950 Droupadi was dragged by the hair into the assembly hall.
951 Meaning Dvaravati.
952 Vasudeva, Krishna’s father.
953 A tirtha near Dvaravati.
954 Whether the child will be male or female.
955 However, Krishna was not present.
956 Ugrasena.
957 The hunter’s name was Jara. The word also means old age.
958 Krishna’s father.
959 Vasudeva.
960 There is a proportionate quid pro quo.
961 The dharma of devotion to the illustrious one.
962 Out of Rishabha’s one hundred sons.
963 That is, they were naked.
964 The king of Videha.
965 Named after Nabhi, this varsha was initially known as Ajanabha. It came to be known as Bharatavarsha later.
966 Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanatkumara.
967 A kshana is a small measure of time.
968 There is the symbolism of the shrutis and smritis constituting the eyes of knowledge and of falling down into samsara.
969 As a consequence of past karma.
970 This echoes Bhagavad Gita 9.27.
971 The notion of ‘I’, which is second, Narayana being primary.
972 Nimi.
973 Those who ignore Krishna.
974 Those who hate Krishna.
975 His interpretation of devotion is limited to worshipping the image.
976 A very small measure of time.
977 Nimi.
978 Depending on their inclinations.
979 The five senses of perception and the five senses of action add up to ten.
980 In the form of Shesha.
981 That is, Brahma.
982 When the kindling has been consumed, fire enters into the principle of the fire.
983 There is a bit of interpretation in these shlokas. A straight translation wouldn’t have been clear.
984 Tamasika ahamkara, rajasika ahamkara and sattvika ahamkara.
985 It is left implicit that Mahat merges into Prakriti.
986 Sattva, rajas and tamas.
987 Nimi.
988 Those who are attached to material objects.
989 That is, couples who live together in the householder stage.
990 Joy and misery, heat and cold and so on.
991 Or bark.
992 Mobile and immobile objects as representing Krishna.
993 Nimi.
994 This is a reference to the four states of consciousness—wakefulness (jagrata), dreaming (svapna), deep sleep (sushupti) and pure consciousness (turiya).
995 This is a difficult shloka, with alternative interpretations. The description is as ‘neti’, not this.
996 This is more than a word for word translation, since the text is cryptic. Rajas brought about the power of creation and Sutratma is the same as Hiranyagarbha. Tamas is the ignorance that envelops the jivatman.
997 Interpreted as gods who embody knowledge, or the divinities who preside over the senses.
998 Such as birth, youth, old age and death.
999 Cessation of karma.
1000 Ikshvaku’s.
1001 Karma stands for acts sanctioned by the Vedas, akarma for failure to perform those acts. Vikarma stands for the commission of prohibited acts.
1002 The answer to the question is left implicit. The sages did not tell you, because you were not ready for the knowledge.
1003 For instance, a child may have an illness that needs to be cured through ingesting a bitter medicine. The objective is the curing of the illness, not the medicine. Since the medicine is bitter, it is hidden inside something sweet, or the child is tempted with the offer of something sweet after the bitter medicine has been taken.
1004 Mentioned in the Vedas.
1005 Agamas are texts other than the Vedas, such as the tantra texts. Having obtained the preceptor’s favours means having been initiated by the guru. The devotee chooses a personal form of the lord that appeals to himself.
1006 This is known as anga-nyasa, the mental appropriation (nyasa) of different limbs of the body (anga) to different divinities.
1007 Such as Sudarshana chakra.
1008 Such as Sunanda.
1009 Padya is water to wash the feet, arghya is a gift, achamaniya is water to rinse the mouth.
1010 Nimi.
1011 Of perception and action.
1012 Based on sattva.
1013 Nara-Narayana.
1014 Kama.
1015 A hermitage exists so that it can offer hospitality to guests. The idea is: ‘Please accept the offerings as hospitality due to a guest.’ Otherwise, the hermitage becomes non-existent in a figurative sense.
1016 The gods.
1017 Extreme weather during the three seasons of summer, rain and winter. Extreme austerities are performed to overcome these impediments.
1018 And other senses of perception.
1019 And other senses of action.
1020 As a result of rage, they utter curses and fritter the fruits away.
1021 This literally means the mark of a cow’s foot in the soil and the small puddle of water that fills up such a mark, that is, a trifle.
1022 Narayana.
1023 As a swan, he taught jnana yoga to Brahma.
1024 Dattatreya.
1025 Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanatkumara.
1026 These were the minute valakhilya rishis, who fell into a goshpada and were about to drown.
1027 There is a tense problem. This part of the text is in the future tense, which is fine because this is being told to King Nimi. However, the bit about Rama has a bit in the past tense and a bit in the present tense. The only logical conclusion possible is that this entire conversation took place while Rama was still alive.
1028 As Buddha.
1029 As Kalki.
1030 Nimi.
1031 They distort the meanings of the Vedas.
1032 From the sacred texts.
1033 Dharma, artha and kama.
1034 Nimi.
1035 A water pot.
1036 Standing for the three Vedas.
1037 That is, he is personified in sacrifices.
1038 Though not mentioned by name, this seems to be addressed to Rama. In fairness, interpretations have also tried to identify this with Krishna and Chaitanya.
1039 The word used is pratichi, meaning west. It is not clear whether the word is being used as an adjective or a proper noun. Given the Mahanadi’s course, adjective is probably more natural.
1040 As sanctioned by the sacred texts.
1041 Vasudeva and Devaki.
1042 To Dvaraka.
1043 Since there are five senses, this is sashtanga namaskara, with eight (ashta) limbs (anga).
1044 Vasudeva, Samkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.
1045 Morning, noon and evening.
1046 This is a reference to the vamana incarnation and Vishnu covering the three worlds in three strides (the three flagpoles) and the Ganga flowing (like a streamer) in the three worlds.
1047 This is invariably interpreted as four-monthly periods of summer, monsoon and winter. But past, present and future also seems feasible.
1048 That is, Hrishikesha.
1049 Brahma.
1050 On the way to Vaikuntha.
1051 Chandra was married to the nakshatras, Daksha’s daughters. But since he loved Rohini more than the others, he was cursed by Daksha.
1052 Balarama.
1053 Henceforth, throughout this discourse to Uddhava, the shlokas are subject to different interpretations.
1054 Of samsara.
1055 Intelligence, mind or senses.
1056 There are interpretations on what is being inferred.
1057 Thus escaping the forest conflagration.
1058 The brahmana is identified as Dattatreya.
1059 These have not been specifically mentioned as instructors. Both the mountain and the tree are parts of the earth.
1060 The breath of life, that is the air, behaves in this way.
1061 That is, he does not store food for a next meal.
1062 He must not beg for too much of alms at any house, just as a bee collects little from every flower.
1063 The body is the city with nine gates—the two eyes, the two nostrils, the two ears, the mouth, the genital organs and the anus.
1064 As a possible bride.
1065 Since she was dehusking the rice herself, they would take her to be poor.
1066 The seating posture.
1067 That is, secluded spots for dwelling in. There are obvious similarities with a snake’s behaviour.
1068 Like a spider.
1069 The thread of creation, known as Mahat.
1070 The parents by virtue of birth, worms, predatory creatures and so on after death.
1071 There are issues of interpretation here. Yama means restraint or control and the five norms of yama are non-violence, patience, sincerity, obedience to a preceptor and purification. These are major ordinances, so to speak. Niyama stands for minor ordinances, such as fasting, visiting tirthas, donations, or acts of atonement.
1072 These shlokas, with the argument extending across several shlokas, are extremely difficult to translate. The gist is, do agents of karma and material objects have an independent and permanent existence? The answer is no, there is no free will.
1073 Interpreted as rituals and sacrifices.
1074 One parardha is fifty years of Brahma’s life. So two parardhas is 100 years of Brahma’s life.
1075 The word used is tata.
1076 The word used for bird is suparna. One of these birds is the jivatman, the other is the paramatman. The jivatman eats the fruits of the pippala (the holy fig) tree, that is, enjoys the fruits of karma. The tree is a metaphor for the body.
1077 In the sense that the cow is old and can no longer be milked again.
1078 Without expecting the fruits.
1079 As in worries—hunger, thirst, grief, infatuation, old age, death.
1080 He has transcended all injunctions.
1081 The best of the wind means the vital prana.
1082 Like sesamum seeds and rice.
1083 Jambavat.
1084 Jatayu.
1085 A merchant from Kashi, also known as Tuladhara. He taught dharma to the sage Jajali. This is a story from the Mahabharata.
1086 This is Dharmavyadha from the Mahabharata, who taught dharma to the sage Koushika.
1087 This is probably an allusion to the twin arjuna trees.
1088 A specific example being Kaliya.
1089 Akrura.
1090 Specifically, the gopis. In general, the residents of Vraja.
1091 There are many hidden meanings inside this shloka. For instance, the manifestation is in muladhara chakra and the cave is svadhishthana chakra. There is an implicit reference to ascending upwards, to the manipura and vishuddha chakras. Nada is the sound of prana. Matra indicates the time taken by an akshara, svara is a vowel, varna is a letter and sthavishtha is the gross form of speech.
1092 The two seeds are good deeds (punya) and bad deeds (papa), the roots are desires and the three stalks are sattva, rajas and tamas.
1093 The five major branches are the five elements and the five kinds of juice are the objects of the five senses.
1094 The eleven smaller branches are the five senses of perception, the five senses of action and the mind, the two birds are the jivatman and the paramatman and the three kinds of bark are wind, bile and phlegm.
1095 The two fruits are joy and misery and entering the sun means going beyond samsara.
1096 A pun indicating those addicted to vulgar pleasures.
1097 Hamsas.
1098 The weapon of knowledge. It is no longer needed.
1099 Brahma.
1100 Since I am not a person who is different from you, how can you ask me the question?
1101 By the jivatman, they are not real.
1102 The word daiva is used twice, once for the present body being destroyed, the second time for a new body being obtained. Daiva can mean the result of one’s past karma, destiny, or the supreme one’s will. Depending on the view one takes, different permutations and combinations of meaning are possible.
1103 The embodiment of sacrifices, Vishnu.
1104 Satyam is truth, while ritam can be interpreted in different ways, divine truth or divine law being one.
1105 Brahma.
1106 Minor gods.
1107 As in different interpretations of the Vedas.
1108 Interpreted in the narrow sense of the rituals of the Vedas.
1109 Brahma.
1110 That is, as much as I love a devotee like you.
1111 Prana draws breath into the body, apana exhales it. Ayama means control or restraint, so pranayama is control of the breath of life. Pranayama has three components—puraka, rechaka and kumbhaka. Puraka is when the inhaled apana air fills up the exhaled prana air and temporarily stops its exit. Rechaka is when the exhaled prana air stops the entry of the inhaled apana air. Kumbhaka is when prana and apana are both controlled and the air is restrained inside the body.
1112 The major eight are bestowed by me and help to obtain me. The other ten have an origin in sattva guna and are for enjoying material objects.
1113 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), vashita (powers to control creatures) and ishita (obtaining divine powers).
1114 The sentence doesn’t have a noun or a verb in the Sanskrit. These are the ten minor powers.
1115 In the list of the eight major powers, garima seems to have been replaced with kamavasiyata.
1116 White in complexion stands for purity. The six changes are hunger, thirst, old age, death, delusion and grief.
1117 This is the description of a person who can die whenever he wills.
1118 Brahma.
1119 Gayatri is a metre, as well as a mantra. The gayatri metre has three lines. The text refers to the gayatri metre indirectly, referring to it as one with lines.
1120 That is, the fire god.
1121 That is, Shiva.
1122 That is, kamadhenu.
1123 That is, Kubera.
1124 Shiva.
1125 Brahma.
1126 That is, Sanatkumara.
1127 Brahma divided himself into man and woman.
1128 Shukracharya.
1129 Vasudeva, Samkarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Narayana, Hayagriva, Varaha, Narasimha and Vamana.
1130 Vasudeva.
1131 Alternatively, of the elements.
1132 Respectively related to legs, mouth, anus, hands and genital organs.
1133 That is, one ceases to be part of samsara.
1134 The qualification ‘all men’ is necessary because some may be outside the varna and ashrama fold.
1135 The etymology of the word krita means accomplished.
1136 As a metaphor for the four feet of dharma.
1137 A reference to the hotri, udgatri and adhvaryu.
1138 That is, there is an urge to acquire more wealth.
1139 The sense is that they should not be washed by someone else.
1140 From vanaprastha, one should not return to garhasthya. However, there is the clause that this progressive order is not binding on devotees.
1141 This is interpreted in the following way. The first wife has to be from the same varna. The second wife can be from a lower varna and so on.
1142 Shila-unchchha means subsistence on the basis of collecting grains from the ground.
1143 There are some objects a brahmana is prohibited from trading.
1144 That is, engage in lowly occupations, or serve inferior masters.
1145 Svadha is for ancestors, svaha is for gods.
1146 The sentence lacks a noun. These are tasks for all householders, referred to as pancha yajna, the five daily sacrifices for gods, rishis, ancestors, men and non-human creatures.
1147 What is earned in heaven is as temporary as what is seen in this world.
1148 Morning, noon and evening. The bath must be no more than this dip in the water.
1149 Four fires on four sides and the sun overhead.
1150 Darsha is on the day of the new moon, pournamasa is on the day of the full moon and chaturmasya is once every four months.
1151 The ahavaniya, garhapatya and dakshinagni fires that are maintained.
1152 A loin cloth.
1153 To make sure he does not step on insects or other living creatures.
1154 Outside the habitation.
1155 Leaving a bit on the ground for other creatures.
1156 Without leaving anything for the future.
1157 The five senses and the mind. Alternatively, the six vices.
1158 Avoiding condemned households.
1159 In this context, only engaging in recommended sexual intercourse.
1160 Interpreted in different ways—the three gunas; birth, existence and death; the three kinds of miseries.
1161 Adhidaivika, adhibhoutika and adhyatmika.
1162 Bhishma’s.
1163 The nine are Purusha, Prakriti, Mahat, ahamkara and the five tanmatras. The eleven are the five organs of action, the five senses of perception and the mind. The five are the five gross elements. The three are the three gunas. The one is the paramatman.
1164 Self-control.
1165 Prescribed practices.
1166 Mental equilibrium.
1167 Self-restraint.
1168 Forbearance.
1169 Fortitude.
1170 Donations.
1171 Austerities.
1172 Heroism.
1173 Truth.
1174 Also a variety of truth.
1175 Purity.
1176 Renunciation.
1177 Wealth.
1178 Sacrifice.
1179 Strength.
1180 Fortune.
1181 Gain.
1182 Learning.
1183 Modesty.
1184 Beauty, prosperity.
1185 Happiness.
1186 Unhappiness.
1187 A learned person.
1188 A fool.
1189 Path.
1190 Perverse path.
1191 Heaven.
1192 Hell.
1193 Relative.
1194 House.
1195 Wealthy.
1196 Poor person.
1197 A wretched person.
1198 Controller, master.
1199 They talk about good and bad associated with these. In an anuloma marriage, the husband has a higher varna. In a pratiloma marriage, the wife has a higher varna. Yet, you have said one should not think of good and bad.
1200 As given in the sacred texts.
1201 Meaning that no other means of atonement is necessary.
1202 That is, an act, per se, is not pure/impure, good/bad, auspicious/inauspicious. The answer depends on the context.
1203 Souvira was to the north-west and west, Kikata towards the extreme east.
1204 Based on interpretations of the sacred texts or learned people.
1205 Through the passage of time, the purity of an object may be affected. Size can determine the extent of contamination something suffers from contact with another object.
1206 Time, place, substance, the one undertaking the act, mantras and the nature of the act.
1207 For example, for people in garhasthya and sannyasa, brahmacharya may not have the same implication.
1208 Of the sacred texts.
1209 Because the sacrifices are a deceit. They actually love the violence.
1210 A merchant takes a risk with existing riches in the hope of greater riches.
1211 And about identity between the brahman and the jivatman.
1212 Metres.
1213 Gayatri has twenty-four aksharas, each successive metre has four aksharas more than the preceding one. Thus, anushtup has thirty-two and so on.
1214 Those mentioned in Chapter 11(19).
1215 Those who count twenty-five vis-à-vis those who count twenty-six.
1216 Both urine and stool. Hence, two under excretion.
1217 These three are thus subtracted from the list of seven principles.
1218 Purusha cannot be subject to change.
1219 Differentiating between the sense, the object of the sense and the presiding deity of the sense.
1220 Such as superior birth, average birth and inferior birth.
1221 This shloka has complicated interpretations. The idea is that the atman loses its real identity and identifies with unreal differences.
1222 There were no kin or guests there. Nor were there any rituals.
1223 Yakshas guard Kubera’s treasure and do not enjoy it themselves.
1224 The five who get shares in the five sacrifices a householder undertakes.
1225 This has been described in Chapter 2(1).
1226 Respectively associated with sattva, tamas and rajas.
1227 The atman.
1228 The senses and the divinities who preside over the senses.
1229 Is karma based on the body or the atman? The experience of happiness or unhappiness can only be felt by the sentient and the body is insentient.
1230 By Kapila and others.
1231 At the time of destruction. At this time, there is no question of people existing. Therefore, what is meant is that only undifferentiated consciousness existed.
1232 The fruits of maya are interpreted as material existence and the jiva is reflected in this.
1233 Sutra is an intervening stage between the gunas and Mahat.
1234 The five senses of perception and the five senses of action.
1235 Presiding over the ten senses and the mind.
1236 Brahma.
1237 Gold is the real entity for ornaments and earth is the real entity for pots.
1238 This is a description of the process of destruction.
1239 The text doesn’t use the word sattva, it being left implicit. We have added it, as we have done for rajas and tamas, to make the meaning clear.
1240 The pursuit of dharma is based on sattva, the pursuit of artha is based on rajas and the pursuit of kama is based on tamas.
1241 The tasks of dharma are based on sattva, the pravritti is based on rajas and the attachment to the home is based on tamas.
1242 Ila’s son, Pururava.
1243 Loose woman.
1244 Fire, dogs or vultures depends on how it is disposed of after death.
1245 Kama (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (avarice), moha (delusion), mada (arrogance) and matsarya (jealousy). Alternatively, the five senses and the mind.
1246 Sages confer internal vision.
1247 Pururava’s name, one that occurs rarely.
1248 That is, Brihaspati.
1249 Parvati.
1250 Karmakanda stands for ritualistic worship.
1251 Interpreted as an image made out of earth.
1252 The first is a physical bath. The second is a figurative bath.
1253 Or sandalwood paste.
1254 Avahana is invoking the deity’s presence, udvasa/visarjana is bidding farewell.
1255 This can be interpreted in different ways. For example, there are the twenty-five tattvas of samkhya—five tanmatras, five great elements, five senses of action, five senses of perception, the mind, buddhi, ahamkara, Prakriti and Purusha. These, or the respective divinities, are worshipped with the corresponding mantras.
1256 These three vessels contain water for washing the deity’s feet (padya), washing the hands (arghya) and rinsing the mouth (achamaniya).
1257 The nine powers are vimala (purity), utkarshni (exalted state), jnana, kriya (activity), yoga, prahvi (modesty), satya, ishana (sovereignty) and anugraha (grace).
1258 There are eight attendants in eight directions, with Garuda standing in front.
1259 Ushira is the root of the fragrant grass Andropogon muricatus.
1260 Svarnagharmanuvaka is from the Taittiriya Aranyaka, mahapurusha vidya is a specific mantra and rajana and rouhina are hymns from the Sama Veda.
1261 This can mean grain of any kind. But it is specifically used for threshed and winnowed rice that has not been dehusked.
1262 Naivedya is a general term for offerings of food. We have translated guda as candy made out of molasses, apupa as sweet cakes and modaka as dumpling. Shashkuli is a cake made out of rice or barley, supa can only be translated as soup and samyava is a kind of cake.
1263 Interpretations explain that a sacrifice is not meant for everyone.
1264 For the kindling.
1265 The main mantra is oum namo narayanaya. The sixteen refers to the sixteen verses of the purusha sukta. After each verse, the mantra for the corresponding deity is chanted.
1266 Yama.
1267 The text merely states svishti, we have added the mantra for clarity.
1268 Donations, constructing temples and performing worship.
1269 Of the body.
1270 Creation, preservation and destruction.
1271 The sun is impartial.
1272 Who goes through the cycle of birth and death?
1273 There are many complicated intepretations here. Stated simply, the jivatman, in the absence of knowledge, suffers from ahamkara and goes through samsara, suffering the consequences of karma.
1274 Wakefulness, sleeping and sushupti.
1275 Therefore, this body does not make an existence merely because it is called a body.
1276 In an earlier life.
1277 Past karma, or destiny.
1278 That karma works on him.
1279 Yoga has eight elements—yama (restraint), niyama (rituals), asana (posture), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal), dharana (retention), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (liberation). That’s the reason the expression ashtanga (eight-formed) yoga is used.
1280 Who are therefore not devoted to you.
1281 Like those in the Ramayana.
1282 As a preceptor outside the body and as consciousness inside the body.
1283 Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Alternatively, this can also be interpreted as sattva, rajas and tamas.
1284 Krishna.
1285 Or journeys.
1286 Pedantically, a chandala is the son of a brahmana mother and a shudra father. A pulkasa (equivalently pukkasa) is the son of a nishada father and a shudra mother.
1287 Dharma, artha, kama and moksha.
1288 By kings.
1289 A reference to the Ganga.
1290 Sattva, rajas and tamas.
1291 Badarikashrama.
1292 This is the place where Krishna killed Shankhasura/Shankhachuda, now known as Bet Dwarka.
1293 Maireya is made from molasses or grain.
1294 Not to be confused with Subhadraa.
1295 One of these Gadas was Krishna’s brother, the other one was Krishna’s son.
1296 Krishna and Balarama.
1297 Meaning the Yadavas.
1298 The bit that was swallowed by the fish, mentioned in Chapter 11(1).
1299 Suggesting that Krishna gave up his four-armed form.
1300 Agneyi is a process used by yogis to destroy the physical body, which they then leave. In this, a process of yoga is used to make the body burst out in spontaneous flames, so that it is destroyed. However, Krishna did not use this technique.
1301 Jara.
1302 Krishna’s father.
1303 Such as the Bhagavat Gita.
1304 Those who had no descendants who could perform the funeral rites.
1305 Aniruddha’s son.
1306 In Hastinapura.