Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 41, Shloka 21
Adhyaya 41 — Yogic Conduct and the Discipline Leading to Siddhi
शून्येष्वेवावकाशेषु गुहासु च वनेषु च ।
नित्ययुक्तः सदा योगी ध्यानं सम्यगुपक्रमेत् ॥
śūnyeṣv evāvakāśeṣu guhāsu ca vaneṣu ca / nityayuktaḥ sadā yogī dhyānaṁ samyag upakramet
एकान्त खुले स्थानों, गुफाओं और वनों में, सदा संयमित और निरन्तर योगयुक्त योगी को विधिपूर्वक ध्यान आरम्भ करना चाहिए।
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "bhakti", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Meditation is strengthened by external simplicity: quiet, secluded settings reduce sensory provocation and support steadiness (nitya-yoga). The ethic implied is deliberate withdrawal from distraction to cultivate inner clarity.
This passage is not primarily pancalakṣaṇa material (sarga/pratisarga/vaṁśa/manvantara/vaṁśānucarita). It belongs to ancillary dharma-śikṣā: yogic conduct and soteriology, often embedded within Purāṇic instruction.
‘Empty places’ (śūnya) symbolize inner emptiness—cessation of vṛttis; caves/forests indicate turning from the ‘village’ of sense-life to the ‘wilderness’ of non-attachment where the Self is encountered without social mirrors.