Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 58, Shloka 47

Adhyaya 58 — The Kurma-Form of Narayana: Mapping Bharata through Nakshatras, Regions, and Planetary Afflictions

Sanskrit

यौधेया दासमेयाश्च राजन्याः श्यामकास्तथा ।

क्षेमधूर्ताश्च कूर्मस्य वामकुक्षिमुपाश्रिताः ॥

Transliteration

yaudheyā dāsameyāś ca rājanyāḥ śyāmakās tathā | kṣemadhūrtāś ca kūrmasya vāmakukṣim upāśritāḥ ||

Translation

ヤウデーヤ族、ダーサメーヤ族、ラージャニヤ族、シャーマカ族；そして宇宙の亀（クールマ）の左脇（vāma-kukṣi）に住むクシェーマドゥールタ族も述べられる。

Word by Word

• यौधेयाः: the Yaudheyas
• यौधेयाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौधेय (प्रातिपदिक; जनपद/जातिनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• दासमेयाः: the Dāsameyas
• दासमेयाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दासमेय (प्रातिपदिक; जनपद/जातिनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• राजन्याः: the Rājanyas (royal/warrior class people)
• राजन्याः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• श्यामकाः: the Śyāmakas
• श्यामकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्यामक (प्रातिपदिक; जनपद/जातिनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: likewise)

• क्षेमधूर्ताः: the Kṣemadhūrtas
• क्षेमधूर्ताः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेम + धूर्त (प्रातिपदिक; जनपद/जातिनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (नामविशेषः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• कूर्मस्य: of the tortoise (Kūrma)
• कूर्मस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• वामकुक्षिम्: the left side/flank (left belly)
• वामकुक्षिम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाम + कुक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (वामा कुक्षिः)

• उपाश्रिताः: having resorted to; dwelling in
• उपाश्रिताः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आ-श्रि (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle, क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अर्थः ‘आश्रिताः/निविष्टाः’

Speakers

• Not specified in input

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Kūrma (cosmic tortoise motif)

Key Themes

• Cosmography
• Ethnography
• Mythic world-structure (Kūrma)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse blends human geography with cosmic imagery: peoples inhabit not only ‘countries’ but also positions within a sacral cosmos, suggesting that social life is situated within a larger metaphysical order.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Sthāna (cosmic arrangement) with a mythic cosmological anchor (Kūrma).

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Left flank of Kūrma’ can signify a directional/energetic quadrant of the world-body. The cosmos is envisioned as an organism; locations are ‘limbs’, and populations are the living constituents of that cosmic body.