Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 58, Shloka 80

Adhyaya 58 — The Kurma-Form of Narayana: Mapping Bharata through Nakshatras, Regions, and Planetary Afflictions

Sanskrit

राशयश्च तथर्क्षेषु ग्रहराशिष्ववस्थिताः ।

तस्माद् ग्रहर्क्षपीडासु देशपीडां विनिर्दिशेत् ॥

Transliteration

rāśayaśca tatharkṣeṣu graharāśiṣvavasthitāḥ / tasmād graharkṣapīḍāsu deśapīḍāṃ vinirdiśet

Translation

The zodiacal signs are likewise situated in the nakṣatras, and the planets in the signs. Therefore, when planets and nakṣatras are afflicted, one should diagnose the affliction of the corresponding region.

Word by Word

• rāśayaḥ: zodiacal signs
• rāśayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāśi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

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

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय)

• ṛkṣeṣu: in the constellations (nakṣatras)
• ṛkṣeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural

• graha-rāśiṣu: in the planetary signs
• graha-rāśiṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: graha + rāśi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural; tatpuruṣa = “in the planetary signs/positions”

• avasthitāḥ: are situated
• avasthitāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-sthā (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Plural; agrees with rāśayaḥ

• tasmāt: therefore; from that
• tasmāt: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative used adverbially (तस्मात् इति हेत्वर्थे)

• graha-ṛkṣa-pīḍāsu: in planetary/constellation afflictions
• graha-ṛkṣa-pīḍāsu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: graha + ṛkṣa + pīḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural; tatpuruṣa = “in afflictions by planets and constellations”

• deśa-pīḍām: affliction of a region (country)
• deśa-pīḍām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa + pīḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• vinirdiśet: one should indicate/predict
• vinirdiśet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-nir-diś (धातु)
• Form: Optative/vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speakers

• Continuing cosmological-astrological instruction

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Jyotiṣa
• Omens
• Sacred geography
• Cosmology
• State/collective welfare

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse extends dharma to the collective: celestial disharmony is read as a sign for communal vigilance and corrective rites, implying rulers/communities should respond responsibly to omens.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Applied cosmology: derived from Sarga/Pratisarga-style ordering, used for interpreting worldly conditions (not a separate pancalakṣaṇa category but an application of cosmological mapping).

What is the esoteric significance?

It encodes a ‘correspondence principle’: micro (graha/rāśi) and macro (deśa) mirror one another, suggesting an occult unity of cosmos and polity.