Shloka 21

मातापितृपूजन-प्रधानधर्मः (Primacy of Filial Service) — Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of the Vyādha’s Instruction

Devanagari script

आसीदू घोर वपुस्तस्य बालुकान्तर्हितं महत्‌

Transliteration

āsīd u ghora-vapus tasya bālukāntarhitaṁ mahat

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “There appeared a vast and terrifying form of his, concealed within the sand.”

Word by Word

• आसीत्: was
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), 3, Singular

• उ: indeed/and (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उ (निपात)

• घोरम्: terrible
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• वपुः: form/body/appearance
• वपुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• तस्य: of him/of that
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• बालुका-अन्तर्हितम्: hidden/covered within sand
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्तर्हित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √धा with antar- + kta)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• महत्: great/huge
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya (speaker)
• a fearsome great form (ghora-vapus)
• sand (bālukā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how immense and formidable realities can remain concealed by ordinary appearances; it invites attentiveness and humility before what is hidden beneath the surface.

What is happening in the narrative?

Markandeya describes the sudden presence of a huge, terrifying form that is covered or concealed within sand, setting a mood of awe and foreboding for the surrounding episode.