Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 27, Shloka 9

Adhyaya 27 — Madālasa’s Instruction to King Alarka: Royal Ethics, Self-Conquest, and Statecraft

Sanskrit

स्थानवृद्धिक्षयज्ञेन षाड्गुण्यगुणितात्मना ।

भवितव्यं नरेन्द्रेण न कामवशवर्तिना ॥

Transliteration

sthānavṛddhikṣayajñena ṣāḍguṇyaguṇitātmanā /

bhavitavyaṃ narendreṇa na kāmavaśavartinā

Translation

မင်းသည် အနေအထား၊ တိုးတက်မှုနှင့် ဆုတ်ယုတ်မှုကို နားလည်သူ ဖြစ်ရမည်၊ ထို့ပြင် မူဝါဒသည် ṣāḍguṇya ဟုခေါ်သော နည်းလမ်းခြောက်ပါးအပေါ် အခြေခံ၍ ချမှတ်ထားရမည်။ ဆန္ဒတဏှာက အုပ်စိုးနေသူ မဖြစ်သင့်။

Word by Word

• sthāna-vṛddhi-kṣaya-jñena: by one who knows (proper) position, growth, and decline
• sthāna-vṛddhi-kṣaya-jñena: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛddhi (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + jña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: 'knowing (jña) of position, increase, and decline'

• ṣāḍguṇya-guṇita-ātmanā: by one whose nature is equipped with the sixfold policy
• ṣāḍguṇya-guṇita-ātmanā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣāḍguṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + guṇita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष: 'self (ātman) endowed/characterized by being furnished with ṣāḍguṇya'

• bhavitavyam: it is to be / one must be
• bhavitavyam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु) + tavya (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Gerundive/obligative (तव्यत्-कृदन्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); impersonal obligation: 'it should be'

• narendreṇa: by the king
• narendreṇa: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष: 'indra among men'

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha-dyotaka (प्रतिषेध-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), negation particle

• kāma-vaśa-vartinā: by one ruled by desire
• kāma-vaśa-vartinā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + vaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + vartin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष: 'one who acts under the control (vaśa) of desire (kāma)'

Speakers

• Didactic instruction within the Markandeya Purana’s nīti/rājadharma discourse (speaker not specified in the provided excerpt)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Kingship
• Statecraft
• Ṣāḍguṇya
• Self-control

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Competent rule is grounded in situational intelligence (knowing stability, growth, and decline) and disciplined strategy; personal desire is portrayed as a direct cause of political misjudgment.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary rājadharma/nīti; not within the fivefold purāṇic markers.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘six measures’ can mirror inner governance: peace with the mind, war against vice, advancing in practice, pausing in steadiness, taking refuge in higher principle, and employing ‘dual policy’ (firmness with compassion).