Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 44, Shloka 34

Adhyaya 44 — Subahu’s Counsel to the King of Kashi and Alarka’s Renunciation through Yoga

Sanskrit

जड उवाच तातैनं त्वं समातिष्ठ मुक्तये योगमुत्तमम् ।

प्राप्स्यसे येन तद् ब्रह्म यत्र गत्वा न शोचसि ॥

Transliteration

jaḍa uvāca tāta enaṃ tvaṃ samātiṣṭha muktaye yogam uttamam | prāpsyase yena tad brahma yatra gatvā na śocasi ||

Translation

Jaḍa said: Beloved, undertake this highest yoga for liberation. By it you will attain Brahman; having reached That, you do not grieve.

Word by Word

• jaḍaḥ: Jaḍa (proper name)/the dull one
• jaḍaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी

• tāta: dear one/son
• tāta: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचन (vocative)

• enam: him/this one
• enam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (enam = ‘him/this one’)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा एकवचन

• samātiṣṭha: undertake/practice
• samātiṣṭha: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + ā + sthā (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी

• muktaye: for liberation
• muktaye: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचन (dative: for)

• yogam: yoga
• yogam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन

• uttamam: supreme/best
• uttamam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; विशेषण (to yogam)

• prāpsyase: you will attain
• prāpsyase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + āp (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदी

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचन (instrumental: by which)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; विशेषण (to brahma)

• brahma: Brahman/Absolute
• brahma: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (relative adverb of place)

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्यय; ‘having gone’

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधबोधक अव्यय (negation)

• śocasi: you grieve
• śocasi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śuc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी

Speakers

• Jaḍa (a character named ‘Jaḍa’) addressing a younger interlocutor (tāta)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Yoga as means to mokṣa
• Brahman-realization
• Freedom from grief (aśoka-state)
• Upadeśa (direct instruction)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The practical directive is steadfast practice: liberation is not merely conceptual but achieved through sustained yoga leading to Brahman-realization and the end of grief.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Instructional dharma/mokṣa teaching within narrative context; not a direct pañcalakṣaṇa passage.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Where, having gone, one does not grieve’ echoes Upaniṣadic liberation markers: the cessation of śoka results from dissolving identification with the perishable and abiding as Brahman.