Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 15, Shloka 31

Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell

Sanskrit

षण्डः फलापहरणात् काष्ठस्य घुणकीटकः ।

पुष्पापहृद् दरिद्रश्च पङ्गुर्यानापहृन्नरः ॥

Transliteration

ṣaṇḍhaḥ phalāpaharaṇāt kāṣṭhasya ghuṇakīṭakaḥ | puṣpāpahṛd daridraś ca paṅgur yānāpahṛn naraḥ

Translation

ដោយលួចផ្លែឈើ នឹងក្លាយជាសណ្ឌ (មនុស្សខ្វះកម្លាំងភេទ/អសមត្ថភាព)។ ដោយលួចឈើ នឹងក្លាយជាសត្វល្អិតខួងឈើ (ឃុណកីត)។ អ្នកលួចផ្កា នឹងក្រីក្រ; ហើយបុរសដែលលួចយានជំនិះ នឹងខ្វិនជើង។

Word by Word

• ṣaṇḍhaḥ: a eunuch/impotent man
• ṣaṇḍhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; resultant form)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṇḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• phala-apaharaṇāt: from/for stealing fruit
• phala-apaharaṇāt: Hetu (हेतु; कारण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक) + apaharaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘phalasya apaharaṇam’; ablative of cause (हेतु)

• kāṣṭhasya: of wood
• kāṣṭhasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• ghuṇa-kīṭakaḥ: a wood-boring worm (ghuṇa-insect)
• ghuṇa-kīṭakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; resultant form)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghuṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kīṭaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; karmadhāraya (a worm/insect that is a ghuṇa)

• puṣpa-apahṛt: one who steals flowers
• puṣpa-apahṛt: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + apahṛt (कृदन्त; apa-√hṛ + kta)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘puṣpaṃ apahṛtavān’

• daridraḥ: poor/poverty-stricken
• daridraḥ: Karta (कर्ता; resultant state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daridra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; used substantively

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• paṅgu-ryāna-apahṛt-naraḥ: a man who steals a conveyance (of a cripple)
• paṅgu-ryāna-apahṛt-naraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṅgu (प्रातिपदिक) + ryāna/yāna (प्रातिपदिक) + apahṛt (कृदन्त; apa-√hṛ + kta) + nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘paṅguryānaṃ apahṛtavān naraḥ’ (one who stole a lame-man’s conveyance / a conveyance)

Speakers

• Not specified in input

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Karma
• Social ethics
• Recompense

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Theft damages the thief’s own capacities: prosperity, mobility, and even generativity are depicted as karmically diminished. The verse also reflects a social ethic: do not disrupt others’ sustenance (fruit), shelter/material (wood), worship/celebration (flowers), or movement (vehicles).

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Dharma/karma-vipāka instruction; not pañcalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

Fruit symbolizes results of action; stealing it implies stealing others’ karmaphala, leading to loss of one’s own ‘fruitfulness’ (ṣaṇḍhatā). Vehicle symbolizes life-path; stealing it yields impaired progress (lameness).