Shloka 44

Pitṛbhakti and Śrāddha: The Classification of Pitṛs and the Superiority of Pitṛ-kārya

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततस्तु चक्रवाकौ द्वावासतुस्सहचारिणौ । आवां वै सचिवौ स्याव तव प्रियहितैषिणौ

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tatastu cakravākau dvāvāsatussahacāriṇau | āvāṃ vai sacivau syāva tava priyahitaiṣiṇau

Translation

မာကဏ္ဍေယက ပြောသည်—ထို့နောက် စက္ကရဝါက ငှက်နှစ်ကောင်သည် မိတ်ဖက်အဖြစ် အတူနေထိုင်ကြ၏။ «ကျွန်ုပ်တို့နှစ်ဦးသည် သင်၏ အမှုထမ်း(အမတ်) ဖြစ်ကြမည်၊ သင်နှစ်သက်ရာနှင့် အကျိုးရှိရာကို ရှာဖွေလိုသူများ ဖြစ်ကြမည်» ဟုဆို၏။

Word by Word

• मार्कण्डेयः: Mārkaṇḍeya
• मार्कण्डेयः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• ततः: then/from there
• ततः: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (particle), विरोध/अन्वयार्थक

• चक्रवाकौ: the two cakravāka birds
• चक्रवाकौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्रवाक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• द्वौ: two
• द्वौ: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual), संख्याविशेषण

• आसतुः: they were/remained
• आसतुः: Kriya (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन (Dual), परस्मैपद

• सहचारिणौ: companions
• सहचारिणौ: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहचारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• आवाम्: we two
• आवाम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (emphatic particle)

• सचिवौ: ministers/counsellors
• सचिवौ: Karta (कर्ता/Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सचिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• स्याव: may we be
• स्याव: Kriya (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), द्विवचन (Dual), परस्मैपद

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• प्रियहितैषिणौ: seeking your dear welfare
• प्रियहितैषिणौ: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रिय + हित + एषिन् (प्रातिपदिक); एषिन् < इष् (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (genitive determinative): 'प्रियस्य हितस्य एषिणौ'

Speaker

Markandeya

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Characters & Entities

• Markandeya

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It highlights dharmic companionship and selfless service—becoming a “saciva” (supportive guide) who seeks another’s true good, a virtue aligned with Shaiva ideals of humility and seva.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Though not directly naming the Liṅga, it reflects the devotional attitude central to Saguna Shiva worship: serving with priyahita-bhāva (seeking what pleases and benefits), the same inner disposition offered to Shiva in pūjā.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate priyahita-saṅkalpa before worship—begin japa of “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with the intention to serve and benefit all beings, mirroring the verse’s spirit of loyal, beneficial attendance.