Shloka 42

Devanagari script

प्रत्यदृश्यत धर्मात्मा मार्कण्डेयो महातपा: । अजरश्नामरश्नरैव रूपौदार्यगुणान्वित:

Transliteration

pratyadṛśyata dharmātmā mārkaṇḍeyo mahātapāḥ | ajaraś cāmaraś caiva rūpaudāryaguṇānvitaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Then the righteous-souled sage Mārkaṇḍeya, a great ascetic, came into view—unaging and deathless, endowed with noble beauty and excellent virtues. His appearance signals the arrival of spiritual authority and moral clarity, as the narrative turns toward counsel grounded in dharma and disciplined insight.

Word by Word

प्रत्यदृश्यतappeared / was seen (came into view)

धर्मात्माrighteous-souled

मार्कण्डेयःMarkandeya (sage)

महातपाःof great austerity

अजरःageless

अश्नामरःnot subject to decay/disease (as in some recensions); lit. 'non-perishing'

इवas if / like

रूपौदार्यगुणान्वितःendowed with beauty, nobility, and virtues

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mārkaṇḍeya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse elevates dharma through the figure of a perfected sage: true authority is marked not by power but by austerity, virtue, and inner nobility. Mārkaṇḍeya’s ‘unaging, deathless’ description underscores the enduring nature of dharma and spiritual attainment.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator reports that the great sage Mārkaṇḍeya becomes visible/arrives. His entrance typically prepares the scene for instruction, remembrance of sacred history, or guidance to the protagonists grounded in ethical and spiritual insight.