The Sanskrit Epics, page 872
278 Thus, there was no difference, in status, in ancient times, between children born of a Brahmana, a Kshatriya or a Vaisya mother. The difference of status was of later origin.
279 Nagnika is said to be one who wears a single piece of cloth. A girl in whom the signs of puberty have not appeared does not require more than a single piece of cloth to cover her. The mention of Nagnika, the commentator thinks, is due to an interdiction about wedding a girl of even ten years in whom signs of puberty have appeared.
280 When a father happens to have an only daughter, he frequently bestows her in marriage upon some eligible youth on the understanding that the son born of her shall be the son, for purposes of both Sraddha rites and inheritance, not of the husband begetting him but of the girl’s father. Such a contract would be valid whether expressed or not at the time of marriage. The mere wish of the girl’s father, unexpressed at the time of marriage, would convert the son into a son not of the father who begets him but of the father of the girl herself. A daughter reserved for such a purpose is said to be a putrikadharmini or ‘invested with the character of a son.’ To wed such a girl was not honourable. It was in effect an abandonment of the fruits of marriage. Even if dead at the time of marriage, still if the father had, while living, cherished such a wish, that would convert the girl into a putrikadharmini. The repugnance to wedding girls without father and brothers exists to this day.
281 For understanding the meanings of Sapinda and Sagotra see any work on Hindu law civil or canonical.
282 These verses are exceedingly terse. The commentator explains that what is intended is that under the third and fourth circumstances the giver of the girl incurs no sin; under the second, the bestower of the girl (upon a person other than he unto whom a promise had been made) incurs fault. The status of wife, however, cannot attach simply in consequence of the promise to bestow upon the promiser of the dower. The relationship of husband and wife arises from actual wedding. For all that, when the kinsmen meet and say, with due rites, ‘This girl is this one’s wife,’ the marriage becomes complete. Only the giver incurs sin by not giving her to the promised person.
283 Hence, having promised to wed such a one, she is at liberty to give him over and wed another whom she likes.
284 In consequence of that boon no one incurs sin by retracting promises of bestowing daughters upon others in view of more eligible husbands.
285 Hence, no one should bestow his daughter upon a person that is not eligible, for the offspring of such marriage can never be good and such a marriage can never make the daughter’s sire or kinsmen happy.
286 One of the most important rites of marriage is the ceremony of circumambulation. The girl is now borne around the bride-groom by her kinsmen. Formerly, she used to walk herself. All gifts, again, are made with water. The fact is, when a thing is given away, the giver, uttering the formula, sprinkles a drop of water upon it with a blade of Kusa grass.
287 Hence, what Savitri did at the bidding of her sire could not be against the course of duty or morality. The Burdwan translator has misunderstood the second line of this verse, while K.P. Singha has quietly dropped it.
288 Dharmasya refers to the true or correct or eternal Aryan usage, Pradanam is khandanam, from da, to cut. The sense is that the grant of liberty to women is an Asura practice.
289 Hence, no one should wed, led by desire alone. Nor should the maiden be permitted to choose for herself. She may be guided in her choice by improper considerations connected with only carnal pleasure.
290 The property is divided into five parts, two of which are taken by the daughter under such circumstances and three by the son.
291 I expand the verse for making it intelligible, by setting forth the reasons urged by Hindu lawyers and noticed by the commentator.
292 Valatah vasyam implies only those whose consent is obtained by force. Hence, such cases as those of Krishna abducting Rukmini and Arjuna abducting Subhadra, are excluded from this denunciation.
293 The maiden may herself accept ornaments. That would not convert the transaction into a sale.
294 Swalpa-kaupinah literally is covered with a small piece of cloth, hence, capable of being easily seduced.
295 i.e., he should not acquire for storing. He may acquire to spend in sacrifices and gifts or for maintaining himself and his family.
296 i.e., if the Brahmana, led by affection for any other wife, disregards the wife belonging to his own order and shows preference for those of the other orders, he then incurs the liability of being regarded as a Chandala that has come to be numbered among Brahmanas.
297 The sense of this verse seems to be this: If a Brahmana takes in succession three spouses all belonging to his own order, the son born of his first wife shall take the share that is allotted to the eldest; that born of the second wife shall take a share next in value; and that born of the youngest wife shall take the share allotted to the youngest. After such especial shares are taken, the residue of the property is to be distributed unto equal shares each of which shall be taken by each of the children. If this interpretation be correct, it would appear that the contention waged some years ago in Bengal, that the scriptures do not allow a person the liberty of taking more than one spouse from his own order, falls to the ground. Upon other grounds also, that contention was absurd, for Kshatriya kings often took more than one Kshatriya spouse.
298 i.e., each order was created for performing sacrifices. The Sudra is competent to perform sacrifice. Only his sacrifice should be by serving the three other orders.
299 For them there is no investiture with the sacred-thread.
300 Broken earthenpots are always cast off. They are some times utilised by persons of the lower orders.
301 The second line is exceedingly terse. The sense seems to be this: one who is of low birth must remain low in disposition. Absolute goodness may arise in his heart, but it disappears immediately without producing any effect whatsoever. The study of the scriptures, therefore, cannot raise such a person. On the other hand, the goodness which according to its measure has ordained for one (1) the status of humanity and (2) the rank in that status, is seen to manifest itself in his act.
302 The son begotten upon a maiden by one who does not become her husband, and born after her marriage, is regarded as belonging not to the begetter but to the husband.
303 Such a son becomes the property of the mother’s husband and not of his begetter. If however, the begetter expresses a wish to have him and rear him, he should be regarded as the begetter’s. The principle upon which he becomes the child of the mother’s husband is that the begetter conceals himself and never wishes to have him.
304 The objects of Yudhishthira’s question will appear clearly from the answer given to it by Bhishma.
305 There is no fault in kine, etc., and kine are like fire etc. The Hindu idea is that kine are cleansing or sanctifying. The Rishis discovered that the magnetism of the cow is something that is possessed of extraordinary virtues. Give the same kind of food to a cow and a horse. The horse-dung emits an unhealthy stench, while the cowdung is an efficacious disinfectant. Western science has not yet turned its attention to the subject, but there can be little doubt that the urine and dung of the cow possess untold virtues.
306 Saptopadam mitram means that by speaking only seven words or walking only seven steps together, two persons, if they be good, become friends.
307 Vajrasuchyagram may also mean furnished with an end like that of the needle with which diamonds and other hard gems are bored through.
308 The ever-changing beautiful masses of afternoon or evening clouds, presenting diverse kinds of forms almost every minute, are regarded as the abodes or mansions of the Gandharvas.
309 Some of these trees and creepers are identifiable. Sahakara is Mangifera Indica, Linn. Ketaka is a variety of Pandanus Odoratissimus, Linn. Uddalaka is otherwise called Vahuvara and sometimes Selu. It is the Cordia Myxa, Linn. It may be a misreading for Uddanaka, which is the well-known Cirisha or the Mimosa Sirisca of Roxburgh. Dhava is Conocarpus latifolia, Roxb. Asoka is Saraca Indica, Linn., syn, Jonesia Asoka, Roxb. Kunda is Jasminum pubescens, Linn. Atimukta is otherwise called Madhavi. It is Gaertinera racemosa, Roxb. Champaka is Michelia Champaca, Linn. Tilaka sometimes stands for Lodhra, i.e., Symplocos racemosa, Roxb. The word is sometimes used for the Aswattha or Ficus religiosa, Linn. Bhavya is Dillenia Indica, Linn. Panasa is Artocarpus integrifolia, Linn. The Indian Jack-tree. Vyanjula stands for the Asoka, also Vetasa (Indian cane), and also for Vakula, i.e., Mimusops Elengi, Linn. Karnikara is Pterospermum accrifolium, Linn. Cyama is sometimes used for the Pilu, i.e., Salvadora Persica, Linn. Varanapushpa or Nagapushpa or Punnaga is Colophyllum inophyllum, Linn. Astapadika or padika is otherwise called Bhardravalli. It is the Vallaris dichotoma, Wall., Syn., Echites dichotoma, Roxb.
310 Bhringaraja is the Lanius Malabaricus. Kokila is the well-known Indian Koel or cuckoo. Catapatra is the wood-pecker. Koyashtika is the Lapwing. Kukkubhas are wild-cocks (Phasinus gallus). Datyuhas are a variety of Chatakas or Gallinules. Their cry resembles the words (phatikjal). Jivajivaka is a species of partridges. Chakora is the Greek partridge. Sarasa is the Indian crane. Chakravaka is the Brahmini duck or goose.
311 In verse 39 and 40 for asmi and tapacchaitat read asi and tapasaccha.
312 The Grandsire spoke of somebody becoming a Kshatriya in Bhrigu’s race, and referred to the incident as the result of a stain that would be communicated to that race from Kusika’s. This is the full allusion.
313 The sense seems to be that Kusika wishes to know what person of Bhrigu’s race will confer this high benefit upon his race.
314 By ancestors to the seventh degree also descendants to the same degree are meant.
315 Heaven and Hell are places of only enjoyment and endurance. There can be no acts there leading to merit or demerit. This world is the only place which is called the field of acts.
316 Vrikshas are large or small trees generally. Gulma is a shrub, or bushy plant. Lata is a creeper, which cannot grow without a support. Talli is of the same variety, with this difference, perhaps, that its stems are more tree-like than those of creepers. Twaksara is the bamboo. Trina includes all kinds of grass.
317 The commentator explains that the drift of Yudhishthira’s query is this: the giver and the receiver do not meet in the next world. How then can an object given away return or find its way back to the giver in the next world or next life?
318 Abhimanat is differently understood by the commentator.
319 Yuktaih is the better reading, although muktaih may not be erroneous. Yuktain is charaih; while muktath is ‘men charged with a commission to do a thing’.
320 This sacrifice is the sacrifices of gifts. ‘Spreading out a sacrifice’ means ‘spreading out the articles and placing them in proper order in view of the sacrifice.’ ‘Dadatah vartotam’ means datustaya saryanastu.
321 The sense is this: gifts made to such superior Brahmanas serve to free a person from the debts which he owes to the deities. The ‘water of gifts’ means the water that the giver sprinkles, with a blade of Kusa grass, over the article given away, saying, ‘I give this away’. In the sacrifice constituted by gifts, such water is like the dedication of offerings to the Pitris. A knowledge of the ritual of sacrifice is needed to understand and appreciate the figures employed in such verses.
322 Some texts read tathabham, meaning abhayam or fearlessness is from them — Tathobhayam (which I adopt) is that both, Heaven and Hell become one’s through them; if gratified, they bestow Heaven; if angry, they hurl into Hell.
323 Yachyam is yachanarupamkarma, Anisasya is daridrasya. Abhiharam is tirashkaram. Yachanti bhutani means those who beg or solicit. In the Santi Parva, Bhishma in one place directs beggars to be driven away from towns and cities as annoyers of respectable people. This, however, applies to professional beggars, and not persons in real distress.
324 Antarvedyan is within the platform; and Anrisamsyatah is vahirvedyan or outside the platform.
325 Sacrifices are a means of giving away unto the Brahmanas.
326 Weeping women means women of destitute condition and, therefore, unable to pay.
327 The first word in the first line is not kshatam but kritam.
328 The Commentator explains that because giver by one that is dear or given to one that is dear, therefore is she called Priyadatta.
329 This is evidently a crux. Prasamsanti means generally praise. Here it means reproach or censure. The second line may also mean, his enemies dare not attack his kingdom.
330 This is the utterance or declaration of the earth herself.
331 Rich with every taste; the idea is that things have six tastes, viz., sweet, sour, etc. The quality of taste is drawn by things from the soil or earth. The tastes inhere in earth, for it is the same earth that produces the sugarcane and the tamarind.
332 Sparsitam is dattam.
333 The Bombay reading adityatastansha is better than the Bengal reading adityataptansha.
334 What Yudhishthira wishes to know is what conjunctions should be utilized for making what particular gifts.
335 Payasa is rice boiled in sugared milk. It is a sort of liquid food that is regarded as very agreeable.
336 Vardhamana, Sarava or Saravika. It is a flat certain cup or dish.
337 Phanita is the inspissated juice of the sugarcane.
338 A prasanga is a basket of bamboo or other material for covering paddy.
339 Rajamasha is a kind of bean. It is the Vinga sinensis, syn. Dilicheos sinensis Linn.
340 There may be akama and sakama acts, i.e., acts without desires of fruit and acts with desires of fruit. A Sraddha with Tila or sesame should never be done without desire for fruit.
341 When a residential house is given away unto such a Brahmana and the receiver resides in it, the giver reaps the reward indicated. It does not refer to the hospitable shelter to such a Brahmana given by one in one’s own house.
342 To this day, in Bengal at least, a tenant never performs the first Sraddha or a Puja (worship of the deities) without obtaining in the first instance the permission of the landlord. There is in Sraddhas a Rajavarana or royal fee payable to the owner of the earth on which the Sraddha is performed.
343 Tasyam is explained by the commentator as kritayam.
344 Kinasa is either one who tills the soil with the aid of bulls or one who slays cattle. Having first mentioned vadhartham, kinasa should here be taken for a tiller. Kasai, meaning butcher, seems to be a corruption of the word kinasa.
345 One need not dedicate unto one’s deities any other food than what one takes oneself. In the Ramayana it has been said that Rama offered unto the Pitris astringent fruits while he was in exile. The Pisachas dedicate carrion unto their deities for they themselves subsist upon carrion.
346 The first line of 13 and the last line of 14 are very terse: Kalasya vihitam, as explained by the Commentator, is ayuh pramanam, na prapnami is na janami. The sense is that ‘unurged by time, I cannot allow these to take up my residence here.’
347 i.e., invite Brahmanas to feasts in which sesame should predominate.
348 In Bengal, to this day, those who can afford, particularly pious ladies, establish shady resting places in the month of Vaisakha (the hottest month of the year), by the side of the public roads, for travellers, where good cool drinking water, a handfull of well-drenched oats, and a little of raw sugar, are freely distributed. Such institutions, on the old Benares Road and the Grand Trunk Road, considerably refresh travellers. There are miles upon miles along these roads where good water is not at all procurable.
349 What is meant by the giving of lamps is the placing of lighted lamps in dark places which are the resorts of men, such as roads and ghats, etc.
350 Of equal name, because the word go means cow, earth, and speech.
351 No particular number is intended. What is meant is — innumerable.
352 The ‘hence’ in the last line has reference to what has been said before on the subject of kine, and not to the first line of the verse.
353 Vitasokaih in the instrumental plural refers to Bhavanaih or some such substantive understood. It may also be read as a nominative plural, referring to Lokah.
354 Very probably what is said here is that only such kine are worthy of being given away unto Brahmanas, and not lean animals.
355 Kine produce food not only by assisting at tillage of the soil, but also by aiding in the performance of sacrifices. The ghee burnt in the sacrificial fire sustains the under-deities, who pour rain and cause crops to grow.
356 That heat is the originating principle of the growth of many things was well understood by the Rishis.
357 The sense seems to be this: in doing all pious acts, one should first take the aid of a preceptor, even if one be well-conversant with the ordinances one has to follow. Without the selection of a preceptor in the first place, there can be no pious act. In the matter, therefore, of making gifts of kine according to the ordinances laid down, one should seek the help of a preceptor as well as in the matter of every other act of piety.
358 When consciousness of body is lost in Yoga or Samadhi, a temporary Moksha or Emancipation succeeds. Men with cleansed minds behold at such times those regions of supreme felicity to which the speaker refers. Such felicity, of course, is the felicity of Brahma itself.
359 Govritti is imitating the cow in the matter of providing for the morrow. Hence, one, who never thinks of the morrow and never stores anything for future use, is meant.
360 Etachcha in 25 implies gift of a cow, and enam refers to a Brahmana. Dwijaya dattwa, etc, in the first line of 26 seems to be an elaboration of Etachcha.
361 Homyaheth prasute implies for a child born in consequence of a Homa. The fact is, ascetics sometimes created children without the intervention of women and by efficacy of the Homa alone. At such times should people make gifts of kine unto such sires. The mention of Vala-samvriddhaye afterwards implies the birth of children in the usual course.
362 Kshirapaih implies calves that are yet unweaned; that is, the cow should be given at such a time when she is still yielding milk; when, in fact, her calf has not learnt to eat or drink anything besides the milk or its dam.
