Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 43, Shloka 22

Adhyaya 43 — Portents of Death (Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇas) and the Yogin’s Response; Alarka Renounces Kingship

Sanskrit

यस्य वै भुक्तमात्रस्य हृदयं बाधते क्षुधा ।

जायते दन्तघर्षश्च स गतायुर्न संशयम् ॥

Transliteration

yasya vai bhuktamātrasya hṛdayaṃ bādhate kṣudhā / jāyate dantagharṣaśca sa gatāyurna saṃśayam

Translation

ਖਾਣ ਤੋਂ ਤੁਰੰਤ ਬਾਅਦ ਜੇ ਕਿਸੇ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦੇ ਸੀਨੇ (ਹਿਰਦੇ) ਵਿੱਚ ਭੁੱਖ ਉੱਠੇ ਅਤੇ ਦੰਦ ਪੀਸਣ/ਕਟਕਟਾਹਟ ਹੋਵੇ, ਤਾਂ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਉਮਰ ਮੁੱਕ ਗਈ—ਇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੋਈ ਸ਼ੱਕ ਨਹੀਂ।

Word by Word

• yasya: whose/of whom
• yasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular

• vai: indeed
• vai: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निपात)

• bhukta-mātrasya: of one who has just eaten
• bhukta-mātrasya: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) to ‘yasya’
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhukta (√bhuj, भुज्; क्त) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular; तत्पुरुषः (‘only just eaten’) qualifying the possessor ‘yasya’

• hṛdayam: heart
• hṛdayam: Karma (कर्म) (object of ‘bādhate’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛdaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular

• bādhate: afflicts/troubles
• bādhate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bādh (बाध्)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Ātmanepada, 3rd person, Singular

• kṣudhā: hunger
• kṣudhā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudh (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular

• jāyate: arises/occurs
• jāyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन्)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Ātmanepada, 3rd person, Singular

• danta-gharṣaḥ: grinding of teeth
• danta-gharṣaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (subject of ‘jāyate’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: danta + gharṣa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular; तत्पुरुषः (‘teeth-grinding’)

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

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• gata-āyuḥ: one whose lifespan is gone (near death)
• gata-āyuḥ: Viśeṣaṇa of ‘saḥ’ (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gata (√gam, गम्; क्त) + āyus (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; बहुव्रीहिः (‘whose life has gone’) qualifying ‘saḥ’

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेधार्थक निपात)

• saṃśayam: doubt
• saṃśayam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषणवत्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular; used adverbially in phrase ‘na saṃśayam’

Speakers

• Not explicit in excerpt; medical-omen (ariṣṭa) style

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Omens
• Bodily signs
• Mortality
• Dharma

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The body is treated as a messenger of destiny; when severe dysfunction appears, one should prioritize spiritual readiness and ethical closure over worldly delay.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary instruction (upadharma) rather than cosmology/genealogy/manvantara history.

What is the esoteric significance?

Post-meal hunger and tooth-chattering can symbolize ‘fire’ (agni) gone irregular; esoterically, it points to prāṇa destabilization and the severing of embodied continuity.