Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 17, Shloka 18

Adhyaya 17 — The Birth of Atri’s Three Sons: Soma, Dattatreya, and Durvasa

Sanskrit

तथापि तं महात्मानमतीव प्रियदर्शनम् ।

तत्यजुर्न कुमारास्ते सरसस्ती्रमाश्रिताः ॥

Transliteration

tathāpi taṃ mahātmānam atīva priyadarśanam | tatyajur na kumārās te sarasas tīram āśritāḥ ||

Translation

ထိုသို့ပင်၊ ထိုလူငယ်တို့သည် မြင်ရအလွန်နှစ်သက်ဖွယ်ကောင်းသော မဟာစိတ်ဓာတ်ရှိသူကို မစွန့်ပစ်ကြဘဲ၊ ရေကန်ကမ်းခြေ၌ပင် ဆက်လက်နေထိုင်ကြ၏။

Word by Word

• तथापि: nevertheless
• तथापि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connecting particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā + api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संयोजक/निपात (concessive particle: 'nevertheless')

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• महात्मानम्: the great-souled one
• महात्मानम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• अतीव: very, exceedingly
• अतीव: Visheshana (विशेषण/degree modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• प्रियदर्शनम्: pleasant to behold
• प्रियदर्शनम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: priya + darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying 'tam/mahātmānam')

• तत्यजुः: they abandoned/left
• तत्यजुः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• कुमाराः: the youths/boys
• कुमाराः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• ते: those (they)
• ते: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• सरसः: of the lake
• सरसः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• तीरम्: the bank/shore
• तीरम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण; goal/place with motion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• आश्रिताः: having resorted to, dwelling at
• आश्रिताः: Karta (कर्ता; predicative to subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-śri (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of 'kumārāḥ')

Speakers

• Narrator voice within the Purana’s rishi-to-rishi discourse (exact frame-speaker not explicit in these standalone verses)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Dattātreya

Key Themes

• Guru-bhakti
• Perseverance
• Faithfulness
• Discipleship

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Steadfastness near the teacher—despite uncertainty—models śraddhā and service. Loyalty is tested when external reassurance disappears.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ākhyāna used for Dharma instruction (how disciples should endure trials); a narrative insert within broader purāṇic discourse.

What is the esoteric significance?

Remaining at the ‘shore’ signifies staying at the threshold of the unknown without panic—holding the liminal space until insight (the teacher’s re-emergence) arises.