Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 15, Shloka 7

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

Sanskrit

विश्वासहन्ता च नरो मीनयोनौ प्रजायते । धान्यं यवांस्तिलान् माषान् कुलत्थान् सर्षपांश्चणान् ॥

Transliteration

viśvāsahantā ca naro mīnayonau prajāyate / dhānyaṃ yavāṃstilān māṣān kulatthān sarṣapāṃścaṇān

Translation

ယုံကြည်မှုကို ဖျက်ဆီးသူသည် ငါး၏ ဝမ်းအတွင်း၌ မွေးဖွား၏။ ထို့ပြင် စပါးမျိုးစုံ—ဘားလီ၊ နှမ်း၊ ပဲမည်း၊ ပဲမြင်း၊ မုန်ညင်း၊ ချစ်ပီပဲ—တို့ကို ခိုးယူသူ၏ အကျိုးဆက်ကို နောက်ကဗျာတွင် ဆက်လက်ဖော်ပြမည်။

Word by Word

• विश्वास-हन्ता: one who betrays trust
• विश्वास-हन्ता: कर्ता (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वास (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु) → हन्तृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विश्वासस्य हन्ता = destroyer of trust)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• नरः: a man
• नरः: कर्ता (subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मीन-योनौ: in a fish-womb/as a fish
• मीन-योनौ: अधिकरण (location/state)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मीन (प्रातिपदिक) + योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मीनस्य योनि = fish-womb/species)

• प्रजायते: is born
• प्रजायते: क्रिया (verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• धान्यम्: grain
• धान्यम्: कर्म (object; list item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धान्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• यवान्: barleys
• यवान्: कर्म (object; list item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• तिलान्: sesame seeds
• तिलान्: कर्म (object; list item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• माषान्: black gram beans
• माषान्: कर्म (object; list item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• कुलत्थान्: horse-gram
• कुलत्थान्: कर्म (object; list item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुलत्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• सर्षपान्: mustard seeds
• सर्षपान्: कर्म (object; list item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्षप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• चणान्: chickpeas
• चणान्: कर्म (object; list item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (enclitic; from -श्च)

Speakers

• Not specified in input (didactic narration)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "bhakti", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Trust and social order
• Theft (food staples)
• Karma and rebirth

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Trust is treated as a moral pillar; to break it is to ‘kill’ a social lifeline. Theft of staple foods is emphasized because it threatens livelihood and ritual hospitality.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary dharma instruction (karma-vipāka), not one of the five defining narrative-structural topics.

What is the esoteric significance?

Fish-birth can symbolize existence in a mute, submerged realm—life driven by instinct—mirroring the moral submergence of one who destroys trust.