Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 26, Shloka 39
Adhyaya 26 — Madālasa Names Alarka and Reorients Him Toward Kshatriya Duty
बालो मनो नन्दय बान्धवानां गुरोस्तथाज्ञाकरनैः कुमारः ।
स्त्रीणां युवा सत्कुलभूषणानां वृद्धो वने वत्स ! वनॆचराणाम् ॥
bālo mano nandaya bāndhavānāṃ guros tathājñākaraṇaiḥ kumāraḥ | strīṇāṃ yuvā satkulabhūṣaṇānāṃ vṛddho vane vatsa! vanecarāṇām ||
बाल्य में अपने बन्धुओं के हृदय प्रसन्न करो; युवावस्था में ब्रह्मचारी होकर गुरु की आज्ञा का पालन करो। तरुण अवस्था में कुलीन कुलों का शोभा बनो; और वृद्ध होने पर, हे पुत्र, वनवासियों के साथ वन में निवास करो।
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FAQs
Dharma is time-sensitive: each stage of life has a distinct excellence—affectionate family integration in childhood, discipline under the guru in youth, social responsibility in adulthood, and renunciation/withdrawal in old age.
Didactic dharma content within narrative; indirectly supports vaṃśānucarita by prescribing how a ruler (or noble) matures ethically across stages.
The ‘forest’ is also an inner state: as senses age, one should ‘move inward.’ The verse encodes a gradual turning from external validation (kin, teacher, society) toward inner solitude and liberation.