Shloka 90
Yoga-Sleep, Cosmic Dissolution, and the Lotus of Creation
with Mārkaṇḍeya’s Vision
सर्वतस्तमसाछन्नं मार्कंडेयोन्ववैक्षत । तस्योत्पन्नं भयं तीव्रं व्यत्ययं चात्मजीवितम्
sarvatastamasāchannaṃ mārkaṃḍeyonvavaikṣata | tasyotpannaṃ bhayaṃ tīvraṃ vyatyayaṃ cātmajīvitam
ಮಾರ್ಕಂಡೇಯನು ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆ ನೋಡಿದನು; ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಕತ್ತಲಿನಿಂದ ಆವೃತವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಅದರಿಂದ ಅವನಲ್ಲಿ ತೀವ್ರ ಭಯ ಉಂಟಾಗಿ, ತನ್ನ ಜೀವಿತಕ್ಕೆ ಭಾರೀ ಅಪಾಯವೆಂದು ಭಾಸವಾಯಿತು।
Narrator (contextual; verse describes Mārkaṇḍeya’s experience)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: celestial_realm
Sandhi Resolution Notes: तमसाछन्नं = तमसा + आच्छन्नम् (आ + आ → आ). मार्कंडेयोन्ववैक्षत = मार्कण्डेयः + अन्ववैक्षत (ः + अ → ओऽ/ओ). तस्योत्पन्नं = तस्य + उत्पन्नम् (अ + उ → ओ). चात्मजीवितम् = च + आत्मजीवितम् (अ + आ → आ).
FAQs
It portrays an overwhelming condition of tamas (darkness) and Mārkaṇḍeya’s immediate human response—intense fear and a sense of mortal peril.
The wording supports a literal scene (“covered on all sides by darkness”), while Purāṇic style often allows a symbolic layer where tamas also suggests confusion, dissolution, or existential crisis.
The verse highlights the fragility of embodied life and how quickly fear arises when one loses clarity and security—prompting the seeker to rely on steadiness, discernment, and refuge in the divine in subsequent narrative developments.