Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 43, Shloka 23
Adhyaya 43 — Portents of Death (Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇas) and the Yogin’s Response; Alarka Renounces Kingship
दीपगन्धं न यो वेत्ति त्रस्यत्यह्नि तथा निशि ।
नात्मानं परनेत्रस्थं वीक्षते न स जीवति ॥
dīpagandhaṃ na yo vetti trasyatyahni tathā niśi / nātmānaṃ paranetrasthaṃ vīkṣate na sa jīvati
He who cannot perceive the scent of a lamp (its oil or its smoke), who is afraid by day and by night, and who does not behold his own Self as though situated in another’s eyes—he does not live.
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FAQs
Loss of ordinary perception and pervasive fear are treated as grave warnings; the counsel implied is grounding the mind in dharma and seeking refuge in higher remembrance.
Ancillary omen-knowledge; not a direct expression of the five defining Purāṇic topics.
Not sensing the lamp’s smell suggests pratyāhāra-like withdrawal or failing senses; ‘seeing oneself in another’s eyes’ points to dissociation/other-worldly perception—signs of the jīva preparing to depart the body.