Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 10, Shloka 65

Adhyaya 10 — Jaimini’s Questions on Birth, Death, Karma, and the Embodied Journey

Sanskrit

कुश-कण्टक-वलमीक-शङ्कु-पाषाणकर्कशे ।

तथा प्रदीप्तज्वलने क्वचिच्छृभ्रशतोत्कटे ॥

Transliteration

kuśa-kaṇṭaka-valamīka-śaṅku-pāṣāṇakarkaśe /

tathā pradīptajvalane kvacic chṛbhraśatotkaṭe

Translation

ကူရှမြက် (kuśa) ၏ ဆူးများ၊ ပုရွက်ဆိတ်တောင်များ၊ တိုင်များနှင့် ကျောက်တုံးများကြောင့် ကြမ်းတမ်းခက်ခဲလာသော လမ်းကြမ်းတစ်လျှောက်—တချို့နေရာများတွင် မီးတောက်လောင်ကျွမ်းနေပြီး၊ တချို့နေရာများတွင် ချွန်ထက်သော အစွန်းအထင်း ရာချီကြောင့် ကြောက်မက်ဖွယ် ဖြစ်နေသည်—

Word by Word

• कुशकण्टकवलमीकशङ्कुपाषाणकर्कशे: in/at a place harsh with kuśa, thorns, ant-hills, spikes, stones
• कुशकण्टकवलमीकशङ्कुपाषाणकर्कशे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुश + कण्टक + वलमीक + शङ्कु + पाषाण + कर्कश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.)/पुंलिङ्ग (m.) (contextual), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Loc. 7), एकवचन (sg.); समासः—बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (determinative: 'harsh with kuśa-grass, thorns, ant-hills, spikes, stones')

• तथा: likewise, also
• तथा: Samuccaya/Prakara (समुच्चय/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: likewise/also)

• प्रदीप्तज्वलने: in blazing fire
• प्रदीप्तज्वलने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रदीप्त + ज्वलन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Loc. 7), एकवचन (sg.); कर्मधारय-समास ('blazing fire')

• क्वचित्: somewhere, in some place
• क्वचित्: Desha-adhikarana (देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: somewhere/at times)

• शृभ्रशतोत्कटे: in a very fierce (place) with hundreds of śṛbhra
• शृभ्रशतोत्कटे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शृभ्र + शत + उत्कट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.)/पुंलिङ्ग (m.) (contextual), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Loc. 7), एकवचन (sg.); समासः—तत्पुरुष (determinative: 'very fierce with hundreds of śṛbhra (sharp/rough objects; reading-dependent)')

Speakers

• Frame-dialogue context not explicit in the provided excerpt (likely an instructive narration within Adhyaya 10)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Afterlife journey
• Consequences of sin
• Yātanā imagery

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The harsh landscape externalizes inner moral disorder: harmful actions yield painful passages, encouraging non-violence, charity, and disciplined conduct.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ethical instruction via karmaphala narrative; not part of creation/manvantara/dynasty frameworks.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘spiked, burning path’ can be read as a purgative corridor where latent karmic impressions are forced into experience—an allegory for the mind encountering its own accumulated afflictions.