Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 51, Shloka 81
Adhyaya 51 — Yaksha Injunctions: Graha-Children and Female Spirits Causing Domestic and Ritual Disruptions
शस्यार्धिं स सदा हन्ति लब्ध्वा रन्ध्रं शृणुष्व तत् ।
अमङ्गल्यदिनारम्भे अतृप्तो वपते च यः ॥
śasyārdhiṃ sa sadā hanti labdhvā randhraṃ śṛṇuṣva tat | amaṅgalyadinārambhe atṛpto vapate ca yaḥ ||
He always destroys half the crop once he finds an opening—listen to that. Whoever sows while unsatisfied (or without proper appeasement) at the start of an inauspicious day invites such loss.
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FAQs
Prosperity requires right timing and right preparation. The ‘opening’ (randhra) is negligence—beginning important work under inauspicious conditions or without due readiness leads to predictable loss.
Ancillary dharma and practical nīti (especially agrarian), not pañcalakṣaṇa.
The ‘crop’ is the fruit of karma; the ‘gap’ is a breach in awareness or discipline. Inauspicious beginnings symbolize actions initiated in tamas or agitation, which ‘halve’ the yield of effort.