Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 27, Shloka 7

Adhyaya 27 — Madālasa’s Instruction to King Alarka: Royal Ethics, Self-Conquest, and Statecraft

Sanskrit

दुष्टादुष्टांश्च जानीयादमात्यानरिदोषतः ।

चरैश्चरास्तथा शत्रोरन्वेष्टव्याः प्रयत्नतः ॥

Transliteration

duṣṭāduṣṭāṃś ca jānīyād amātyān aridoṣataḥ /

caraiś carās tathā śatror anveṣṭavyāḥ prayatnataḥ

Translation

Let him discern which ministers are corrupt and which are not by observing the enemy’s vulnerabilities (and how they are dealt with). Likewise, by means of spies, the enemy’s spies should be sought out with effort.

Word by Word

• duṣṭa-aduṣṭān: bad and good
• duṣṭa-aduṣṭān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + a-duṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन); द्वन्द्व: 'bad and not-bad (good)' qualifying amātyān

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya-dyotaka (समुच्चय-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction

• jānīyāt: should know/ascertain
• jānīyāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: Optative/vidhiliṅ (विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• amātyān: ministers
• amātyān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amātya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ari-doṣataḥ: from (their) enemy-related faults
• ari-doṣataḥ: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ari (प्रातिपदिक) + doṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), ablatival adverb (तसिल्); तत्पुरुष: 'fault of enemies' → 'from/through enemy-fault (i.e., by their defects/hostility)'

• caraiḥ: by spies
• caraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• carāḥ: spies
• carāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha-dyotaka (सम्बन्ध-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), correlative particle

• śatroḥ: of the enemy
• śatroḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śatru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• anveṣṭavyāḥ: are to be sent to search / should investigate
• anveṣṭavyāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√iṣ/√eṣ (धातु: anveṣ) + tavya (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Gerundive/obligative (तव्यत्-कृदन्त), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with carāḥ

• prayatnataḥ: diligently
• prayatnataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), ablatival adverb (तसिल्): 'with effort, diligently'

Speakers

• Didactic instruction within the Markandeya Purana’s nīti/rājadharma discourse (speaker not specified in the provided excerpt)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Kingship
• Statecraft
• Espionage
• Ministerial Integrity

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

A ruler must combine trust with verification: integrity in governance is protected by careful assessment of advisors and by awareness of hostile intelligence networks.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary rājadharma teaching; not a pancalakṣaṇa unit (not sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita).

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Spies’ can symbolize the mind’s investigative faculties: one must detect ‘foreign agents’—intrusive thoughts and habits—before they sabotage inner sovereignty.