Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 70, Shloka 28

Adhyaya 70 — The King Confronts the Rakshasa and Restores the Brahmin’s Wife

Sanskrit

नरेन्द्राज्ञाप्रदानेन प्रसादः क्रियतां मम ।

भृत्यस्य प्रणतस्य त्वं युष्मद्विषयवासिनः ॥

Transliteration

narendrājñā-pradānena prasādaḥ kriyatāṃ mama |

bhṛtyasya praṇatasya tvaṃ yuṣmad-viṣaya-vāsinaḥ ||

Translation

«အို မင်းကြီး၊ အမိန့်တစ်ရပ် ချမှတ်ပေး၍ ကျွန်ုပ်အား ကရုဏာပြပါ။ သင်၏ နယ်မြေတွင် နေထိုင်သူအပေါ် သင်သည် အရှင်ဖြစ်၏— သင်ရှေ့၌ ဦးညွှတ်နေသော သင်၏ ကျွန်ုပ်တော်» ဟု။

Word by Word

• narendra-ājñā-pradānena: by granting the king’s order/permission
• narendra-ājñā-pradānena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narendra + ājñā + pradāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुषसमासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): 'by the giving of the king's command'

• prasādaḥ: favor; grace
• prasādaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kriyatām: may (it) be done; please do
• kriyatām: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense): 'let it be done'

• mama: for me / of me
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhṛtyasya: of the servant
• bhṛtyasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhṛtya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• praṇatasya: of the bowed/supplicant (one)
• praṇatasya: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√nam (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण to bhṛtyasya

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• yuṣmad-viṣaya-vāsinaḥ: of (one) residing in your domain
• yuṣmad-viṣaya-vāsinaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad + viṣaya + vāsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी): 'of one dwelling in your territory'

Speakers

• rākṣasa to the king (within Mārkaṇḍeya’s narration)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Rajadharma
• Authority (ājñā)
• Patronage and obligation
• Ethical governance

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The rākṣasa reframes coercive desire as a legitimate request under political hierarchy. The ethical question becomes: does the king’s command sanctify an act, or must the act itself be dharmic?

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary narrative for dharma-teaching; not a cosmogonic/genealogical unit.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Ājñā’ symbolizes the directing power of will. The verse warns that will (royal or personal) can be invoked to justify appetite unless checked by dharma (viveka).