Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 58, Shloka 28

Adhyaya 58 — The Kurma-Form of Narayana: Mapping Bharata through Nakshatras, Regions, and Planetary Afflictions

Sanskrit

तिलङ्गा कुञ्जारदरीकच्छवासाश्च ये जनाः ।

ताम्रपर्णो तथा कुक्षिरिति कूर्मस्य दक्षिणः ॥

Transliteration

tilaṅgā kuñjāradarī-kaccha-vāsāś ca ye janāḥ | tāmraparṇo tathā kukṣir iti kūrmasya dakṣiṇaḥ ||

Translation

তিলংগ, কুঞ্জৰদৰী (হাতী-উপত্যকা)ৰ কচ্ছ জলাভূমিত বাস কৰা লোকসকল, লগতে তাম্ৰপৰ্ণী দেশ আৰু ‘কুক্ষি’—এইসকল কূৰ্ম (কচ্ছপ-আকাৰ) বিভাগৰ দক্ষিণ অংশ।

Word by Word

• तिलङ्गाः: the Tilaṅgas (people/tribe)
• तिलङ्गाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिलङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• कुञ्जार-दरी-कच्छ-वासाः: dwellers of the elephant-caves/valleys and marshes
• कुञ्जार-दरी-कच्छ-वासाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुञ्जार (प्रातिपदिक) + दरी (प्रातिपदिक) + कच्छ (प्रातिपदिक) + वास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); समासः—षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषभावः (those dwelling in the elephant-caves/valleys/marshes)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• जनाः: people
• जनाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ताम्रपर्णः: Tāmraparṇa (a region/people)
• ताम्रपर्णः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताम्रपर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारयः (tāmra+parṇa = copper/red-leaved; proper name)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘thus/likewise’)

• कुक्षिः: Kukṣi (a region)
• कुक्षिः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); अत्र देश/भाग-नाम (as a toponym)

• इति: thus (named)
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• कूर्मस्य: of (the) Kūrma
• कूर्मस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• दक्षिणः: southern
• दक्षिणः: Adhikarana/Desha (अधिकरण/Location descriptor)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (adjective)

Speakers

• Purāṇic narrator (catalogue style); specific interlocutors not indicated in the supplied excerpt

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Cosmography
• Regional mapping metaphors
• South India references

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The ‘Kūrma’ metaphor organizes land into an intelligible sacred body-plan, implying that geography can be contemplated as an ordered whole rather than scattered localities.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Bhū-varṇana (cosmography), a common Purāṇic component that supports broader accounts of world-order.

What is the esoteric significance?

The tortoise-body mapping echoes Vedic-Purāṇic body-cosmos correspondences: regions become limbs, suggesting the world as a living organism sustained by dharma.