Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 81, Shloka 17

Adhyaya 81 — Suratha and Samadhi Seek Sage Medhas; Introduction to Mahamaya and the Madhukaitabha Origin Account

Sanskrit

इत्याकर्ण्य वचस्तस्य भूपतेः प्रणयोदितम् ।

प्रत्युवाच स तं वैश्यः प्रश्रयावनतो नृपम् ॥

Transliteration

ity ākarṇya vacas tasya bhūpateḥ praṇayoditam /

pratyuvāca sa taṃ vaiśyaḥ praśrayāvanato nṛpam

Translation

«ဘုရင်၏ ချစ်ခင်ကြင်နာသော စကားကို ကြားသော် ကုန်သည်သည် ထိုအုပ်စိုးရှင်အား လေးစားသိမ်မွေ့စွာ ဦးညွှတ်ကာ ပြန်လည်ဖြေကြား하였다»။

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; वाक्य-समाप्ति/उद्धरण-चिह्न (quotative particle)

• आकर्ण्य: having heard
• आकर्ण्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ-कर्त्/कर्ण्? (धातु: कर्ण् ‘to hear’) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया ‘श्रुत्वा’

• वचः: speech, words
• वचः: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• भूपतेः: of the king
• भूपतेः: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• प्रणय-उदितम्: spoken with affection
• प्रणय-उदितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रणय (प्रातिपदिक) + उदित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (प्रणयेन उदितम् = स्नेहेन उक्तम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘वचः’)

• प्रति-उवाच: replied
• प्रति-उवाच: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति- वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तम्: to him
• तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• वैश्यः: the vaiśya
• वैश्यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्रश्रय-अवनतः: bowed with humility
• प्रश्रय-अवनतः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रश्रय (प्रातिपदिक) + अवनत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (प्रश्रयेण अवनतः = विनयेन नम्रः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘वैश्यः’)

• नृपम्: the king
• नृपम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrator; merchant prepares to speak to King Suratha

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Etiquette and humility
• Social dharma (proper address to a ruler)
• Beginning of confession/inquiry

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text models saṃskāra and vinaya: even in distress, one maintains respectful speech. Such inner discipline supports clarity and receptivity to wisdom.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Narrative-ethical instruction; not pañcalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

Humility (praśraya) is a prerequisite for śravaṇa (hearing truth). The ‘bowing’ indicates ego-softening before higher insight.