Shloka 11
Manoḥ Carita
The Account of Manu Vaivasvata and the Mātsyaka Flood Narrative
तानब्रवीत् स विप्रर्षि: कथं वो ब्राह्मणो हत: । क्व चासौ ब्रूत सहिता: पश्यध्वं मे तपोबलम्,यह सुनकर उन ब्रह्मर्षिने कहा--“आपलोगोंसे ब्राह्मणकी हत्या कैसे हुई? और वह मरा हुआ ब्राह्मण कहाँ है? बताइये। फिर सब लोग एक साथ मेरी तपस्याका बल देखियेगा'
tān abravīt sa viprarṣiḥ kathaṃ vo brāhmaṇo hataḥ | kva cāsau brūta sahitāḥ paśyadhvaṃ me tapobalam ||
Hearing their account, the brahmarṣi said to them: “How did a brāhmaṇa come to be slain by you? And where is that brāhmaṇa now? Tell me. Then, all of you together, behold the power born of my austerities.” The verse frames the killing of a brāhmaṇa as a grave moral rupture and introduces ascetic power as a means to investigate, judge, and potentially remedy the wrongdoing.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the exceptional gravity of killing a brāhmaṇa and models dharmic procedure: first establish the facts (“how” and “where”), then apply spiritual authority and discernment. It implies that moral transgressions demand inquiry, responsibility, and appropriate rectification.
Mārkaṇḍeya, having heard the group’s report, questions them about the circumstances of a brāhmaṇa’s death and asks where the body is. He then invites them to witness the efficacy of his austerities, signaling that he will demonstrate ascetic power in response to the situation.