Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 23, Shloka 17
Adhyaya 23 — Ashvatara’s Vow for Madalasa and the Bestowal of Musical Science by Sarasvati
मया नृशंस्यं कर्तव्यं नोपकार्यपकारि च ।
या मदर्थे 'त्यजत प्राणांस्तदर्थे 'ल्पमिदं मम ॥
mayā nṛśaṃsyaṃ kartavyaṃ nopakāryapakāri ca / yā madarthe 'tyajat prāṇāṃs tadarthe 'lpam idaṃ mama
ನಾನು ಕಠೋರ ಕರ್ಮವನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ—ಇದು ‘ಸಹಾಯಕನಿಗೆ ಸಹಾಯ’ ಅಲ್ಲ, ‘ಅಹಿಂಸಕನಿಗೆ ಹಾನಿ’ ಕೂಡ ಅಲ್ಲ; ನನ್ನ ನಿಮಿತ್ತ ಪ್ರಾಣತ್ಯಾಗ ಮಾಡಿದ ಅವಳ ಎದುರು ನನ್ನ ಈ ತ್ಯಾಗ ಅತಿ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ।
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FAQs
The verse frames self-sacrifice as repayment of an existential debt: when another has died for you, your own life appears a small offering. Yet it also admits the act may be ‘nṛśaṃsa’—suggesting awareness that dramatic reciprocity can violate other dharmas.
Didactic narrative (vaṃśānucarita-type). The purāṇic method is to explore dharma through emotionally charged dilemmas rather than abstract rule.
The ‘debt’ is not only social but karmic: the psyche seeks equilibrium. The verse exposes the bind where egoic honor masquerades as virtue, requiring discernment (viveka) to separate dharma from compulsion.