Notes
1 The ancient Sanskrit word is sƫta.
2 KáčáčŁáča is the speaker of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ; His name literally means âthe all-attractive person.â In the MahÄ-BhÄrata, ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam and other Sanskrit works, KáčáčŁáča is understood to be the chief and most intimate name for the supreme monotheistic Godhead, the original cause of all causes. The ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, for example, states, káčáčŁáčas tu bhagavÄn svayam: âKáčáčŁáča is the original Personality of Godheadâ A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, canto 1, ch. 3, v. 28 of ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1972), 175. The ancient BrahmÄ-SaáčitÄ also proclaims, Ä«Ćvaraáž„ paramaáž„ káčáčŁáča, sac-cid-Änanda-vigrahaáž„, âThe supreme controller of everything, who possesses an eternal form, is KáčáčŁáčaâ BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« Goswami, BrahmÄ-SaáčitÄ, Calcutta: Sri Gaudiya Math, 1932, ch.5, v.1.
3 BhÄgavata PurÄáča is another name for ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam.
4 J.A.B. van Buitenen, vol. 1, book 1 of The MahÄbhÄrata: The Book of the Beginning. (London: The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., 1973), xxvi.
5 V.S. Sukthankar, vol. 1 of Critical Studies in the MahÄbhÄrata (Bombay: Karnatak Publishing House, 1944), 12-13.
6 GÄndhÄrÄ«, one of the MahÄ-bhÄrataâs primary figures, is the wife of the blind king DháčtarÄáčŁáčra and the mother of one hundred sons. GÄndhÄrÄ« is regarded as the emblem of virtue and wifely devotion; she is among the most esteemed moral forces of the Great Epic. Having married a blind person, she resolved at the time of her wedding to also spend the rest of her life blind, so as to share in her husbandâs fate. Thus she tied a cloth around her eyes, depriving herself of the power to see. GÄndhÄrÄ« never wavered in her adherence to dharma, and, at certain critical points in the narrative, gave impeccable moral advice to her husband.
7 See Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (2008 revision), definition of dharma, http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/
8 Ibid.
9 The ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam addresses this in the eleventh canto: káčáčŁáča-varáčaáč tviáčŁÄkáčáčŁáčaáč sÄáč
gopÄáč
gÄstra-pÄráčŁadam; yajñaiáž„ saáč
kÄ«rtana-prÄyair yajanti hi su-medhasaáž„: âIn the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of KáčáčŁáča. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is KáčáčŁáča Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.â The Disciples of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, canto 11, ch. 5, v. 32 of ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1987), 489.
10 H.D. Goswami, ch. 1, v. 1 of A Comprehensive Guide to Bhagavad-GÄ«tÄ with Literal Translation (Gainesville: Krishna West, Inc., 2015), 151.
11 Ibid., ch. 2, v. 32, 157.
12 Ibid., ch. 2, v. 7, 155.
13 Ibid., ch. 4, v. 7, 165.
14 Ibid., ch. 4, v. 8, 165.
15 Ibid., ch. 9, vv. 21-22, 182.
16 Ibid., ch. 18, v. 13, 208.
17 Ibid., ch. 14, v. 27, 199.
18 Ibid., ch. 9, v. 66, 182.
19 Online Bhaktivedanta VedaBase, ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, canto 1, ch. 2, vv. 28-29; http://www.vedabase.com/en/sb.
19b See canto 8, ch. 10, vv. 1-57 of ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam.
20 Diti and Aditi were two rival daughters of the great cosmic progenitor, PrajÄpati DakáčŁa, and eventually two of the thirteen sister wives of Lord BrahmÄâs grandson, KaĆyapa Muni. Diti became the matriarch and champion of the Asuras while Aditi gave birth to the leaders of the Suras.
21 âVaiáčŁnÌŁavism acknowledges a form of polymorphic monotheism. That is to say, it holds that there is one God who appears in numerous manifestations, each distinct and unique. These manifestations, moreover, are considered equal and yet hierarchical as well. They are one, and yet different.â Satyaraj das, Back to Godhead Magazine, June 2013
22 The Aitareya BrÄhmaáča is commonly attributed to one author, Mahidasa Aitareya, and is dated anywhere from 1000 BCE to 500 BCE. Broken into forty chapters (adhyÄyas) grouped into eight pañcikÄs (Sanskrit for âgroup of fiveâ), the work covers topics like animal and other forms of sacrifice, anointing practices of kings, and other religious holidays and observances. Some scholars also argue that it contains early references to a heliocentric (sun-centered) solar system.
23 SaÌyana AÌchaÌrya (1315-1387 CE) was a renowed Medieval scholar who produced more than 100 commentaries, including commentaries on nearly the entirety of the Vedas. His central work is the VedÄrtha PrakÄĆa (âThe Meaning of the Vedas Made Manifestâ). He is also the one who identified Mahidasa Aitareya as the author of the Aitareya BrÄhma
24 Martin Haug, trans., The Aitareya BrÄhmana of the Rigveda: Translation, with Notes (London: Government Central Book Depot, 1863), 1.
25 Garuáža is the great eagle carrier of Lord ViáčŁáču. Offspring of KaĆyapa Muni (with his eighth wife, Vinata), Garuáža is said to be an invincible incarnation of the Brahman feature of the Lord. The flapping of Garuážaâs wings vibrates the hymns of the SÄma-Veda, of which the Hare KáčáčŁáča MahÄ Mantra is the essence. See canto 8, ch. 10, vv. 52-57 of ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam.
26 After the great Asura king, Bali MahÄrÄja, had succeeded in conquering Indra and the Suras, he was approached by VÄmanadeva, the disguised child-dwarf incarnation of ViáčŁáču. Appearing as a brÄhmaáča, VÄmanadeva requested a small boon. Because Bali discerned that the boy was some higher being, he was prepared to offer Him anything He requested. The child asked to be granted three steps of land, to which Bali readily agreed. With His first step, Lord VÄmanadeva strode across the entire upper planetary system; and...