Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 10, Shloka 30

Adhyaya 10 — Jaimini’s Questions on Birth, Death, Karma, and the Embodied Journey

Sanskrit

रसहर्षभयोद्वेगक्रोधामर्षजरातुराम् ।

विज्ञातां स्वमृगग्राहिसंघपाशशताकुलाम् ॥

Transliteration

rasa-harṣa-bhaya-udvega-krodha-amarṣa-jarā-turām /

vijñātāṃ sva-mṛga-grāhi-saṃgha-pāśa-śatākulām

Translation

I have understood this embodied existence to be afflicted by emotional ‘tastes’, joy, fear, agitation, anger, resentment, and old age—crowded with hundreds of snares cast by troops of hunters who seize their prey.

Word by Word

• रसहर्षभयोद्वेगक्रोधामर्षजरातुराम्: afflicted with taste, joy, fear, agitation, anger, indignation, and old age
• रसहर्षभयोद्वेगक्रोधामर्षजरातुराम्: Karma (कर्म/Object, implied)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रस-हर्ष-भय-उद्वेग-क्रोध-अमर्ष-जरा-आतुर (प्रातिपदिक; components: rasa + harṣa + bhaya + udvega + krodha + amarṣa + jarā + ātura)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); long dvandva used adjectivally, qualifying an implied feminine noun (e.g., माया/प्रकृति/अविद्या)

• विज्ञाताम्: known/recognized
• विज्ञाताम्: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicative, participial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-ज्ञा (धातु) → विज्ञात (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त-प्रत्यय), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with implied feminine object

• स्वमृगग्राहिसंघपाशशताकुलाम्: crowded with hundreds of snares of one’s own animal-catching groups
• स्वमृगग्राहिसंघपाशशताकुलाम्: Karma (कर्म/Object, implied)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व-मृग-ग्राहि-संघ-पाश-शत-आकुल (प्रातिपदिक; components: sva + mṛga + grāhi + saṃgha + pāśa + śata + ākula)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); qualifies same implied feminine noun

Speakers

• Unspecified speaker; concluding diagnosis of saṃsāric bondage

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Kleśas/emotional afflictions
• Metaphor of bondage (traps/nooses)
• Vairāgya and discernment

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Unexamined emotions and reactions function like traps that repeatedly capture the mind; discipline and insight are required to avoid being driven by fear, anger, and agitation.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

A psychological-mokṣa teaching within narrative; not directly one of the five lakṣaṇas, but supportive of dharma and liberation aims in Purāṇic pedagogy.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘hunters’ symbolize vāsanās/saṃskāras and sense-objects that ensnare awareness; seeing the mechanism is the first step toward cutting the pāśas through non-attachment and knowledge.