The Sanskrit Epics, page 718
357 i.e., by tampering with the governors of the citadels and the garrisons of his foes, as the commentator explains.
358 i.e., that king who is vain and covetous.
359 Whether it belongs to himself or to any other person.
360 The sense seems to be that a king should always be guided by the precepts of the science of king-craft without depending upon chance.
361 i.e., he who earns religious merit is sure to obtain such regions; and as great merit may be acquired by properly discharging kingly duties one may, by such conduct, win much felicity hereafter.
362 Vyavahara is vi and avahara, hence that through which all kinds of misappropriation are stopped. It is a name applied to Law and administration of justice.
363 The commentator, in a long note, gives very fanciful explanations touching every one of these peculiarities of form. He understands Mrigaraja to mean the black antelope. I cannot reject the obvious meaning of the word. The object of the poet is simply to create a form that is frightful.
364 These are Righteousness, Law, Chastisement, God, and Living Creature.
365 The nearest approach in English to what is meant here by Vyavahara is Law. Three kinds of Vyavahara or Law are here spoken of. The first is the ordinary Law, according to which the disputes of litigants are decided, it includes both civil and criminal law, it is quaintly described here as Vattripratyayalakskana, i.e., ‘characterised by a belief in either of two litigant parties.’ When a suit, civil or criminal, is instituted, the king or those that act in the king’s name must call for Evidence and decide the matter by believing either of the two parties. Then follows restoration or punishment. In either case, it is a form of Chastisement. The second kind of Vyavahara or Law is the ecclesiastical law of the Vedas. These are the precepts or injunctions laid down in those sacred books for regulating every part of human duty. The third kind of Vyavahara or Law is the particular customs of families or races. It is also called kulachara. Where Kulachara is not inconsistent or in open variance with the established civil or criminal Law, or is not opposed to the spirit of the ecclesiastical law as laid down in the Vedas, it is upheld. (Even the British courts of law uphold Kulachara, interpreting it very strictly). What Bhishma says here is that even Kulachara should not be regarded as inconsistent with the scriptures (Vedas and Smritis).
366 In the verse 52 Bhishma says that the first kind of Vyavahara or Law, i.e., the ordinary civil and criminal law of a realm, must be regarded as resting on the king. But as this kind of law has the Veda for its soul and has originally flowed from Brahman, a king incurs no sin by administering it and by inflicting chastisement in its administration. The purport in brief of verse 54 is that Manu and others, in speaking of Morality and duty have said that it is as binding as the ordinary law that is administered by kings.
367 Jataharamadisat may also mean ‘ordered the removal of his matted locks’ — in other words, ‘had a shave.’
368 i.e., to acknowledge thee as a tutor.
369 The sense is that inasmuch as the Grandsire, who was the governor of the universe, assumed the mild and peaceful aspect of a sacrificer, Chastisement which had dwelt in his furious form could no longer exist.
370 Though Sula is mentioned, yet it is Vishnu and not Mahadeva, that is implied. Generally the word means any weapon.
371 The whole account contains more than one inconsistency. The commentator is silent. I think the inconsistencies are incapable of being explained. It is very probable that there have been interpolations in the passage. Verse 34 is probably an interpolation, as also verse 36.
372 i.e., Self-denial or discipline.
373 I have not the faintest idea of what is intended by these verses, viz., 43 and 51. Nilakantha is silent. It is very doubtful if they have really any meaning.
374 The commentator illustrates this by the action of a virtuous husband seeking congress with his wedded wife in the proper season. There is religious merit in the performance of the rites known by the name of Garbhadhana; there is pleasure in the act itself; and lastly, wealth or profit in the form of a son is also acquired.
375 There are three qualities or attributes that characterise human acts, viz., Goodness, Passion, and Darkness. Vide the latter sections of the Bhagavadgita. Such Virtue and Wealth and Pleasure, therefore, are not very high objects of pursuit. Things possessing the attribute of Goodness only are worthy of pursuit.
376 i.e., one should seek virtue for only compassing purity of soul; Wealth in order that one may spend it in acts undertaken without desire of fruit; and Pleasure for only supporting the body.
377 Dharmadinkamanaishthikan, i.e., having Dharma for the first and Karna for the last, hence Virtue, Wealth and Pleasure.
378 Pisitaudanam is food mixed with pounded meat; a kind of Pilau, or, perhaps, Kabab.
379 Vagagravidyanam is explained by Nilakantha to mean persons whose learning is at the end of their tongues and not buried in books; hence, persons of sharp memory.
380 The asker wishes to rob Prahlada of his conduct.
381 This lake is at a great height on the Himalayas.
382 The spirits of those two immortal sages are supposed to dwell for ever, in that retreat in the enjoyment of true happiness.
383 i.e., Hope is slender; while things unconnected with Hope are the reverse.
384 The sense is that such persons should always be distrusted. Yet there are men who hope for good from them. Such hope, the sage says, is slenderer than his slender body.
385 The word maya repeated in verses 14 to 18 is explained by Nilakantha as having the sense of mattah. The meaning, of course, is very plain. Yet the Burdwan translator has strangely misunderstood it. K.P. Singha, of course, gives an accurate version.
386 For the king’s disregard of the sage in former days.
387 The distress, which Yudhishthira felt at the thought of the slaughter in battle.
388 i.e., this is not a subject upon which one can or should discourse before miscellaneous audiences.
389 i.e., by ingenious contrivances a king may succeed in filling his treasury, or his best ingenuity and calculations may fail.
390 i.e., with a pure heart.
391 i.e., when the season of distress is over.
392 i.e., under ordinary situations of circumstances.
393 i.e., he should perform expiations and do good to them whom he has injured, so that these may not remain discontented with him.
394 He should not seek to rescue the merit of other or of himself, i.e., he should not, at such times, refrain from any act that may injure his own merit or that of others; in other words, he may disregard all considerations about the religious merits of others and of himself His sole concern at such a time should be to save himself, that is, his life.
395 Sankhalikhitam, i.e., that which is written on the forehead by the Ordainer.
396 Literally, “cause to be removed.”
397 The army and the criminal courts.
398 The commentator explains it in the following way. The ordinary texts, without exceptions of any kind, laid down for seasons of distress, permit a king to fill his treasury by levying heavy contributions on both his own subjects and those of hostile kingdoms. An ordinary king, at such a time, acts in this way. A king, however, that is endued with intelligence, while levying such contributions, takes care to levy them upon those that are wicked and punishable among his own subjects and among the subjects of other kingdoms, and refrains from molesting the good. Compare the conduct of Warren Hastings in exacting a heavy tribute, when his own treasury was empty, from Cheyt Singh, whose unfriendliness for the British power was a matter of notoriety.
399 The sense seems to be that there are persons who hold that priests and Brahmanas should never be punished or taxed. This is the eternal usage, and, therefore, this is morality. Others who approve of the conduct of Sankha towards his brother Likhita on the occasion of the latter’s appropriating a few fruits belonging to the former, are of a different opinion. The latter class of persons Bhishma says, are as sincere as the former in their opinion. They cannot be blamed for holding that even priests and Brahmanas may be punished when offending.
400 Duty depending on all the four foundations, i.e., as laid down in the Vedas; as laid down in the Smritis; as sanctioned by ancient usages and customs; and as approved by the heart or one’s own conscience.
401 i.e., yield with ease.
402 Grammatically, the last line may mean,— ‘The very robbers dread a king destitute of compassion.’
403 Their wives and children ought to be saved, and their habitations and wearing apparel and domestic utensils, etc., should not be destroyed.
404 i.e., ‘he that has wealth and forces.’
405 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.
406 It is always reproachful to accept gifts from persons of questionable character.
407 The king should similarly, by punishing the wicked, cherish the good.
408 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.
409 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.
410 Virtue prolongs life, and sin and wickedness always shorten it. This is laid down almost everywhere in the Hindu scriptures.
411 i.e., if ex-casted for irreligious practices.
412 The correct reading is Jatakilwishat.
413 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.
414 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.
415 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.
416 If it is Time that does all acts, there can be no individual responsibility.
417 i.e., they are indifferent to other people’s sorrow.
418 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.
419 Everything decays in course of time. Vide the characteristics of the different Yugas, ante.
420 i.e., do any of these or all as occasion may require.
421 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.
422 The crane sits patiently by the water side for hours together in expectation of fish.
423 i.e., if he passes safely through the danger.
424 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.
425 Literally, ‘preservation of what has been got, and acquisition of what is desired.’
426 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.
427 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.
428 Such as Rakshasas and Pisachas and carnivorous birds and beasts.
429 Abandoning his Homa fire.
430 i.e., flowers already offered to the deities.
431 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?
432 Agastya was a Rishi. He could not do what was sinful.
433 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.
434 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.
435 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.
436 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.
437 The theory is that all distresses arise originally from mental error which clouds the understanding. Vide Bhagavadgita.
438 Making gifts, etc.
439 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.
440 These are Mleccha tribes of impure behaviour.
441 i.e., for my instructions.
442 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.
443 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.
444 That which is asamikshitam is samagram karpanyam.
445 Nilakantha explains that vala here means patience (strength to bear) and ojas (energy) means restraints of the senses.
446 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.
447 These mantras form a part of the morning, noon and evening prayer of every Brahmana. Aghamarshana was a Vedic Rishi of great sanctity.
448 In the first line of 26 the correct reading is Kutah not Kritah as adopted by the Burdwan translators.
449 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!’
450 The correct reading is Murtina (as in the Bombay text) and not Mrityuna. The Burdwan version adopts the incorrect reading.
451 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).
452 Literally, ‘by giving up their own bodies’.
453 i.e., he is sure to come back to life.
454 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.
455 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.
456 The commentator explains that including the first, altogether 12 questions are put by Yudhishthira.
457 This is an answer to the first question viz., the general aspect of ignorance.
458 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.
