Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 8, Shloka 195

Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala

Sanskrit

राजपत्नी उवाच—

अयं स पुरुषव्याघ्रः स्वरेणैवोपलक्ष्यते ।

विद्वज्जनमनश्चन्द्रो हरिश्चन्द्रो न संशयः ॥

Transliteration

rāja-patny uvāca—

ayaṃ sa puruṣa-vyāghraḥ svareṇaivopalakṣyate |

vidvaj-jana-manaś-candro hariścandro na saṃśayaḥ ||

Translation

王妃は言った。「この方こそ人中の虎—その声そのものによって知られる。学匠の心に月のごとく輝くハリシュチャンドラである。これに疑いはない。」

Word by Word

• rājapatnī: the queen
• rājapatnī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + patnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘king’s wife’

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); parasmaipada

• ayam: this (man)
• ayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• saḥ: he/that
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• puruṣa-vyāghraḥ: a tiger among men (great hero)
• puruṣa-vyāghraḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण; predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + vyāghra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (upamā): ‘tiger among men’

• svareṇa: by (his) voice
• svareṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Prayojaka-nipāta (निपात; emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphasis/limitation

• upalakṣyate: is recognized
• upalakṣyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-√lakṣ (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); ātmanepada, passive sense ‘is recognized/identified’

• vidvaj-jana-manaḥ-candraḥ: moon of the learned people’s minds
• vidvaj-jana-manaḥ-candraḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण; epithet)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidvat (प्रातिपदिक) + jana (प्रातिपदिक) + manas (प्रातिपदिक) + candra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘moon (delight) of the minds of learned people’

• hariścandraḥ: Hariścandra
• hariścandraḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण; identification)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hariścandra (प्रातिपदिक; proper noun)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• na: not/no
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-अव्यय)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण; ‘(there is) no doubt’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

Speakers

• Rājapatnī (the queen) speaking

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Recognition (pratyabhijñā)
• Royal virtue remembered amid ruin
• Fame among the learned

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

True character leaves marks that survive external downfall; even when status is stripped away, inner nobility is ‘recognized’—here symbolized by the voice.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Vaṃśānucarita-adjacent in spirit (life of a notable king), though presented as narrative teaching rather than genealogical catalog.

What is the esoteric significance?

Voice (svāra) can signify the subtle identity (vāk) that persists when outer ‘names and forms’ collapse—an emblem of the enduring self amid changing conditions.