Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 73, Shloka 1

Adhyaya 73 — The Uttama Manvantara: Classes of Devas, Indra Sushanti, and the Royal Lineage

Sanskrit

इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे औत्तममन्वन्तरे द्विसप्ततितमोऽध्यायः ।

त्रिसप्ततितमोऽध्यायः- ७३ ।

मार्कण्डेय उवाच ।

मन्वन्तरे तृतीयेऽस्मिन् औत्तमस्य प्रजापतेः ।

देवानिन्द्रमृषीन् भूपान् निबोध गदतो मम ॥

Transliteration

iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe auttamamanvantare dvisaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ / trisaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ- 73 / mārkaṇḍeya uvāca / manvantare tṛtīye 'smin auttamasya prajāpateḥ / devān indram ṛṣīn bhūpān nibodha gadato mama

Translation

Thus ends Chapter 72 in the Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, in the Auttama Manvantara. Chapter 73 begins. Mārkaṇḍeya said: In this third Manvantara of Prajāpati Auttama, understand from me as I speak—of the devas, Indra, the ṛṣis, and the kings.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), quotation/closure particle (इति-प्रयोग)

• śrī-mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇe: in the Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa
• śrī-mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī + mārkaṇḍeya + purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक); समासः
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); ग्रन्थ-नाम

• auttama-manvantare: in the Auttama Manvantara
• auttama-manvantare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: auttama + manvantara (प्रातिपदिक); समासः
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; ‘Auttama’ qualifying manvantara

• dvi-saptatitamaḥ: seventy-second
• dvi-saptatitamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi + saptati + tama (प्रातिपदिक); समासः
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; ordinal ‘seventy-second’

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• tri-saptatitamaḥ: seventy-third
• tri-saptatitamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri + saptati + tama (प्रातिपदिक); समासः
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; ordinal ‘seventy-third’

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• manvantare: in the Manvantara
• manvantare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manvantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular

• tṛtīye: third
• tṛtīye: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; agrees with manvantare

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; pronoun

• auttamasya: of Auttama
• auttamasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: auttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• prajāpateḥ: of Prajāpati
• prajāpateḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajāpati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Singular

• devān: the gods
• devān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• indram: Indra
• indram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• ṛṣīn: the sages
• ṛṣīn: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Plural

• bhūpān: kings
• bhūpān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Plural

• nibodha: know/understand (listen)
• nibodha: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: budh (धातु) + ni (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular, Parasmaipada

• gadataḥ: of (me) speaking
• gadataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gad (धातु)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Genitive (6th), Singular; masculine/neuter form used with mama: ‘of me who am speaking’

• mama: my/of me
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (6th), Singular; pronoun

Speakers

• Mārkaṇḍeya (narrator) to his interlocutor (Bhāguri implied from prior verse)

Primary Deities

• Indra

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Manvantara
• Lists (devas/ṛṣis/kings)
• Purāṇic chronology

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text’s didactic method is catalogic: by naming the bearers of dharma (ṛṣis) and protectors of society (kings) alongside devas, it links cosmic and social order.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Manvantara: a classic manvantara-listing passage, giving the personnel for a specific epoch.

What is the esoteric significance?

The fourfold list (devas–Indra–ṛṣis–kings) mirrors layered governance: energies, sovereignty, wisdom, and enforcement—suggesting an integral model for sustaining order in any ‘age’ or system.