Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 32, Shloka 4

Adhyaya 32 — Rules for Parvana Śrāddha: Foods that Please the Ancestors and Items to Avoid

Sanskrit

शाकुनं पञ्च वै मासान् षण्मासान् शूकरामिषम् ।

छागलं सप्त वै मासान् ऐणेयं चाष्टमासिकीम् ॥

Transliteration

śākunaṃ pañca vai māsān ṣaṇmāsān śūkarāmiṣam / chāgalaṃ sapta vai māsān aiṇeyaṃ cāṣṭamāsikīm

Translation

ਪੰਛੀਆਂ ਦਾ ਮਾਸ ਪੰਜ ਮਹੀਨੇ ਤੱਕ (ਪਿਤਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ) ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ; ਸੂਰ/ਵਰਾਹ ਦਾ ਮਾਸ ਛੇ ਮਹੀਨੇ; ਬੱਕਰੇ ਦਾ ਮਾਸ ਸੱਤ ਮਹੀਨੇ; ਅਤੇ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨਮ੍ਰਿਗ/ਹਿਰਣ ਦਾ ਮਾਸ ਅੱਠ ਮਹੀਨੇ ਤੱਕ ਪਿਤਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• शाकुनम्: bird(-meat)
• शाकुनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाकुन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (पक्षि-सम्बद्धं मांसम्)

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; अत्र द्वितीया-बहुवचनार्थे ‘मासान्’ विशेषयति

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

• मासान्: months
• मासान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• षण्मासान्: six months
• षण्मासान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट् + मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः (षण् मासाः)

• शूकरामिषम्: boar/pig meat
• शूकरामिषम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूकर + आमिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शूकरस्य आमिषम्)

• छागलम्: goat(-meat)
• छागलम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छागल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (छाग-सम्बद्धं मांसम्)

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; अत्र ‘मासान्’ विशेषयति

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

• मासान्: months
• मासान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ऐणेयम्: antelope/deer meat
• ऐणेयम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऐणेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (एण/मृग-सम्बद्धं मांसम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction ‘and’)

• अष्टमासिकीम्: (giving satisfaction) for eight months
• अष्टमासिकीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्ट + मासिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अष्टमासिकी’ = अष्टमास-पर्यन्ता (lasting eight months), द्विगु-समासाधारित-विशेषण

Speakers

• Dharmic instruction within the Markandeya Purana’s didactic discourse (speaker not explicit in the provided extract)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Pitṛ-pūjā
• Śrāddha
• Food-offering gradations

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text treats śrāddha as a calibrated rite: different offerings are said to yield different spans of ancestral satisfaction, reinforcing the dharmic principle that intention and correct means (upāya) matter in ritual acts.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary dharma instruction (not a direct Pancalakṣaṇa topic), serving as practical ritual guidance alongside Purāṇic narrative and cosmology.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ascending month-count can be read as a hierarchy of ‘subtle nourishment’ (anna-rasa) attributed to substances, mapping ritual substance to perceived potency in sustaining the ancestral realm.