka-dvipa.
286 Pushkara, thus giving the region its name.
287 Brahma.
288 Shri-Shuka.
289 The ocean of sweet water.
290 Respectively, loka and aloka. Alternatively, this can be interpreted as a region inhabited by living entities and one not inhabited by living entities.
291 Brahma.
292 Atop Lokaloka.
293 The area not illuminated by the sun.
294 Mrita (inanimate) anda (egg).
295 Hiranya (golden) garbha (origin).
296 The terrestrial sphere and the heavenly sphere.
297 Respectively, vernal equinox, autumnal equinox and when the sun passes through the equator.
298 Capricorn.
299 Signs of the zodiac.
300 Respectively, Aries and Libra.
301 A ghatika is twenty-four minutes. Day and night are equal in Aries. Day keeps on progressively increasing from Vrisha (Taurus), Mithuna (Gemini), Karkata (Cancer), Simha (Leo) to Virgo (Kanya). Night keeps on progressively increasing from Vrishchika (Scorpio), Dhanu (Saggitarius), Makara (Capricon), Kumba (Aquarius) to Mina (Pisces).
302 On Meru.
303 There is an interpretation we have skipped, because it is not directly there in the text. The sun faces the stellar spheres and moves to the east, with Meru to the left. But there is a wind that blows, keeping Meru to the right. The force of this makes the sun move in the opposite direction, so on and so forth.
304 23,775,000 yojanas.
305 That is, six hours.
306 The spokes are the months, the segments of the rim are the seasons and the naves are periods of four months each.
307 The sun’s charioteer.
308 Gayatri, Brihati, Ushnika, Jagati, Trishtubh, Anushtubh and Pankti.
309 As a mark of respect to the sun god.
310 Valakhilyas are those who subsist on fresh fruit.
311 For each month, there are separate names for the sun’s attendants. These will be recounted in the Twelfth Skandha.
312 A gavyuti is a measure of distance, equal to two kroshas (four miles) or one krosha (two miles).
313 Shri-Shuka.
314 The sun god.
315 Day and night.
316 Without Abhijit, there are twenty-seven nakshatras.
317 Shukra, Venus.
318 Such as Mars.
319 Mercury.
320 Mars.
321 Jupiter.
322 Saturn.
323 Thirty years.
324 Saptarshi, Ursa Major.
325 Shishumara. The constellation is in the shape of a dolphin and the names of the stars in the constellation follow.
326 The fourteen from Abhijit to Punarvasu for uttarayana and the fourteen from Pushya to Uttarashadha for dakshinayana.
327 Ajavithi means the three nakshatras that indicate dakshinayana—Mula, Purvashadha and Uttarashadha. Akasha-Ganga is the Milky Way.
328 Magha to Anuradha.
329 Mrigashirsha to Purvabhadrapada, but in the reverse order, from Purvabhadrapada to Mrigashirsha.
330 Canopus.
331 Venus.
332 Prana is the breath of life or the life force. Prana draws breath into the body, apana exhales it.
333 The twilight zone.
334 Morning, midday and evening.
335 In the Sixth and Eighth Skandhas.
336 In Rahu’s getting a share of the amrita.
337 The sun and the moon.
338 Ten thousand yojanas below Rahu.
339 Vidya means knowledge. Thus vidyadhara, one who holds knowledge.
340 Ten thousand yojanas.
341 Nagas.
342 The word chaitya has several meanings—sacrificial shed, temple, altar, sanctuary and a tree that grows along the road.
343 Svairinis are loose women who have sex with anyone they want, but only with those from the same varna. In this context, kaminis are loose women who have sex with anyone they want, irrespective of varna. Pumshchalis have no sense of discrimination are almost like harlots.
344 Atala.
345 Vitala.
346 Bali.
347 These sections are subject to diverse interpretations.
348 Bali.
349 Prahlada.
350 Hiranyakashipu.
351 Bali’s, in the Eighth Skandha.
352 The gate to Bali’s world.
353 The one with the ten shoulders is Ravana. Narayana hurled him away.
354 Sutala.
355 Shiva.
356 Maya obtained it through Shiva’s grace.
357 Talatala.
358 Alternatively, they are prone to anger.
359 Mahatala.
360 The panis stole cows and hid them. Indra sent Sarama as a messenger, cursing the panis.
361 Rasatala.
362 Patala.
363 Ahamkara manifests itself in three forms—vaikarika, taijasa and tamasa.
364 Samkarshanam is the act of drawing together, attracting.
365 Alternatively, vaijayanti is not a separate necklace, but a garland made out of tulasi, kunda, mandara, parijata and lotuses.
366 A gandharva.
367 Two paramanus make up one anu.
368 In addition to the twenty-one, adding up to a total of twenty-eight.
369 Tamisra means darkness.
370 Andha-tamisra means blinding darkness.
371 Ruru has several meanings. Here, it means a savage animal.
372 The name Kumbhipaka is derived from cooking in a pot.
373 The name Kalasutra is derived from the rope/bondage of time/destiny.
374 When there are calamities, deviations are permitted.
375 The name is derived from leaves that are like swords.
376 The name Sukara-mukha is not explained. It is probably based on the sound that such people make from their mouths.
377 Literally, blind pit.
378 A householder has to perform five yajnas—studying, worshipping the ancestors, worshipping the gods, sharing food with humans and sharing food with non-human creatures.
379 Thus the name Krimi-bhojana.
380 In the hell known as Sandamsha, sandamsha means to tear out.
381 Hence the hell named Tapta-surmi, based on hot image.
382 Including animals.
383 He is impaled on a silk-cotton (shalmali) tree with thorns that are like the vajra and dragged down from there, so that the thorns tear out his flesh.
384 The river.
385 In the hell named Puyoda, derived from the word for pus.
386 In the hell named Prana-rodha, derived from the breath of life being obstructed.
387 The same as Vishasana, the name is derived from the word for killing.
388 That is, belonging to the first three varnas.
389 This is the hell named Lala-bhoksha, literally, a place where one is made to drink spittle.
390 In the hell named Sarameya-adana, derived from eaten by dogs.
391 The name Avichi is derived from this.
392 In the hell named Ayoh-pana, derived from drinking iron.
393 Literally, alkaline mud.
394 In the hell named Raksha-gana-bhojana, derived from being eaten by rakshasas. Those who were killed in this world become the rakshasas in the next world.
395 In the hell named Shulaprota, the name being derived from transfixed with spears.
396 Venomous serpents.
397 In the hell named Avata-nirodhana, derived from being confined in a hole.
398 In the hell named Paryavartana.
399 With a mouth like a needle.
400 The Second Skandha.