Shloka 7
मातापितृपूजन-प्रधानधर्मः (Primacy of Filial Service) — Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of the Vyādha’s Instruction
समुद्रे बालुकापूर्ण उज्जालक इति स्मृते । आगम्य च स वुष्टात्मा तं देशं भरतर्षभ,भरतश्रेष्ठ! वह दुष्टात्मा बालुकामय प्रसिद्ध उच्चालक समुद्रमें आकर रहने और उस देशके निवासियोंकों सताने लगा। राजन! वह अपनी पूरी शक्ति लगाकर धरतीके भीतर बालूमें छिपकर वहाँ उत्तंकके आश्रममें भी उपद्रव करने लगा
samudre bālukāpūrṇa ujjālaka iti smṛte | āgamya ca sa duṣṭātmā taṃ deśaṃ bharatarṣabha |
Markandeya said: “In the sea there was a sandy expanse known as Ujjālaka. Coming there, that wicked-souled being began to dwell in that region and to harass its inhabitants, O bull among the Bharatas. With all his might he would even hide beneath the sand in the earth and create disturbances, reaching as far as Uttanka’s hermitage.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical contrast between adharma (a wicked being harming peaceful residents and even troubling a sage’s hermitage) and the dharmic expectation that society and rulers protect ascetics and the innocent from such harassment.
Mārkaṇḍeya describes a notorious sandy sea-tract called Ujjālaka where a wicked entity arrives, settles, and begins tormenting the local people; it even hides under the sand and causes trouble extending to Uttanka’s hermitage.