The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (4 vols., libros 1–18) · 3 · 87

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.