Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 51, Shloka 20

Adhyaya 51 — Yaksha Injunctions: Graha-Children and Female Spirits Causing Domestic and Ritual Disruptions

Sanskrit

गोमूत्रसर्षपस्त्राणैस्तदृक्षग्रहपूजनैः ।

पुनश्च धर्मोपनिषत्करणैः शास्त्रदर्शनैः ॥

Transliteration

gomūtra-sarṣapa-strāṇais tad-ṛkṣa-graha-pūjanaiḥ | punaś ca dharmopaniṣat-karaṇaiḥ śāstra-darśanaiḥ ||

Translation

With protective rites using cow-urine and mustard, with worship of the relevant constellations and planets, and again with practices that embody the “secret essence of dharma” and with consultation of śāstra, the affliction is pacified.

Word by Word

• go-mūtra-sarṣapa-strāṇaiḥ: by protections/remedies (with) cow-urine, mustard, etc.
• go-mūtra-sarṣapa-strāṇaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + mūtra (प्रातिपदिक) + sarṣapa (प्रातिपदिक) + strāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); समाहार-द्वन्द्व: 'gomūtraṃ ca sarṣapāḥ ca strāṇāni ca' (protective measures using cow-urine, mustard, protections)

• tad-ṛkṣa-graha-pūjanaiḥ: by worship of those stars/planets
• tad-ṛkṣa-graha-pūjanaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + graha (प्रातिपदिक) + pūjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: 'tadṛkṣāṇāṃ grahāṇāṃ pūjanaiḥ' (worship of those constellations/planets)

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (पुनरावृत्तिवाचक अव्यय)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• dharma-upaniṣat-karaṇaiḥ: by rites/performances of dharma-upaniṣads
• dharma-upaniṣat-karaṇaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + upaniṣad (प्रातिपदिक) + karaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुष: 'dharmopaniṣadaḥ karaṇaiḥ' (performances/rites taught in dharma-upaniṣads)

• śāstra-darśanaiḥ: by consulting the scriptures
• śāstra-darśanaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāstra (प्रातिपदिक) + darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुष: 'śāstrasya darśanam' (consultation/seeing of scriptures)

Speakers

• Not explicit; procedural list of remedies.

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Grahas (planetary deities)
• Nakṣatra/Ṛkṣa deities (implicit)

Key Themes

• Śānti rites
• Graha worship
• Ritual purification
• Śāstra authority

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purāṇic dharma joins devotion, ritual hygiene, and textual discernment: remedies are not merely magical but are framed as disciplined, śāstra-informed actions aligned with cosmic order (grahas/ṛkṣas).

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary ritual-dharma material.

What is the esoteric significance?

Graha/ṛkṣa worship represents harmonizing the microcosm (individual fate/psyche) with macrocosmic rhythms. ‘Śāstra-darśana’ implies that right knowledge itself is protective (jñāna as rakṣā).