Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 27, Shloka 24

Adhyaya 27 — Madālasa’s Instruction to King Alarka: Royal Ethics, Self-Conquest, and Statecraft

Sanskrit

यथा यमः प्रियद्वेष्ये प्राप्तकाले नियच्छति ।

तथा प्रियाप्रिये राजा दुष्टादुष्टे समो भवेत् ॥

Transliteration

yathā yamaḥ priya-dveṣye prāpta-kāle niyacchati | tathā priyāpriye rājā duṣṭāduṣṭe samo bhavet ||

Translation

जैसे यम समय आने पर प्रिय और अप्रिय—दोनों को समान रूप से रोकता है, वैसे ही राजा को प्रिय-अप्रिय के प्रति निष्पक्ष, और दुष्ट-अदुष्ट के प्रति समान-हस्त होना चाहिए।

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (उपमान-निर्देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; comparative conjunction

• yamaḥ: Yama
• yamaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• priya-dveṣye: with regard to the liked and the disliked
• priya-dveṣye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya + dveṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Dual (द्विवचन); itaretara-dvandva: 'in the dear and the hateful (persons)'

• prāpta-kāle: when the time has come
• prāpta-kāle: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāpta (प्र + आप्/आप्-धातु, क्त; कृदन्त) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; tatpurusha: prāptaḥ kālaḥ = 'the time that has arrived'

• niyacchati: restrains/controls
• niyacchati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + yam (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (Present/लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; parasmaipada

• tathā: so/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (उपमेय-निर्देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; correlative adverb

• priya-apriye: in the pleasant and the unpleasant
• priya-apriye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya + apriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Dual; itaretara-dvandva

• rājā: the king
• rājā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• duṣṭa-aduṣṭe: toward the wicked and the not-wicked
• duṣṭa-aduṣṭe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duṣṭa + aduṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Dual; itaretara-dvandva

• samaḥ: impartial/equal
• samaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण/प्रेडिकेट)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate adjective qualifying rājā

• bhavet: should be
• bhavet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: Optative/विधिलिङ्, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; parasmaipada

Speakers

• Didactic narrator within rājadharma teaching

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Yama

Key Themes

• Rājadharma
• Impartial justice
• Rule of law
• Restraint (niyama)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Justice collapses when captured by personal preference. The king must discipline favoritism and aversion, applying restraint and punishment by principle and timing, not by emotion.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Dharma/nīti instruction; not pancalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

Yama represents karmic inevitability: the ruler is urged to mirror cosmic law—steady, predictable, and impersonal—so that society experiences governance as dharma rather than whim.