Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 14, Shloka 11

Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments

Sanskrit

परपत्रेण पाट्यन्ते कस्मादेतेऽतिदुःखिताः ।

करम्भवालुकास्वेते पच्यन्ते तैलगोचराः ॥

Transliteration

parapatreṇa pāṭyante kasmād ete ’ti-duḥkhitāḥ / karambha-vālukāsv ete pacyante taila-gocarāḥ //

Translation

ಈ ಜೀವಿಗಳು ಏಕೆ ಇಷ್ಟೊಂದು ತೀವ್ರ ದುಃಖದಲ್ಲಿವೆ—ಇವುಗಳನ್ನು ಕತ್ತಿಯಂತಹ ಎಲೆಗಳಿಂದ ಏಕೆ ಕತ್ತರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ? ಮತ್ತು ಇವುಗಳನ್ನು ಕ್ಷಾರ ಮತ್ತು ಮರಳಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಏಕೆ ಬೇಯಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ, ಹಾಗೂ ಎಣ್ಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಏಕೆ ತಿರುಗಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ?

Word by Word

• para-patreṇa: with a foreign/other leaf
• para-patreṇa: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + patra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (परं पत्रम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• pāṭyante: are cut / are slit
• pāṭyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), आत्मनेपद

• kasmāt: why / from what cause
• kasmāt: Hetu (हेतु/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ati-duḥkhitāḥ: extremely miserable
• ati-duḥkhitāḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (अव्यय-उपसर्गवत्) + duḥkhita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (अत्यन्तं दुःखिताः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• karambha-vālukāsu: in gruel and sand
• karambha-vālukāsu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karambha (प्रातिपदिक) + vālukā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्वसमास (करम्भश्च वालुकाश्च), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), बहुवचन

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• pacyante: are cooked / are tormented by heat
• pacyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pac (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), आत्मनेपद

• taila-gocarāḥ: moving/lying in oil (oil-range)
• taila-gocarāḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: taila (प्रातिपदिक) + gocara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (तैलस्य गोचराः/तैले गोचराः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speakers

• King to Yama’s messenger (observational questioning)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Yama

Key Themes

• Karmic retribution
• Naraka typology
• Violence and consequence

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purāṇic hell-imagery functions as moral deterrent: cruelty, exploitation, and causing pain ‘returns’ as pain with analogous textures—cutting, burning, boiling.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Not a pañcalakṣaṇa core (like sarga/manvantara), but a dharma-oriented excursus illustrating karmaphala within the narrative frame.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Cutting’ and ‘cooking’ symbolize the soul being processed by its own tendencies (saṃskāras): sharpness (violence) and heat (anger/greed) mature into experiential suffering.