Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 76, Shloka 50

Adhyaya 76 — The Sixth Manvantara: Cakshusha Manu, the Child-Snatcher, and the Problem of Kinship

Sanskrit

प्रख्यातबलवीर्याणां प्रभामण्डलदुर्दृशाम् ।

द्वितीयश्च प्रसूताख्यो देवानामष्टको गणः ॥

Transliteration

prakhyātabalavīryāṇāṃ prabhāmaṇḍaladurdṛśām / dvitīyaś ca prasūtākhyo devānām aṣṭako gaṇaḥ

Translation

Renowned for strength and vigor, and hard to behold because of their circles of radiance, there is also a second group of eight gods, called Prasūta.

Word by Word

• prakhyāta-bala-vīryāṇām: of those whose strength and valor are renowned
• prakhyāta-bala-vīryāṇām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prakhyāta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + bala (प्रातिपदिक) + vīrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.)/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.) (समूह-सम्बन्धे), षष्ठी विभक्ति (genitive), बहुवचन (pl.); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘प्रख्यातं बलं वीर्यं च येषाम्’

• prabhā-maṇḍala-durdṛśām: hard to behold because of their radiant halos
• prabhā-maṇḍala-durdṛśām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prabhā (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक) + durdṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.)/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन (pl.); तत्पुरुष: ‘प्रभामण्डलेन दुर्दृशाः’ (hard to look at due to radiant aura)

• dvitīyaḥ: the second
• dvitīyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा, एकवचन (sg.); विशेषण to ‘aṣṭakaḥ/gaṇaḥ’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• prasūta-ākhyaḥ: named ‘Prasūta’
• prasūta-ākhyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prasūta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा, एकवचन (sg.); विशेषण to ‘aṣṭakaḥ/gaṇaḥ’; अर्थ: ‘प्रसूत इति आख्यः’

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), षष्ठी विभक्ति (genitive), बहुवचन (pl.)

• aṣṭakaḥ: group of eight
• aṣṭakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा, एकवचन (sg.)

• gaṇaḥ: troop/class
• gaṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा, एकवचन (sg.)

Speakers

• Mārkaṇḍeya narrating

Key Themes

• Deva groups
• Radiance imagery
• Manvantara cosmology

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Divine power is described as both moral function and overwhelming luminosity; the language reminds the listener that cosmic administrators transcend ordinary perception.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Manvantara: continuation of the deva-catalog for the sixth Manu’s period.

What is the esoteric significance?

Radiance (prabhā) points to consciousness/tejas as the substrate of divine agency; ‘hard to behold’ indicates the limits of sensory cognition before subtle realities.