Shloka 14
Duryodhana’s Śaraṇāgati and the Pāṇḍavas’ Resolve
Gandharva Encounter
मार्कण्डेय उदाच अर्कपुष्पैस्तु ते पजच गणा: पूज्या धनार्थिभि: | व्याधिप्रशमनार्थ च तेषां पूजां समाचरेत्,मार्कण्डेयजी कहते हैं-राजन्! धनार्थी पुरुषोंको आकके फूलोंसे उन पाँचों गणोंकी सेवा करनी चाहिये। रोगोंकी शान्तिके लिये भी उनका पूजन करना उचित है
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca—arkapuṣpaistu te pañca gaṇāḥ pūjyā dhanārthibhiḥ | vyādhipraśamanārthaṃ ca teṣāṃ pūjāṃ samācaret ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O King, those five attendant hosts (gaṇas) should be worshipped by people who seek wealth, using the flowers of the arka plant. And for the pacification of illness as well, one should duly perform their worship.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined worship (pūjā) directed to specific divine hosts, using prescribed offerings (arka-flowers), is recommended for two aims: prosperity (dhanārtha) and the alleviation of illness (vyādhi-praśamana). It frames ritual devotion as a dharmic means to seek well-being without harm to others.
Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a king and gives practical religious instruction: he specifies an offering (arka flowers) and identifies the recipients (five gaṇas), explaining the intended benefits—wealth for those who seek it and relief from disease.