Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 50, Shloka 11
Adhyaya 50 — Mind-Born Progeny, Svayambhuva Manu’s Lineage, and Brahmā’s Ordinance to Duḥsaha (Alakṣmī’s Retinue)
स चोक्तो वै पृथक् स्त्रीत्वं पुरुषत्वं तथाऽकरोत् ।
बिभेद पुरुषत्वञ्च दशधा चैकधा तु सः ॥
sa cokto vai pṛthak strītvaṃ puruṣatvaṃ tathākarot | bibheda puruṣatvaṃ ca daśadhā caikadhā tu saḥ ||
ऐसा उपदेश पाकर उसने स्त्रीत्व और पुरुषत्व को अलग-अलग कर दिया। फिर पुरुष-स्वभाव को दस भागों में विभक्त किया, पर एक अन्य रूप में वह एक ही बना रहा।
FAQs
Multiplicity can arise without loss of underlying unity. The verse encodes a Purāṇic principle: one reality expresses itself in many functional forms for sustaining the world.
Sarga shading into Vaṃśa: differentiation sets up the structural basis for later lineages and social/cosmic functions.
‘Tenfold’ often signals a complete set of functions (e.g., directions, senses, or administrative divisions in mythic language). The ‘onefold’ remainder hints that the source remains undivided despite emanations.