Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 31, Shloka 12

Adhyaya 31 — Naimittika and Related Śrāddha Rites: Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, Eligibility, Timing, and Procedure

Sanskrit

ये वादग्धाः कुले बालाः क्रियायोग्या ह्यसंस्कृताः ।

विपन्नास्तेऽन्नविकिरसंमार्जनजलाशिनः ॥

Transliteration

ye vādagdhāḥ kule bālāḥ kriyāyogyā hy asaṃskṛtāḥ / vipannās te 'nnavikira-sammārjana-jalāśinaḥ

Translation

And those children in the family who died prematurely—though they were fit for rites, yet remained uninitiated and without saṃskāras—those departed ones feed upon the water used to sweep and clean the scattered food.

Word by Word

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); relative pronoun

• vā-dagdhāḥ: burnt (or scorched)
• vā-dagdhāḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vā (अव्यय) + √dah (दह् धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त/कृत्) of √dah, Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); with particle vā = 'either/indeed'

• kule: in the family
• kule: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• bālāḥ: children
• bālāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• kriyā-yogyāḥ: fit for ritual acts
• kriyā-yogyāḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक) + yogya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुषः (क्रियायाः योग्याः = fit for rites)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphatic/causal

• asaṃskṛtāḥ: unpurified/without rites
• asaṃskṛtāḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-saṃskṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); privative a-

• vipannāḥ: perished/ill-fated
• vipannāḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√pad (पद् धातु)
• Form: Past active participle (क्त/कृत्), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); demonstrative pronoun

• anna-vikira-saṃmārjana-jala-āśinaḥ: eaters (drinkers) of the water used to sweep scattered food
• anna-vikira-saṃmārjana-jala-āśinaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक) + vikira (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃmārjana (प्रातिपदिक) + jala (प्रातिपदिक) + āśin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः: (अन्नविकिरस्य संमार्जनस्य जलम्) तद् आशीनाḥ = those who eat/drink the water of sweeping up scattered food

Speakers

• Not specified in input

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Śrāddha
• Saṃskāra importance
• Care for deceased children
• Ritual purity and remnants

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse stresses the gravity of saṃskāras and funeral/ancestral rites; when these are lacking, the departed are imagined as sustained only by minimal, residual offerings—prompting the living to perform rites conscientiously.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/Dharma instruction; it intersects with vaṃśānucarita (lineage concerns) by addressing the fate of family members without rites.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Sweep-water’ symbolizes the thinnest form of sustenance—an image of liminality for souls lacking ritual completion, indicating how saṃskāra is seen as a vehicle for fuller participation in ancestral economy.