Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 20, Shloka 15

Adhyaya 20 — Ritadhvaja’s Companionship with the Naga Princes and the Origin of the Horse Kuvalaya

Sanskrit

रसातले च तौ रात्रिं विना तेन महात्मना ।

निश्वासपरमौ नीत्वा जग्मतुस्तं दिने दिने ॥

Transliteration

rasātale ca tau rātriṃ vinā tena mahātmanā |

niśvāsa-paramau nītvā jagmatus taṃ dine dine ||

Translation

ထို့နောက် ရသာတလ၌ သူတို့သည် ထိုမဟာစိတ်ရှိသူမပါဘဲ ညကို သက်ပြင်းချသံများသာဖြင့် ကုန်လွန်စေကြ၏။ ထို့နောက် နေ့စဉ်နေ့တိုင်း သူ့ထံသို့ သွားကြ၏။

Word by Word

• रसातले: in Rasātala (netherworld)
• रसातले: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रसातल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• रात्रिम्: for a night
• रात्रिम्: Karma (कर्म/extent of time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; काल-अवधि (duration)

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/without-relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: उपपद-अव्यय ‘without’; तृतीया-सम्बन्धः

• तेन: him
• तेन: Apadana (अपादान/ablatival sense with vinā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• महात्मना: the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Visheshana (विशेषण/epithet to तेन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘महान् आत्मा यस्य’ (as a descriptive compound used as epithet)

• निश्वास-परमौ: reduced to mere breathing
• निश्वास-परमौ: Karta (कर्ता; qualifier of तौ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निश्वास + परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘निश्वासः परमः (आश्रयः/अवस्था) ययोः’ = having only breathing as (support/limit)

• नीत्वा: having spent/passed
• नीत्वा: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल/preceding action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय-कृदन्त (gerund/absolutive) ‘having led/passed’

• जग्मतुः: they went
• जग्मतुः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; परस्मैपद

• तम्: to him
• तम्: Karma (कर्म/Object; goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• दिने: in a day
• दिने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• दिने: day by day
• दिने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (reduplication) = ‘day after day’

Speakers

• Narrative voice (exact speaker not specified in input)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Mutual attachment
• Pātāla/Rasātala geography (mythic)
• Longing expressed as ‘sighing’
• Habitual return (daily visitation)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Attachment is shown as reciprocal: not only the human prince, but the nāga youths too are unable to rest, suggesting that bonds create shared vulnerability to longing.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This is narrative detail within an upākhyāna; it incidentally uses Purāṇic cosmography (Rasātala) but is not itself a formal cosmology section.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Sighing’ (niśvāsa) signifies prāṇic disturbance caused by craving/absence; the nightly separation and daily reunion mirror the oscillation of mind between withdrawal and pursuit.