Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 81, Shloka 8

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

Sanskrit

ततो मृगयाव्याजेन हृतस्वाम्यः स भूपतिः ।

एकाकी हयमारुह्य जगाम गहनं वनम् ॥

Transliteration

tato mṛgayā-vyājena hṛta-svāmyas sa bhūpatiḥ |

ekākī hayam āruhya jagāma gahanaṃ vanam ||

Translation

ထို့နောက် မုဆိုးထွက်သည်ဟု အကြောင်းပြကာ အာဏာပိုင်မှုကို လုယူခံရသော မင်းသည် မြင်းစီး၍ တစ်ယောက်တည်း ထူထပ်သော တောအတွင်းသို့ ဝင်ရောက်သွား하였다။

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable); तस्मात्/ततः = ‘then, thereafter’ (temporal adverb)

• mṛgayā-vyājena: by the pretext of hunting
• mṛgayā-vyājena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛgayā (प्रातिपदिक) + vyāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/उपपद-भाव): ‘mṛgayāyāḥ vyājaḥ’ → ‘under the pretext of hunting’

• hṛta-svāmyāḥ: having lost his sovereignty
• hṛta-svāmyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hṛta (कृदन्त; √hṛ हर् (धातु) + क्त) + svāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण; तत्पुरुष: ‘hṛtaṃ svāmyaṃ yasya’ (lost sovereignty)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• bhūpatiḥ: the king
• bhūpatiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ekākī: alone
• ekākī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekākin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• hayam: a horse
• hayam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• āruhya: having mounted
• āruhya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ruh (रुह् धातु) + ā- उपसर्ग + ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययभाव-क्त्वान्त (gerund); ‘having mounted’

• jagāma: went
• jagāma: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• gahanam: dense
• gahanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gahana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (वनम्)

• vanam: forest
• vanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrator within the Devi Mahatmyam frame

Key Themes

• Renunciation by circumstance
• Forest as liminal spiritual space
• Beginning of seeker’s journey

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

When social identity collapses, one may enter the ‘forest’ of self-inquiry; adversity becomes the doorway to wisdom.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Vaṃśānucarita as narrative prelude: the king’s exile sets up the dialogue that will reveal the Goddess’s nature and the causes of bondage/liberation.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘hunt’ motif points to outward seeking; when sovereignty is lost, the seeker turns inward, entering the ‘dense forest’ of the psyche where the Guru appears.