547. The first word of this verse is diversely read. The reading I adopt is samunnam meaning drenched in water. If it be samjuktam it would mean united, with filth, of course. Another reading is samswinnam, meaning ‘drenched with sweat.’ Nilakantha explains upavasah here as equivalent to the renunciation of all earthly possessions. Ordinarily it means ‘fasts.’
548. This verse occurs in the Santi Parva. It is difficult to understand in what sense it is said that the track of the virtuous cannot be marked. Perhaps, it is; intended that such men do not leave any history or record behind them, they having abstained from all kinds of action good or bad.
549. Manasa means ‘appertaining to the mind,’ or rather, the Will. Mahat literally means great.
550. Veda is here used in the sense of Knowledge and Power.
551. Sarvabhutatmakrit is explained by Nilakantha thus. He who is Sarvabhutatman is again bhutakrit. On the authority of the Srutis the commentator adds,–ye ete pancha akasadayodhatavo-dharana-karmanah sa eva Brahma.
552. The word Devah here is evidently used in the sense of luminous or shining ones and not in that of gods or deities.
553. The Rishis supposed that the pouring of water created the air instead only of displaying it.
554. All created things are called Bhutas, but the five principal elements, viz., fire, air, earth, water, and space, are especially called Bhutas or Mahabhutas.
555. This is certainly curious as showing that the ancient Hindus knew how to treat diseased plants and restore them to vigour.
556. K.P. Singha wrongly renders this verse. The Burdwan translator is right.
557. Both the Bengal and the Bombay texts read bhutani. The correct reading, however, appears to be bhutanam.
558. The word for duct is Srotas. It may also be rendered ‘channel.’ Very like the principal artery or aorta.
559. Notwithstanding much that is crude anatomy and crude physiology in these sections, it is evident, however, that certain glimpses of truth were perceived by the Rishis of ancient times. Verse 15 shows that the great discovery of Harvey in modern times was known in ancient India.
560. In works on yoga it is laid down that the main duct should be brought under the control of the will. The soul may then, by an act of volition, be withdrawn from the whole physical system into the convolutions of the brain in the head. The brain, in the language of yogins, is a lot us of a thousand leaves. If the soul be withdrawn into it, the living creature will then be liberated from the necessity of food and sleep, etc., and will live on from age to age, absorbed in contemplation of divinity and in perfect beatitude.
561. It is often said that in an advanced stage of yoga, one is enabled to behold one’s Soul, or, a sort of double existence is realised in consequence of which the Soul becomes an object of internal survey to the Soul itself. Very probably, writers on yoga employ this language in a figurative sense.
562. The commentator explains that the words expressive of hue or colour really mean attributes. What is intended to be said is that the Brahmanas had the attribute of Goodness (Sattwa); the second order had the attribute of Passion (Rajas); the third got a mixture of the two, i.e., both goodness and passion (Sattwa and Rajas); while the lowest order got the remaining attribute, viz., Darkness (Tamas).
563. The distinction here laid down seems to be this: the eternal creation is due to the yoga or mental action of the Primeval Deity. That creation which we behold is the result of the penances of those sages who were first created. Perhaps, what is intended to be said is that the principle of life, of life proceeding from life, and primal matter with space, etc., are all due to the fiat of God; while all visible and tangible objects, resulting from the action of those principles and from primal matter and space, are attributable to the ancient sages.
564. The word Ghrina may also mean aversion. Of course, here it would mean, if used in that sense, aversion for all unrighteous acts.
565. The first half of the first line of 6 is differently read in the Bombay edition. Both readings are noticed by Nilakantha. I have adhered to the Bengal reading, though the Bombay reading is clearer in sense. Visati is a transitive verb having Pratishtha or some such noun for its object. The literal meaning is He who acquires fame, etc.
566. Here the speaker describes the character of Karma-sannyasa (renunciation of acts). Samarambha generally means all kinds of acts. Here, however, only sacrifices and other scriptural rites are intended. I follow Nilakantha in rendering the second line, although the plain meaning would seem to be “who poureth everything in gift.”
567. The gross world is perceivable by the ordinary senses. Behind the gross world is a subtile one which the subtile senses i.e., the senses when sharpened by yoga, can perceive. With death, the gross body alone is dissolved The subtile body or form, called the Linga-sarira, and made up of what is called the Tanmatras of the primal elements, remains. Even that retains all the characteristics of the world in an incipient form. The Linga-sarira also must be destroyed before absorption into Brahma can take place.
568. The felicity that is obtained in heaven is not everlasting, being limited in point of duration by the degree or measure of merit that is achieved here.
569. The Pauranic theory of both the solar and the lunar eclipse is that the Sun and the Moon are sought to be devoured by the Daitya, Rahu.
570. The sense seems to be that Vedas declare those fruits in order that men may strive for them when they lead to happiness.
571. Nearly the whole of this section is prose.
572. It is difficult to understand in what senses the word Dharma is used in the three successive questions here.
573. In the first line the correct reading is Brahmana and not Brahmarshi. The answer attributed to Bhrigu settles this.
574. A pupil should never solicit his preceptor for instruction. He should attend only when the preceptor calls him. To this day, the rule is rigidly observed in all Tols throughout India. It should be added to the credit of those engaged in teaching that they very seldom neglect their pupils. The story is authentic of the grandfather of the great Baneswar Vidyalankar of Nuddea, himself as great a professor as Baneswar, of continuing to teach his pupils in the outer apartments even after receiving intelligence of his son’s death within the inner apartments of the family dwelling. The fact is, he was utterly absorbed in his work, that when his good lady, moved by his apparent heartlessness, came out to tax him he answered her, in thorough absence of mind, saying, ‘Well, do not be disturbed. If I do not weep for my son, I will do so for that grandchild in your arms.’ The pupils at last recalled him to the realities of the hour.
575. i.e., by picking up fallen grains from the field after the crop has been cut away and removed by the owner.
