Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 35, Shloka 4

Adhyaya 35 — Madālasa’s Instruction on Purity, Impurity, and Corrective Rites (Śauca and Aśauca)

Sanskrit

प्रोक्षितञ्चौषधार्थञ्च खादन्मांसं न दुष्यति । शङ्खाश्मस्वर्णरूप्याणां रज्जूनामथ वाससाम् ॥

Transliteration

prokṣitañ cauṣadhārthaṃ ca khādan māṃsaṃ na duṣyati | śaṅkhāśmasvarṇarūpyāṇāṃ rajjūnām atha vāsasām ||

Translation

ਪ੍ਰੋਛਣ (ਸ਼ੁੱਧ ਜਲ/ਮੰਤਰ) ਨਾਲ ਸ਼ੁੱਧ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੋਇਆ ਜਾਂ ਔਖਧੀ ਲਈ ਲਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਮਾਸ ਖਾਣ ਨਾਲ ਦੋਸ਼ ਨਹੀਂ ਲੱਗਦਾ। ਹੁਣ ਸ਼ੁੱਧੀ ਬਾਰੇ—ਸ਼ੰਖ, ਪੱਥਰ, ਸੋਨਾ, ਚਾਂਦੀ, ਰੱਸੀਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਵਸਤ੍ਰਾਂ ਦੀ ਸ਼ੌਚ-ਵਿਧੀ ਕਹੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• prokṣitam: sprinkled/purified by sprinkling
• prokṣitam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√kṣip/√kṣiv? (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• auṣadha-artham: for medicinal purpose
• auṣadha-artham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: auṣadha (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• khādan: eating
• khādan: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √khād (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle/शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• māṃsam: meat
• māṃsam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (negation particle)

• duṣyati: is tainted/does wrong/incurs fault
• duṣyati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √duṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• śaṅkha-aśma-svarṇa-rūpyāṇām: of conch, stone, gold, and silver
• śaṅkha-aśma-svarṇa-rūpyāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṅkha (प्रातिपदिक) + aśman (प्रातिपदिक) + svarṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (plural)

• rajjūnām: of ropes
• rajjūnām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajjū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (plural)

• atha: and/then
• atha: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: and/then)

• vāsasām: of garments/clothes
• vāsasām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (plural)

Speakers

• Madālasā to Alarka

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Śauca (purity)
• Ritual purification (prokṣaṇa)
• Medical exception (auṣadha)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purity is not merely material but procedural: consecration (prokṣaṇa) and necessity (medicine) can legitimate what is otherwise questionable, showing dharma’s attention to circumstance and intention.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This is ācāra material (conduct and purity rules), not sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Sprinkling’ signifies the primacy of mantra-śakti and saṅkalpa: the act represents aligning a substance with sacred order, paralleling the inner purification of impulses through disciplined intention.