Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 38, Shloka 13

Adhyaya 38 — Dattatreya on Non-Identification (Mamata) and the Path to Liberation

Sanskrit

प्राप्य ब्रह्मवनं शीतं नीरजस्कमकण्टकम् ।

प्राप्नुवन्ति परां प्राज्ञा निर्वृतिं वृत्तिवर्जिताः ॥

Transliteration

prāpya brahmavanaṃ śītaṃ nīrajaskamakaṇṭakam |

prāpnuvanti parāṃ prājñā nirvṛtiṃ vṛttivarjitāḥ ||

Translation

ဖုန်မှုန့်ကင်း၍ ဆူးမရှိသော ဗြဟ္မန်၏ အေးမြသော တောအုပ်သို့ ရောက်ပြီးနောက်—စိတ်လှုပ်ရှားမှုကင်းသော ပညာရှိတို့သည် အမြင့်မြတ်ဆုံး ငြိမ်းချမ်းမှုကို ရရှိကြသည်။

Word by Word

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: पूर्वकाल (Pūrvakāla/Anterior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√आप् (धातु) → प्राप्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having reached/obtained’

• ब्रह्मवनम्: the forest of Brahman (brahma-forest)
• ब्रह्मवनम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—ब्रह्मणः वनम् (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

• शीतम्: cool, tranquil
• शीतम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ब्रह्मवनस्य विशेषणम्

• नीरजस्कम्: free from rajas/dust
• नीरजस्कम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि: + रजस् (प्रातिपदिक) → नीरजस्क
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—निःरजस्कम् (nañ/tatpuruṣa: free from dust/rajas)

• अकण्टकम्: thornless, without obstacles
• अकण्टकम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ- (नञ्) + कण्टक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुषः—कण्टकरहितम्

• प्राप्नुवन्ति: they attain
• प्राप्नुवन्ति: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• पराम्: supreme
• पराम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; निर्वृतिं विशेषयति

• प्राज्ञाः: the wise
• प्राज्ञाः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• निर्वृतिम्: cessation, bliss, liberation
• निर्वृतिम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• वृत्ति-वर्जिताः: free from mental modifications/activities
• वृत्ति-वर्जिताः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject; qualifier of प्राज्ञाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृत्ति + वर्जित (प्रातिपदिक; वर्जित < √वृज्/√वर्ज् (धातु) ‘to avoid’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—वृत्त्या वर्जिताः / वृत्तिरहिताः (instrumental/nañ sense; tatpuruṣa usage)

Speakers

• Teacher (a Brahman/ṛṣi) instructing King Alarka

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Brahman
• Citta-vṛtti-nirodha (vṛtti-cessation)
• Peace (nirvṛti)
• Guṇa-transcendence imagery (rajas/thorns)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Liberation is portrayed as a state of inner coolness and safety: agitation (rajas) and pain-giving ‘thorns’ cease when mental vṛttis subside through knowledge and discipline.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Didactic mokṣa-teaching (upadeśa), not a direct pancalakṣaṇa unit.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Dust’ hints at rajas that clouds perception; ‘thorns’ are kleśas and saṃskāras that pierce the mind. The ‘forest’ suggests vastness and non-locality of Brahman, entered by stillness.