The Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Book IX
1. The aśvamedha (horse) sacrifice was performed by the kṣatriya warrior caste and was essentially a display of power. It had various functions—for example, for a king with imperatorial aspirations, the horse, followed by the king’s army, was let loose to wander through adjacent kingdoms, requiring the neighboring king to either capture it and confront the army or allow it passage and thereby submit to paying tribute. The performance of one hundred aśvamedhas generated sufficient karma for one to attain the post of the celestial Indra in one’s next birth.
2. One of the characteristics of a celestial is that he or she does not blink (additionally, their garlands do not fade, and their feet do not touch the ground).
3. Sacrifices such as the aśvamedha are usually motivated by a desire to attain the celestial realms.
4. The dvādaśī fast occurs on the twelfth day of the waxing as well as of the waning moon.
5. Abhiṣeka involves ritual bathing of a deity—often using various liquids including milk, yogurt, ghee, and honey in addition to water—and, on occasion, of other esteemed personages such as the king at his coronation.
6. The text uses the rhetorical number of six nyarbuda, six hundred million.
7. At the end of the universal cycle, a fire consumes the universe (see Bhāgavata XII.4).
8. This corresponds to the duration of Brahmā’s life.
9. See “The Liberated Bhakta: Different Types of Mokṣa in the Bhāgavata.”
10. Eating the remnants of a saint’s food (or that of the deity) is called prasādam and is considered very purifying.
11. As indicated in the Yoga Sūtras (IV.1), mystic powers can accrue in various ways, two of which, referenced here, are through the power of mantra and through austerities (tapas). Through these means, Saubhari, as was the case with Kardama, was able to create the palaces and such, described here.
12. See the Gītā (III.9), where feeding desire is compared with putting fuel on the fire, which simply causes it to rage more intensely.