Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 15, Shloka 33

Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell

Sanskrit

तृण-गुल्म-लता-वल्ली-त्वक्सारतरुतां क्रमात् ।

प्राप्य क्षीणाल्पपापस्तु नरो भवति वै ततः ॥

Transliteration

tṛṇa-gulma-latā-valli-tvaksāratarutāṃ kramāt | prāpya kṣīṇālpapāpas tu naro bhavati vai tataḥ

Translation

ਕ੍ਰਮਵਾਰ ਘਾਹ, ਝਾੜੀਆਂ, ਲਤਾ, ਵੱਲੀ, ਛਾਲ-ਰੇਸ਼ੇ ਵਾਲੇ ਪੌਦੇ ਅਤੇ ਦਰੱਖ਼ਤ—ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਅਵਸਥਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕਰ ਕੇ, ਜਿਸ ਦੇ ਛੋਟੇ ਪਾਪ ਖ਼ਤਮ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ, ਉਹ ਨਿਸ਼ਚਿਤ ਹੀ ਮੁੜ ਮਨੁੱਖ-ਜਨਮ ਪਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• tṛṇa-gulma-latā-vallī-tvaksāra-tarutām: the condition of being (grass, shrub, creeper, vine, bark, pith, tree)
• tṛṇa-gulma-latā-vallī-tvaksāra-tarutām: Karma (कर्म; prāpya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + gulma (प्रातिपदिक) + latā (प्रातिपदिक) + vallī (प्रातिपदिक) + tvak (प्रातिपदिक) + sāra (प्रातिपदिक) + taru (प्रातिपदिक) + tā (प्रत्यय)
• Form: Feminine abstract collective, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; samāhāra-dvandva list + -tā (‘the state/category of grass, shrubs, creepers, vines, bark, pith, trees’)

• kramāt: successively/in order
• kramāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative used adverbially (क्रमात्) = ‘in due order/successively’; treated as avyaya-like usage

• prāpya: having attained
• prāpya: Kriyā (क्रिया; pūrvakāla)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp (धातु) + ya (ल्यप्)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्)

• kṣīṇa-alpa-pāpaḥ: whose sins are diminished and few
• kṣīṇa-alpa-pāpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; viśeṣaṇa of naraḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣīṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + alpa (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; karmadhāraya ‘kṣīṇaṃ ca alpaṃ ca pāpaṃ yasya’ (reduced and little sin)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable particle (निपात) marking contrast/emphasis

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• bhavati: becomes
• bhavati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular

• vai: indeed/verily
• vai: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable particle (निपात) for emphasis/assurance

• tataḥ: thereafter/from that
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable adverb (अव्यय) of source/sequence

Speakers

• Not specified in input

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Karma
• Rebirth (yoni)
• Moral causality
• Purification through experience

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Karma is not only punitive but also purgative: embodied experience in constrained forms is presented as a mechanism for exhausting lesser faults, after which human birth—suited for deliberate dharma-practice—returns.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This is doctrinal teaching on karma and yoni, ancillary to (rather than constitutive of) pañcalakṣaṇa categories.

What is the esoteric significance?

The downward movement into plant-life symbolizes extreme tamas and immobility—consciousness learning endurance and non-appropriation. The sequential ascent through vegetal forms can be read as a slow reconstitution of vitality before regaining human moral choice.