Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 85, Shloka 28

Adhyaya 85 — The Gods’ Hymn to the Goddess and the Emergence of Kaushiki; Shumbha Sends His Envoy

Sanskrit

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु वृत्तिरूपेण संस्थिता ।

नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥

Transliteration

yā devī sarvabhūteṣu vṛttirūpeṇa saṃsthitā / namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaḥ

Translation

जो देवी समस्त प्राणियों में वृत्ति/व्यवहार के रूप में स्थित हैं, उन्हें नमस्कार, उन्हें नमस्कार, उन्हें नमस्कार; बार-बार नमस्कार।

Word by Word

• yā: who (she)
• yā: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (प्रथमा/nom.), Ekavacana (एकवचन); relative pronoun (यत्-शब्द)

• devī: goddess
• devī: Karta (कर्ता/subject; apposition to yā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (nom.), Ekavacana

• sarva-bhūteṣu: in all beings
• sarva-bhūteṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (सर्व-प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (भूत-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Saptamī vibhakti (सप्तमी/loc.), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन); samāsa: karmadhāraya (सर्वाणि भूतानि)

• vṛtti-rūpeṇa: in the form of activity/function
• vṛtti-rūpeṇa: Prakāra (प्रकार/instrument of manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtti (वृत्ति-प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (रूप-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (तृतीया/inst.), Ekavacana; samāsa: ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa (वृत्तेः रूपम्)

• saṃsthitā: is established/abides
• saṃsthitā: Karta-bhāva (कर्तृभाव; predicate to subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√sthā (स्था धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta: past passive participle (क्त/PPP); Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; sense: ‘situated/established’ (स्थित)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध; salutation particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (नमस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय); nipāta/exclamation used in salutation; governs dative (चतुर्थी)

• tasyai: to her
• tasyai: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/dative recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Caturthī vibhakti (चतुर्थी/dat.), Ekavacana; pronoun ‘to her’

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (नमस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; salutation particle

• tasyai: to her
• tasyai: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Caturthī, Ekavacana

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (नमस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; salutation particle

• tasyai: to her
• tasyai: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Caturthī, Ekavacana

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (नमस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; salutation particle

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (नमस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; repetition for emphasis

Speakers

• Devī Māhātmya narrative voice (hymnic praise within the Saptashatī frame)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bhakti", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Devī (Mahādevī/Durgā)

Shakti Aspects

• Devī as Vṛtti (Function/Activity)

Key Themes

• Shaktism
• Psychology (vṛtti)
• Immanence
• Agency

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

All functional capacities—how beings act and operate—are traced to Devī; this encourages humility about one’s powers and responsibility for one’s conduct.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Devotional-psychological teaching within the Purāṇa’s hymnody; not a genealogical/cosmic-chronological segment.

What is the esoteric significance?

If read in a yogic sense, ‘vṛtti’ points to the movements of mind; acknowledging Devī as vṛtti implies She is both the dynamism of cognition and the power by which it can be mastered and transcended.