Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 16, Shloka 27
Adhyaya 16 — The Son’s Counsel on Renunciation and the Anasuya–Mandavya Episode: The Suspension of Sunrise and the Power of Pativrata
पथि शूले तथा प्रोतं चौरं यौरशङ्कया ।
माण्डव्यमतिदुःखार्तमन्धकारेऽथ स द्विजः ॥
pathi śūle tathā protaṃ cauraṃ yauraśaṅkayā / māṇḍavyam atiduḥkhārtam andhakāre 'tha sa dvijaḥ
পথের অন্ধকারে সেই ব্রাহ্মণ কৌশিক মাণ্ডব্যকে দেখল—সন্দেহবশত চোর বলে শূলে বিদ্ধ করা—যে তীব্র যন্ত্রণায় অত্যন্ত কাতর ছিল।
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FAQs
The episode juxtaposes worldly justice (punishment by suspicion) with ascetic potency: when society errs, the injured tapasvin’s response can reshape the world—thus rulers must be meticulous in dharma.
Didactic episode; indirectly supports vaṃśānucarita by portraying consequences of adharma in governance and the extraordinary agency of sages.
The ‘stake’ symbolizes the axis of karmic constraint; contact with it (even by accident) triggers latent saṃskāras and releases the force of śāpa (imprecatory speech).