101. Literally, ‘there was but one umbrella opened on the earth in his time.’
102. The word in the original is nala. Nilakantha supposes that it has been so used for the sake or rhythm, the correct form being nalwa, meaning a distance of four hundred cubits.
103. Literally, one whose excreta are gold.
104. A Kshatriya should protect a Brahmana in respect of his penances and a Vaisya in respect of the duties of his order. Whatever impediments a Brahmana or a Vaisya might encounter in the discharge of his duties, must be removed by a Kshatriya.
105. i.e., thou shouldst think that the consequences of all acts must attach to the Supreme Being himself, he being the urger of us all.
106. Na Para etc., i.e., there is no Supreme Being and no next world.
107. No one being free in this life, all one’s acts being the result of previous acts, there can be no responsibility for the acts of this life.
108. The manner in which this great battle has been brought about shows evidence of design and not mere Chance. Nilakantha reads hatam which is evidently wrong. There can be no doubt that the correct reading is hatham.
109. Nilakantha explains this in a different way. He thinks that the expression Kritantavidhisanjuktah means,–‘through their own faults.’
110. The performer of a hundred sacrifices.
111. i.e., charges his pupils a fee for teaching them the scriptures.
112. i.e., not in a sacrifice.
113. Jighansiat is Jighansi and iat, i.e., may proceed with intention to
slay.
114. i.e., one who knows that the Soma is used in sacrifices for
gratifying the gods.
115. The rule laid down is that he should eat in the morning for the first three days, in the evening for the second three days, eat nothing but what is got without soliciting, for the next three days, and fast altogether for the three days that follow. This is called Krischara-bhojana. Observing this rule for six years, one may be cleansed of the sin of slaying a Brahmana.
116. The harder rule referred to is eating in the morning for seven days;
in the evening for the next seven days; eating what is got without soliciting, for the next seven days; and fasting altogether for the next seven.
117. These are the five products of the cow, besides earth, water, ashes, acids and fire.
118. Appropriation etc., as in the case of the king imposing fines on offenders and appropriating them to the uses of the state. Untruth, as that of the loyal servant or follower for protecting the life of his master. Killing, as that of an offender by the king, or in the exercise of the right of self-defence.
119. There were, as now, persons with whom the reading or recitation of the scriptures was a profession. The functions of those men were not unlike those of the rhapsodists of ancient Greece.
120. i.e., one possessed of a knowledge of the Vedas.
121. With very slight verbal alterations, this verse, as also the first half or the next, like many others, occurs in Manu, Vide Manu, Ch. II, V, 157-58.
122. Pratyasanna-vyasaninam is explained by Nilakantha as ‘I stand near these distressed brothers of mine’ (for whose sake only I am for accepting sovereignty). This is certainly very fanciful. The plain meaning is, ‘I am about to lay down my life.’
123. The priest of the Kauravas.
124. Sami is the Acacia suma; Pippala is the Piper longum; and Palasa is the Butea frondosa. Udumvara is the Ficus glomerata.
125. These are peace, war, marching, halting, sowing dissensions, and defence of the kingdom by seeking alliances and building forts, &c.
126. For if he had acted otherwise, he would have been called ungrateful.
127. The literal meaning of Purusha, as applied to the Supreme Being, is ‘One that pervades all forms in the Universe.’
128. i.e., Aditi and of Aditi’s self as born in different shapes at different times.
129. Yugas may mean either the three ages Krita, Treta and Dwapara, or, the three pairs such as Virtue and Knowledge, Renunciation and Lordship, and Prosperity and Fame.
130. Virat is one superior to an Emperor and Swarat is one superior to a Virat.
131. Vishnu, assuming the form of a dwarf, deluded the Asura Vali into giving away unto him three worlds which he forthwith restored to Indra.
132. The son of Uttanapada, who in the Krita age had adored Vishnu at a very early age and obtained the most valuable boons.
133. Sudharman was the priest of the Kurus. How came Dhaumya, who was the priest of the Pandavas, to have from before an abode in the Kuru capital?
134. This is an allusion to Krishna’s having covered the three worlds with three of his steps for deluding the Asura Vali and depriving him of universal sovereignty.
135. There are three states of consciousness in the case of ordinary men, viz., waking, dream, and sound sleep. The fourth state, realisable by Yogins alone, is called Turiya. It is the state of perfect unconsciousness of this world, when the soul, abstracted within itself, is said to be fixed upon the Supreme Being or some single object.
136. Mind, as used generally in Hindu philosophy, is the seat of the senses and the feelings. Buddhi is the Understanding or the cognitive faculties of the Kantian school. The Bombay reading of the second line is correct. It is Gunadevah Kshetrajne etc. Nilakantha correctly explains it as Savdadiguna-bhajodevah, i.e., the senses.
137. The Supreme Being is called here and elsewhere Hansa, i.e., swan, because as the swan is supposed to transcend all winged creatures in the range of its flight, so the Supreme Being transcends all creatures in the universe. He is called That, as in the Vedic formula of Praise, “Thou art That,” meaning, “Thou art inconceivable and incapable of being described in words.”
138. Created things have attributes. It is Brahma only that has no attributes, in the sense that no attributes with which we are familiar can be affirmed of him.
139. The Vaks are the mantras; the Anuvaks are those portions of the Vedas which are called Brahmanas; the Nishads are those portions of the Vedic ritual which lead to an acquaintance with the gods. The Upanishads are those portions which treat exclusively of the knowledge of the Soul.
140. Quadruple soul, i.e., Brahma, Jiva, Mind, and Consciousness. The four names under which the Supreme Being is adored by the faithful are Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha.
