Shloka 17
Dharma-vyādha on the Subtlety of Dharma, Karma, and the Continuity of the Jīva (Āraṇyaka-parva 200)
स मां प्रावारकर्ण चोलूकं॑ यथोचिते स्थाने प्रतिपाद्य तेनैव यानेन संस्थितो यथोचितं स्थानं प्रतिपेदे । तन्मयानुभूतं॑ चिरजीविनेदृशमिति पाण्डवानुवाच मार्कण्डेय:
sa māṃ prāvārakarṇa-colūkaṃ yathocite sthāne pratipādya tenaiva yānena saṃsthito yathocitaṃ sthānaṃ pratipede | tan-mayānubhūtaṃ cirajīvinā īdṛśam iti pāṇḍavān uvāca mārkaṇḍeyaḥ |
He then set me down—clad in a cloak and wearing ear-ornaments—at the place that was proper. Remaining in that very conveyance, he himself returned to his own fitting abode. Markandeya then told the Pāṇḍavas: “Such was the extraordinary thing I experienced, though I am long-lived.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights propriety and right placement (yathocita): actions are to be done in the fitting manner and fitting place, and extraordinary experiences gain authority when conveyed responsibly by a truthful, long-lived sage.
A figure (implied from prior context) sets Markandeya down at an appropriate location, then departs in the same conveyance to his own proper abode. Markandeya reports this remarkable experience to the Pāṇḍavas.