Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 35, Shloka 14

Adhyaya 35 — Madālasa’s Instruction on Purity, Impurity, and Corrective Rites (Śauca and Aśauca)

Sanskrit

अतिप्रभूतं बालञ्च वृद्धातुरविचेष्टितम् ।

कर्मान्ताङ्गाराशालाश्च स्तनन्धयसुताः स्त्रियः ॥

Transliteration

atiprabhūtaṃ bālañ ca vṛddhāturaviceṣṭitam /

karmāntāṅgārāśālāś ca stanandhaya-sutāḥ striyaḥ //

Translation

अतिस्राव/अत्यधिक मलिनता, बालक, तथा वृद्ध और रोगी की अनियंत्रित क्रियाएँ; कर्मशालाएँ और अंगार/अग्नि के स्थान; और दूध पीते शिशु सहित स्त्रियाँ—ये शौच-अशौच के विचार में विशेष प्रसंग माने गए हैं।

Word by Word

• अति-प्रभूतम्: excessive; very abundant
• अति-प्रभूतम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय) + प्रभूत (कृदन्त; √भू धातु)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (अति- = ‘excessively’), क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

• बालम्: young; childish
• बालम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• वृद्ध-आतुर-अविचेष्टितम्: old, sick, and inactive
• वृद्ध-आतुर-अविचेष्टितम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + आतुर (प्रातिपदिक) + अविचेष्टित (कृदन्त; √चेष्ट् धातु)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (enumerative: ‘old, sick, and inactive/unmoving’), नञ्-पूर्वक क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (अविचेष्टित), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

• कर्मान्त-अङ्गार-आशालाः: workshops, charcoal-places, and taverns/shops
• कर्मान्त-अङ्गार-आशालाः: कर्ता (कर्तृ / Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मान्त (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गार (प्रातिपदिक) + आशाला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (enumerative: ‘workshops, charcoal(-sellers), and taverns/āśālāḥ’ as a list), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• स्तनन्धय-सुताः: nursling children; infants
• स्तनन्धय-सुताः: कर्ता (कर्तृ / Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तनन्धय (प्रातिपदिक) + सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: ‘children of nursing women’ / ‘nursling-children’), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• स्त्रियः: women
• स्त्रियः: कर्ता (कर्तृ / Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speakers

• Instructional narrator within Dharma discourse (frame-speaker not explicit in provided excerpt)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Compassionate exceptions in purity law
• Household regulation
• Occupational spaces

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purity rules are moderated by realism and compassion: children, the sick, and nursing mothers are acknowledged as requiring special, humane handling rather than rigid blame.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/dharma guidance; outside pancalakṣaṇa storytelling.

What is the esoteric significance?

The verse implicitly distinguishes intentional impurity from involuntary conditions—mirroring the moral distinction between deliberate harm and unavoidable circumstance.