Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 26, Shloka 19
Adhyaya 26 — Madālasa Names Alarka and Reorients Him Toward Kshatriya Duty
सुबाहुरिति या संज्ञा कृतान्यस्य सुतस्य ते /
निरर्था साप्यमूर्तत्वात् पुरुषस्य महीपते
subāhur iti yā saṃjñā kṛtānyasya sutasya te | nirarthā sāpy amūrtatvāt puruṣasya mahīpate ||
“The name ‘Subāhu’ that you gave to another of your sons is also meaningless, O king, because the Puruṣa (Self) is formless.”
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FAQs
Physical descriptors (like ‘strong-armed’) belong to the body, not to the Self. The teaching dismantles pride and attachment rooted in bodily qualities.
Didactic/ethical-philosophical instruction; ancillary to the Purāṇic narrative rather than a pancalakṣaṇa unit.
‘Arms’ symbolize agency and power. Declaring the Self formless negates doership at the ultimate level: power and action are seen as functions of prakṛti, not the pure witness.