Shloka 1
Adhyaya 71 — The King’s Remorse and the Sage’s Counsel on the Necessity of a Wife
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे औत्तममन्वन्तरे सप्ततितमोऽध्यायः ।
एकसप्ततितमोऽध्यायः- ७१
मार्कण्डेय उवाच तां प्रेषयित्वा राजापि स्वभर्तृगृहमङ्गनाम् ।
चिन्तयामास निःश्वस्य किमत्र सुकतं भवेत् ॥
iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe auttamamanvantare saptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ / ekasaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ- 71 / mārkaṇḍeya uvāca tāṃ preṣayitvā rājāpi svabhartṛgṛham aṅganām / cintayāmāsa niḥśvasya kim atra sukataṃ bhavet
Ainsi, dans le Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, au sein de l’Auttama Manvantara, s’achève le soixante-dixième chapitre. Chapitre soixante et onze : Mārkaṇḍeya dit : Après avoir fait conduire la femme à la maison de son époux, le roi soupira lui aussi et réfléchit : «Quel acte méritoire (ou quelle voie juste) pourrait-il y avoir ici ?»
FAQs
True dharma includes post-action reflection: even after correcting an external wrong, the ruler asks what further good—atonement, charity, or counsel—may be required to heal the moral remainder.
Manvantara is explicitly named; the colophon anchors the episode in the purāṇic chronological framework.
The king’s ‘sigh’ signifies the awakening of conscience (antar-dharma). The search for sukṛta indicates an inner turning from mere power to wisdom-guided action.