1186 Manu gave her to Ruchi. A putrika is a daughter who is regarded as a son. After marriage, she lives in her father’s household. Her son is regarded as her father’s son and becomes the heir. Ruchi and Akuti’s son would thus be brought up as Manu’s son. This is usually done when the father doesn’t have a son. Here, this wasn’t the case, since Manu had sons named Priyavrata and Uttanapada.
1187 Dakshina means the fee given at sacrifices.
1188 The goddess of riches is Lakshmi. The separation bit can be interpreted as Lakshmi never being separated from Vishnu, or as Dakshina never being separated from Yajna.
1189 Dakshina desired Yajna.
1190 From one manvantara to another manvantara, Manu, the gods, the saptarshis and Indra (the title of the ruler of the gods) varies.
1191 Purniman’s.
1192 Ganga.
1193 They were respectively born as parts of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma.
1194 The Riksha mountains are the eastern part of the Vindhya range.
1195 Today, this is known as the Newaz/Newaj, in Madhya Pradesh.
1196 Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
1197 The respective mounts of Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu. The signs mean a water pot (kamandalu) for Brahma, a trident for Shiva and sudarshana chakra for Vishnu.
1198 Sinivali is the deity (and the day) for the day preceding the night of the new moon; Kuhu is the deity (and the day) for the night of the new moon; Raka is the deity (and the day) for the night of the full moon and Anumati is the deity (and the day) for the fourteenth night of shukla paksha.
1199 Meaning the digestive fire.
1200 Vishrava’s wife.
1201 Vibhishana’s mother was Keshini.
1202 Also known as Arundhati.
1203 Mrikanda from Ayati and Prana from Niyati.
1204 Shukracharya.
1205 Aja is Brahma’s name.
1206 Shiva.
1207 Krishna is also one of Arjuna’s names.
1208 These are different categories of ancestors. For example, Ajyapas accept oblations of ghee, Soumyas (Somapas) accept soma and so on.
1209 Svadha.
1210 The Prajapatis.
1211 Daksha.
1212 Sharva is one of Shiva’s names.
1213 Shiva’s name, one who delights the world.
1214 The Vedas.
1215 A preta is a ghost, the spirit of a dead person, or simply something evil. A bhuta has the same meaning. Strictly speaking, there are differences between preta, bhuta and pishacha (one who lives on flesh). A preta is the spirit (not necessarily evil) of a dead person before the funeral rites have been performed. A bhuta (not necessarily evil again) is the spirit of a dead person who has had a violent death and for whom, proper funeral rites have not been performed, and may not even be performed. A pishacha (necessarily evil) is created deliberately through evil powers. Pramatha is an evil spirit who torments.
1216 The word Shiva means auspicious.
1217 Brahma.
1218 The word used is pashanda.
1219 Sura is a general term for liquor. Asava is made through distillation, not mere fermentation.
1220 The way of the Vedas.
1221 Meaning Shiva.
1222 The one without birth, meaning Shiva.
1223 The one with the dark throat, Shiva’s name.
1224 Whether she went or not.
1225 Nandi.
1226 A sarika bird is a kind of thrush, Turdus salica, a talking bird kept as a pet.
1227 For her to play.
1228 Daksha.
1229 Meaning Daksha, who was performing the sacrifice.
1230 To make it clear, we have taken a few liberties with the text.
1231 ‘Shi’ and ‘va’.
1232 Daksha’s daughter.
1233 Brought equilibrium between prana and apana.
1234 Manipura chakra.
1235 Shiva.
1236 There are three sacred fires at any sacrifice—ahavaniya (to the east), dakshinagni (to the south) and garhapatya (the fire for the householder).
1237 Sati.
1238 Shiva’s name, the one with matted hair on his head.
1239 Virabhadra, his name is mentioned later.
1240 Yama.
1241 Daksha.
1242 King Prachinabarchi, who punished bandits.
1243 Daksha’s wife.
1244 Shiva’s.
1245 Brahma.
1246 When Daksha insulted Shiva.
1247 Meaning Virabhadra.
1248 Shiva.
1249 Virabhadra.
1250 There was a gambling match, at which, Balarama had been deceived. Therefore, he had knocked out the teeth of Dantavakra, the king of Kalinga.
1251 The three-eyed one, Virabhadra.
1252 Virabhadra again, Virabhadra being one of Shiva’s forms.
1253 Pashupati.
1254 Daksha.
1255 Kailasa.
1256 Indra.
1257 Pura means Tripura. Shiva destroyed a city (actually three cities together) of the demons, named Tripura.
1258 Mandara is the coral tree, parijata is also the coral tree, sarala is a kind of pine, tamala is the sacred garlic pearl tree, shala is a kind of tree, tala is the palm tree, kovidara is a kind of orchid, asana (should read ashana) is the Indian laurel, arjuna is a tall tree, chuta is mango, kadamba is a kind of tree, nipa is another name for the kadamba tree, naga (nagakeshara) is a flowering tree, punnaga is nutmeg, champaka is a tree with yellow and fragrant flowers, patala is the Bignonia suaveolens, ashoka is Saraca indica, bakula is a tree with fragrant flowers, kunda is a kind of jasmine and kurabaka is a kind of amaranth tree.
1259 The prickly chaff flower.
1260 Jasmine.
1261 The hiptage shrub.
1262 The cluster fig tree.
1263 The holy fig tree.
1264 Also a holy fig tree.
1265 The banyan tree.
1266 Priyalas.
1267 Honey trees.
1268 A medicinal tree.
1269 Kind of ox.
1270 A sharabha is a mythical eight-footed animal, believed to prey on lions.
1271 Meaning, full of fragrance.
1272 Interpreted as Vishnu.
1273 Kubera, Kubera’s capital is the city of Alaka.
1274 Raktakantha, the Indian cuckoo.
1275 Kubera.
1276 This is known as the virasana posture.
1277 Literally, this means the posture adopted for debating and arguing. The tip of the thumb touches the index finger. The other fingers are close together and are held out straight. Tarka mudra specifically refers to the position of the hands, rather than the overall posture. It is also known as jnana mudra.
1278 This probably means the wooden support placed under an armpit, so that the erect posture can be maintained. But the expression is also used for a strap of cloth that is used to keep the left knee in place.
1279 Brahma.
1280 Indra.
1281 In the course of the vamana incarnation.
1282 That is, Daksha followed the recommended path of sacrifices.
1283 But why should you succumb to rage?
1284 The text uses the word shunashira, which means a particular class of gods.
1285 A he-goat. Ka means Daksha here.
1286 Virabhadra and the others.
1287 Garuda’s wings are the Sama Veda hymns, Brihat and Rathantara.
1288 Lakshmi.
1289 Shiva.
1290 Brahma.
1291 Prajapatis.
1292 A reference to the three Vedas.
1293 Of the officiating priests.
1294 Lakshmi.
1295 Daksha’s wife.
1296 Because we are still attached to bodies and material objects.
1297 Five forms means five kinds of sacrifice—agnihotra, darsha, purnamasa, chaturmasya and pashusoma. The five hymns from the Yajur Veda are ashravaya, shroushat, yaja, ye yajamahe and vashat.
1298 Human body.
1299 The person performing the sacrifice and his wife.
1300 The three Vedas.
1301 The sacrifice.
1302 Shiva.
1303 Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
1304 Presumably both means principal and secondary sacrifices.
1305 This is known as avabhritha, the purifying bath at the end of a sacrifice.
1306 Mrisha means falsehood, dambha means insolence and maya means deceit. Dambha (male) married Maya (female) and Nirriti adopted this couple.
1307 Lobha means avarice, nikriti means wickedness, krodha means anger, himsa means violence, kali means dissension and durukti means harsh speech.
1308 Bhaya means fear, mrityu means death, yatana means excessive pain and niraya means hell. Bhaya (male) married Mrityu (female).
1309 Puraka, rechaka and kumbhaka.
1310 To the cycle of birth and death.
1311 A mantra used for meditating and chanting.
1312 That is, divine and semi-divine species.
1313 Oum! namo bhagavate vasudevaya. There are twelve askharas (syllables) in this mantra.
1314 Dhruva.
1315 Dhruva.
1316 Dhruva.
1317 Brahma.
1318 Potentially, and thus create it.
1319 In general, the senses.
1320 Since the brahman is impersonal.
1321 Ananta’s.
1322 Brahma.
1323 What is intended is unclear. It could be the three Vedas, the three gunas, or past, present and future.
1324 Alternatively, the world known as Dhruva’s world. The word dhruva means eternal. Dhruva is the Pole Star.
1325 At the time of threshing.
1326 That is, it will not be destroyed when a kalpa is over.
1327 The sages are the saptarshis, the constellation of Ursa Major.
1328 Not suffering from old age.
1329 Meaning Ursa Major.
1330 Dhruva.
1331 There is no second to the omnipresent atman.
1332 Dhruva.
1333 That is stepson.
1334 This sentence is such that it can also be translated as, ‘He (also) had a daughter who was a jewel among women.’
1335 As will be clear, the auspicious person is a yaksha/guhyaka and the mountain is the Himalayas. The city is Alaka.
1336 Female yakshas. The male yakshas are referred to as minor gods.
1337 Each of them struck him with six arrows.
1338 Catapults.
1339 A lion.
1340 As will be clear, this is a suggestion that the narayanastra be used.
1341 Narayana rishi’s.
1342 Svayambhuva Manu.
1343 Or from the linga sharira.
1344 In the presence of a magnet.
1345 Such as Brahma.
1346 Anger.
1347 Shiva. Both Gireesha and Girisha are Shiva’s names. We have written both as Girisha. Gireesha means lord of the mountains, while Girisha means someone who lies down on a mountain.
1348 In the singular, meaning Kubera.
1349 Manu.
1350 The physical body.
1351 King of kings, a term used to refer to Kubera.
1352 Of ignorance.
1353 Aidavida means Idavida’s son and is Kubera’s name. Kubera’s father was the sage Vishrava and his mother was Idavida (also known as Ilavida).
1354 Dhruva.
1355 That is, not for Vishnu, but sacrifices with offerings for the gods.
1356 Dharma, artha and kama.
1357 The paramatman.
1358 Something not real.
1359 Badarikashrama.
1360 Vishnu.
1361 Madhusudana, Vishnu.
1362 Interpreted as the saptarshis.
1363 The vimana.
1364 Sunanda and Nanda.
1365 The saptarshis.
1366 Worst among kshatriyas, in this case, meaning an ordinary kshatriya.
1367 Day preceding the night of the new moon.
1368 Dvadashi.
1369 Vyatipata is an inauspicious period that lasts for almost twenty-four hours during every lunar month.
1370 More commonly known as sankranti. This is the time when the sun moves from one rashi (sign of the zodiac) to the next. There are twelve sankramanas in a year, though some are better known than others.
1371 The Prachetas.
1372 Prabha means the light of the day, dosha means night. Pratar is morning, madhyadin is midday and sayam is evening. Pradosha is late evening or the first part of the night, nishitha is midnight and vyushta is the latter part of the night, just before dawn.
1373 Sarvateja.
1374 Chakshusha Manu, after Svayambhuva Manu.
1375 Not to be confused with the earlier Pushkarini, Vyushta’s wife.
1376 Anga.
1377 Vena was killed by the curse. Prithu was born through the churning of the hand. There was no king because Vena had died without any sons.
1378 Anga.
1379 Anga.
1380 The cake is purodasa, made out of ground rice. Shipivishta is Vishnu in the form of the sacrifice, the form of the sacrificial fire, or the form of the sacrificial animal.
1381 A dish made out sweetened milk and rice.
1382 Mrityu is Death and Sunitha was Mrityu’s daughter.
1383 The root ven means someone who is jealous and harasses people.
1384 The king thought this.
1385 Compassion, forgiveness, cleanliness, lack of jealousy, altruism, lack of greed, purity and self-control.
1386 Surya.
1387 The earth.
1388 Humkara means to utter the sound ‘hum’, a sound believed to possess special powers.
1389 Interpreted as herbs and mantras.
1390 Alternatively, a man who was a dwarf. Bahuka means a dwarf, or a servile and dependent person.
1391 The word nishida means ‘sit down’. The nishadas were hunters who dwelt in mountains and forests.
1392 The male.
1393 The female.
1394 The word prithu means extensive, great, abundant.
1395 She will be Prithu’s wife.
1396 Vishnu.
1397 Brahma.
1398 On the palm.
1399 Sarasvati.
1400 This world and the next.
1401 He will collect taxes at the right time and spend them at the right time, just as the sun evaporates water during the summer and showers it down during the monsoon.
1402 Indra.
1403 Varuna.
1404 The sacrificial fire.
1405 Mount Manasa has been identified as being near Lake Manasa. It is a mountain that is believed to be to the east of Mount Meru and the sun’s chariot uses this as an axis to revolve around.
1406 A king is known as rajan because he delights (ranjayati) the subjects.
1407 Udaya is the mountain from behind which the sun rises.
1408 He decided that the earth was hiding foodgrains, plants and herbs.
1409 One who holds up (dhara) the earth (dhara).
1410 Rudra.
1411 Specifically, Shiva’s bull, Nandi.
1412 Dattatreya.
1413 The four types of food are those that are chewed (charvya), sucked (choshya or chushya), licked (lehya) and drunk (peya).
1414 Indra.
1415 Jatayu.
1416 Indra.
1417 Someone who has conquered (vijita) a horse (ashva).
1418 Hari, the tawny one, is also one of Indra’s names.
1419 A khatvanga is a staff with a skull on top. A khatvanga and a skull are the marks of a special kind of ascetic known as kapalaka. Therefore, Prithu’s son did not obstruct him.
1420 Meaning Vijitashva.
1421 Indra.
1422 Khanda means a mark and something that is deficient.
1423 Prithu.
1424 Brahma is now speaking to Prithu.
1425 About the sacrifice not having been completed.
1426 Indra.
1427 The gods.
1428 The brahmanas said this.
1429 Prithu.
1430 Even those who cause them injury.
1431 This shloka has several nuances of interpretation.
1432 A share of the sins committed by the people.
1433 Garuda.
1434 Lakshmi.
1435 Lakshmi.
1436 Vishnu’s words are interpreted as the Vedas. If the rites of the Vedas are not important, why will anyone follow them?
1437 The city.
1438 Maitreya.
1439 The text uses the word arabdha, meaning arabdha karma, the good deeds of the past that have now matured and can bear fruits.
1440 The seven dvipas (continents) of the world are Jambu, Plaksha, Shalmali, Kusha, Krouncha, Shaka and Pushkara.
1441 Family name, denoting common lineage.
1442 Because this benefits the king in the next world.
1443 Alternatively, bodies.
1444 There must be a superior entity who dispenses the fruits of good and bad karma.
1445 Brahma.
1446 Vena.
1447 Dharma, artha and kama.
1448 Ganga.
1449 The gods.
1450 The brahmanas addressed Prithu in this way.
1451 Prithu.
1452 These were the Kumaras, Sanatkumara and the others, sons born through Brahma’s mental powers. Since Shiva was born later from Brahma, they were Shiva’s elder brothers.
1453 Therefore, you already know the answer and need not have asked.
1454 Happiness and unhappiness and so on.
1455 The wood from which it has been kindled.
1456 Such as a mirror.
1457 He is born as a vegetable or a tree.
1458 A superior or an inferior birth.
1459 Time.
1460 Kama (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (avarice), moha (delusion), mada (arrogance) and matsarya (jealousy). Alternatively, the five senses and the mind.
1461 He got his kingdom and his own body because of the sages. Therefore, these are like leftovers and leftovers must not be given to a guest.
1462 Prithu.
1463 Meru.
1464 Yama.
1465 Shiva.
1466 The god of love, Kama.
1467 Brahma.
1468 Agriculture, habitations, etc.
1469 Four fires in four directions and the sun overhead.
1470 The five senses and the mind.
1471 This is subject to interpretation. He was not interested in the siddhis that yoga brings. He was no longer interested in yoga or knowledge.
1472 The jivatman with the paramatman.
1473 The chakras in the body are muladhara (base of the spine), svadhishthana (at the root of the sexual organs), manipura (navel), anahata (heart), vishuddha (throat), ajna (between the brows) and sahasrara (crown of the head). Though the text doesn’t mention each of these chakras, that is what is meant.
1474 Antardhana was Vijitashva’s name.
1475 At the time of Prithu’s horse sacrifice.
1476 Barhi is sacrificial grass like kusha. In a sacrifice, the blade of the kusha grass must point towards the east. Barhishad means someone who seats himself on barhi grass. Since the grass pointed towards the east (prachi), Barhishad was also known as Prachinabarhi.
1477 Brahma.
1478 Agni had fallen in love with the wives of the saptarshis. To dissuade him, Svaha, Agni’s wife, assumed the form of a female parrot (shuki) so as to seduce him.
1479 Vishnu.
1480 Gandharvas and kinnaras.
1481 Barhishad’s name.
1482 This shloka is interpreted in many different ways.
1483 Every shloka in this invocation has layers of interpretation.
1484 The three Vedas.
1485 The doer, the instrument and the action.
1486 Rudra.
1487 A touchstone is used to test for gold. Shri, in the form of the shrivatsa mark, is always on the chest.
1488 There is an implicit image of the Ganga flowing through the feet.
1489 Those who follow karma yoga or jnana yoga.
1490 Those born from wombs, those born from eggs, those born from sweat and trees and herbs.
1491 And not perceive it directly.
1492 Brahma.
1493 This is an allegory. Puranjana means someone who lives inside a city, the body being compared to a city. Avijnata is the atman.
1494 The nine gates of the body are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the mouth, the anus and the genital organs.
1495 Parks.
1496 That is, they were non-violent.
1497 Continuing with the allegory, the woman is intelligence (buddhi) and the ten servants are the ten senses. Each sense has several inclinations (the wives).
1498 The five hoods are prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana.
1499 The text uses the word shyama. The word shyama usually means dark. Shyama has a secondary meaning of a woman who has not borne children. That meaning seems more appropriate here.
1500 Modesty personified, Parvati and Sarasvati respectively.
1501 Lakshmi.
1502 The one born from the mind, Kama, the god of love.
1503 The two eyes, the two nostrils, the two ears and the mouth were above. The genital organs and the anus were below.
1504 When one faced the east, the two eyes, the two nostrils and the mouth faced the east. The right ear was to the south and the left ear was to the north. The genital organs and the anus were to the west.
1505 The two eyes.
1506 The two nostrils.
1507 The mouth.
1508 The right ear hears rituals that are for the path of the ancestors (pitris).
1509 The left ear hears rituals that are for the path of the gods (devas).
1510 Named after the asuras.
1511 Where one indulges in gramya (sensual and sexual) pursuits.
1512 Literally, without speech and without form.
1513 The chariot is his body, the five horses are the five senses, the two shafts are notions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, the two wheels are good deeds and bad deeds, the axle is innate nature, the three bamboo poles are the three gunas, the five joints between the yoke and the pole are the five aspects of the breath of life, the rein is the mind, the charioteer is intelligence, the seat is the heart, the two poles for the yoke are grief and delusion, the five types of equipment are the five objects of the senses, the seven bumpers are the seven sheaths of the body, the five kinds of movement are the five organs of action, the bow is attachment, the inexhaustible quiver represents infinite desire and the eleven commanders are the ten senses and the mind.
1514 Gavaya.
1515 Brahmanas.
1516 Mura’s enemy, Krishna.
1517 Tilaka is a mark made on the forehead.
1518 They were wet with tears.
1519 The arrows of the god of love are made out of flowers.
1520 Puranjana’s wife.
1521 He forgot about his own atman.
1522 Puranjana.
1523 Old age.
1524 The gandharvas stand for days. The gandharva women stand for nights, the fair ones from shukla paksha and the dark ones from krishna paksha.
1525 Puranjana.
1526 The daughter of Kala (Time) is meant to signify old age.
1527 The unfortunate one.
1528 Puru’s father was Yayati. Though Yayati had turned old, his desires had not been extinguished. He asked his sons to take over his old age and temporarily grant him their youth, until his desires were satisfied. The son who agreed to do this was Puru.
1529 Of brahmacharya. Hence, Narada refused.
1530 Bhaya means fear.
1531 Durbhaga is telling Bhaya this.
1532 A kind of fever.
1533 Physical and mental ailments.
1534 The serpent.
1535 Avijnata.
1536 At the time of his death, he had been thinking of Puranjani.
1537 In the king of Vidarbha’s house. Alternatively, Rajasimha can be taken as an adjective, meaning a lion among kings.
1538 Out of the seven kulachalas, this is likely to have been Malaya.
1539 Of Puranjana.
1540 Six families for the five senses and the mind.
1541 As a metaphor for pure consciousness.
1542 The being chooses his own body.
1543 Rasavit is the same as Rasajna.
1544 The queen’s, that is, Buddhi’s.
1545 Rasa (plasma), rakta (blood), mamsa (flesh), meda (fat), asthi (bones), majja (nerve or marrow) and shukra (semen, reproductive tissue).
1546 The organs of action.
1547 Adding the mind to the five sense of perception and the five of action.
1548 The wicked pursuit of the five objects of the senses.
1549 The two types of fever are those that result from high temperatures and those that result from low temperatures.
1550 Respectively associated with sattva, tamas and rajas.
1551 Like heaven.
1552 Sufferings related to adhidaivika (destiny), adhibhoutika (nature) and adhyatmika (one’s own nature).
1553 Brahma.
1554 Therefore, since it has no direct manifestation, how is it carried forward to the next life?
1555 Senses of perception and senses of action.
1556 The dark one is Rahu. Rahu can only be seen at the time of an eclipse, on the lunar (or solar) disc.
1557 Including the mind.
1558 The five flows of prana, the mind and the ten senses.
1559 The linga sharira.
1560 This is interpreted as the way a caterpillar moves, clinging to a new blade before it lets go off the old blade. Though not impossible, it would be far-fetched to interpret this as metamorphosis into a butterfly.
1561 Koustubha.
1562 Sudarshana chakra, club, lotus, bow, arrow, sword, shield, conch shell. The conch shell and the lotus are weapons by extension.
1563 Both dawn and dusk.
1564 Kandu was a sage and Pramlocha was an apsara. After delivering her daughter, Pramlocha returned to heaven.
1565 Moksha.
1566 As in the small measure of time.
1567 The fire of universal destruction.
1568 This means Daksha, who had shown disrespect to Shiva. Earlier, Daksha had been born through Brahma’s mental powers. But he was now born as Marisha’s biological son.
1569 Daksha means skilled and accomplished.
1570 Brahma.
1571 The Prachetas.
1572 Daksha.
1573 A sage.
1574 Associated with the three Vedas.
1575 During the summer, the sun sucks up water into the clouds. During the monsoon, this is showered down as rain.