Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 33, Shloka 6

Adhyaya 33 — Madālasa on the Fruit of Śrāddha Performed on Lunar Days and Nakṣatras

Sanskrit

यथासम्भावितान्नेन श्राद्धसम्पत्समन्वितः ।

युवानः पितरो यस्य मृताः शस्त्रेण वा हताः ॥

Transliteration

yathāsambhāvitānnena śrāddha-sampat-samanvitaḥ | yuvānaḥ pitaro yasya mṛtāḥ śastreṇa vā hatāḥ ||

Translation

श्राद्ध की समुचित सामग्री से युक्त होकर और अपनी सामर्थ्य के अनुसार अन्न अर्पित करके—जिस व्यक्ति के माता-पिता अल्पायु में मर गए हों या शस्त्र से मारे गए हों…

Word by Word

• yathā: as, according to
• yathā: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकार-अव्यय (adverb: ‘according to/as’)

• sambhāvita: properly prepared/treated
• sambhāvita: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-√bhū/√bhāv (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचन-समासपूर्वपदत्वे (in compound with ‘anna’); अर्थ: ‘duly honored/appropriately prepared’

• annena: with food
• annena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण (instrument/means)

• śrāddha-sampat-samanvitaḥ: endowed with resources for śrāddha
• śrāddha-sampat-samanvitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक) + sampat (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (सम्बन्ध: ‘श्राद्धस्य सम्पत्’), तथा ‘सम्पता समन्वितः’ = endowed with śrāddha-wealth/means

• yuvānaḥ: young
• yuvānaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifies ‘pitaraḥ’)

• pitaraḥ: fathers/ancestors
• pitaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्तृ/विषय (subject of relative clause)

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘whose’)

• mṛtāḥ: dead
• mṛtāḥ: Pratijñā/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √mṛ (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• śastreṇa: by a weapon
• śastreṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण (instrument)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• hatāḥ: killed
• hatāḥ: Pratijñā/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √han (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

Speakers

• Dharma-instructional narrator within the Purāṇic dialogue framework (not Devi Māhātmya); specific speaker not explicit in the provided excerpt

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Pitṛs (Ancestors)

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Śrāddha
• Antyeṣṭi/Pitṛ rites
• Violent death (śastra-hata)
• Upāya (remedial rite)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text recognizes exceptional suffering—untimely or violent death—and prescribes tailored care through rites, emphasizing compassion and responsibility rather than fatalism.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Again, dharma/ācāra guidance. It functions as applied ethics within household life.

What is the esoteric significance?

Untimely/violent death is treated as a disruption in the ancestral transition; the rite is a symbolic repair, restoring order (ṛta) between the living and the departed.