Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 15, Shloka 16
Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell
तस्यामपत्यमुत्पाद्य काष्ठान्तः कीटको भवेत् ।
शूकरः कृमिको मद्गुश्चण्डालश्च प्रजायते ॥
tasyām apatyam utpādya kāṣṭhāntaḥ kīṭako bhavet | śūkaraḥ kṛmiko madguś caṇḍālaś ca prajāyate ||
Having produced offspring in her, he becomes an insect within wood. He is born as a boar, a worm, a madgu (a kind of aquatic creature/bird as used in such lists), and also as a Caṇḍāla.
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FAQs
The verse intensifies the karmaphala logic: transgressive desire does not end with the act; it ‘generates’ further entanglement (offspring/continuation) and thus further constricted births. Purāṇic ethics often warn that kāma, when ungoverned by dharma, multiplies bondage.
Dharma-anuśāsana and karmaphala narration—supporting ethical governance rather than sarga/pratisarga/manvantara genealogies.
The image ‘insect inside wood’ suggests hidden corrosion: a private, concealed act becomes an inner gnawing tendency (vāsanā) that ‘hollows out’ one’s future embodiment and social-spiritual agency.