Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 47, Shloka 14

Adhyaya 47 — Brahma’s Awakening and the Ninefold Scheme of Creation

Sanskrit

भूराद्यांश्चतुरो लोकान् पूर्वंवत् समकल्पयत् ।

सृष्टिंचिन्तयतस्तस्य कल्पादिषु यथा पुरा ॥

Transliteration

bhūrādyāṃś caturō lokān pūrvaṃvat samakalpayat /

sṛṣṭiṃ cintayatas tasya kalpādiṣu yathā purā

Translation

ਉਸ ਨੇ ਭੂ (ਧਰਤੀ) ਤੋਂ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕਰਕੇ ਚਾਰ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਵਾਂਗ ਵਿਵਸਥਿਤ ਕੀਤਾ; ਜਿਵੇਂ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਸ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟੀ ਦਾ ਚਿੰਤਨ ਕੀਤਾ, ਤਿਵੇਂ ਹੀ ਕਲਪਾਂ ਦੇ ਆਰੰਭ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੀ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਵਾਂਗ ਹੋਇਆ।

Word by Word

• bhūḥ-ādyān: beginning with Bhū (earth-world)
• bhūḥ-ādyān: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of Karma)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Dvitīyā vibhakti (Accusative, 2nd), Bahuvacana (Plural); bhū-ādi = 'beginning with Bhū' (ādi-tatpuruṣa) qualifying lokān

• caturo: four
• caturo: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of Karma)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Dvitīyā vibhakti (Accusative, 2nd), Bahuvacana (Plural); numeral adjective

• lokān: worlds, realms
• lokān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Dvitīyā vibhakti (Accusative, 2nd), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• pūrvaṃvat: as formerly
• pūrvaṃvat: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvaṃvat (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb meaning 'as before'

• samakalpayat: he arranged, he created
• samakalpayat: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√kḷp (धातु)
• Form: Laṅ lakāra (Imperfect/Past), Prathama puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana (Singular); causative sense not required here; 'arranged/created'

• sṛṣṭim: creation
• sṛṣṭim: Karma (कर्म/Object of cintayatas implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Dvitīyā vibhakti (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana (Singular)

• cintayataḥ: of him who was contemplating
• cintayataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √cint (धातु)
• Form: Śatṛ-pratyaya present participle (चिन्तयत्) in Genitive singular (षष्ठी एकवचन) used with tasya; Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka gen. sg. form; 'of (him) thinking'

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine/Pronoun), Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (Genitive, 6th), Ekavacana (Singular)

• kalpa-ādiṣu: in the kalpas and so on
• kalpa-ādiṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location in time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Saptamī vibhakti (Locative, 7th), Bahuvacana (Plural); ādi-tatpuruṣa 'beginning with kalpas'

• yathā: as, just as
• yathā: Upamāna/Prakāra (प्रकार/Comparison)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; comparative particle

• purā: formerly, of old
• purā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; temporal adverb

Speakers

• Narrative voice within cosmological account

Primary Deities

• Creator principle (as narrated)

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Lokas
• Kalpa cycles
• Repetition of cosmic pattern

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Cosmic history is patterned: the worlds recur ‘as before,’ conveying a doctrine of cyclic time and intelligible recurrence rather than randomness.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Kalpa and Sarga: explicit mention of kalpa-beginnings situates the narrative in the periodic reconstitution of the cosmos.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘four lokas’ can be read as tiers of embodiment and experience; their re-establishment indicates reactivation of the full spectrum of conditioned existence.