Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 23, Shloka 51

Adhyaya 23 — Ashvatara’s Vow for Madalasa and the Bestowal of Musical Science by Sarasvati

Sanskrit

सरस्वत्युवाच सप्त स्वराः ग्रामरागाः सप्त पन्नगसत्तम !

कीटकानि च सप्तैव तावतीश्चापि मूर्च्छनाः ॥

Transliteration

sarasvatyuvāca sapta svarā grāmarāgāḥ sapta pannagasattama ! /

kītakāni ca saptaiva tāvatīścāpi mūrcchanāḥ

Translation

Sarasvatī said: There are seven notes; seven grāma-rāgas, O best of serpents; and seven kīṭakas as well—and so too the mūrcchanās (mūrcchanā) are seven.

Word by Word

• sarasvatī: Sarasvatī
• sarasvatī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person, Singular

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Indeclinable numeral used adjectivally (अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्द) qualifying plural nouns

• svarāḥ: vowels/notes
• svarāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• grāma-rāgāḥ: scale-modes (grāma-rāgas)
• grāma-rāgāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grāma-rāga (प्रातिपदिक; grāma + rāga)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; tatpuruṣa ‘melodies/modes of the scale (grāma)’

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral used adjectivally

• pannaga-sattama: O best of serpents
• pannaga-sattama: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pannaga-sattama (प्रातिपदिक; pannaga + sattama)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘best of serpents’

• kītakāni: insects/creatures (kītakas)
• kītakāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kītaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral used adjectivally

• eva: indeed, exactly
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle

• tāvatīḥ: as many (as that)
• tāvatīḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural; adjective agreeing with mūrcchanāḥ (count-correlative: ‘so many’)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (समुच्चय/अपि = also)

• mūrcchanāḥ: mūrchhanās (musical progressions)
• mūrcchanāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrcchanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

Speakers

• Sarasvatī to Aśvatara

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Sarasvatī

Shakti Aspects

• Sarasvatī as source of gāndharva-vidyā (music science)

Key Themes

• Gāndharva-veda/music
• Sacred sound
• Enumeration (saṅkhyā)
• Knowledge transmission

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Art is ordered knowledge: music is presented as a structured śāstra rooted in Sarasvatī, implying discipline, lineage, and reverence in learning.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Not pancalakṣaṇa; it is ancillary śāstric material embedded in the Devi Mahatmyam narrative, illustrating Devī’s role as source of vidyā.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘sevenfold’ pattern echoes cosmic correspondences (seven worlds, seven meters, etc.), suggesting that musical order mirrors universal order under Devī’s vāk-śakti.