Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 58, Shloka 6

Adhyaya 58 — The Kurma-Form of Narayana: Mapping Bharata through Nakshatras, Regions, and Planetary Afflictions

Sanskrit

वेदमन्त्राः विमाण्डव्याः शाल्वनीपास्तथा शकाः ।

उज्जिहानास्तथा वत्स घोषसंख्यास्तथा खसाः ॥

Transliteration

vedamantrā vimāṇḍavyāḥ śālvanīpās tathā śakāḥ | ujjihānās tathā vatsa ghoṣasaṃkhyās tathā khasāḥ ||

Translation

(ਉਹ ਲੋਕ/ਇਲਾਕੇ:) ਵੇਦਮੰਤ੍ਰ, ਵਿਮਾਂਡਵ੍ਯ, ਸ਼ਾਲਵਨੀਪ ਅਤੇ ਸ਼ਕ; ਇਸੇ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਉੱਜਿਹਾਨ; ਅਤੇ ਹੇ ਪ੍ਰਿਯ, ਘੋਸ਼ਸੰਖ੍ਯ ਅਤੇ ਖਸ ਵੀ।

Word by Word

• veda-mantrāḥ: Vedic-mantra (people/tribe named so)
• veda-mantrāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (vedasya mantrāḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• vimāṇḍavyāḥ: Vimāṇḍavyas (a people)
• vimāṇḍavyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi-māṇḍavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (जनपद/जातिनाम)

• śālvanīpāḥ: Śālvanīpas (a people)
• śālvanīpāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śālvanīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (जनपद/जातिनाम)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), समुच्चय/तुल्यत्वार्थे (likewise/also)

• śakāḥ: Śakas
• śakāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (जनपद/जातिनाम)

• ujjihānāḥ: Ujjihānas (a people; lit. ‘raising’)
• ujjihānāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ud-√hā (धातु) + śānac (कृत्)
• Form: शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; जातिनामवत् प्रयोग

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• vatsa: O dear one/child
• vatsa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• ghoṣa-saṃkhyāḥ: Ghoṣasaṃkhyās (a people)
• ghoṣa-saṃkhyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghoṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ghoṣasya saṃkhyāḥ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (जातिनाम)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• khasāḥ: Khasas
• khasāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (जनपद/जातिनाम)

Speakers

• Mārkaṇḍeya enumerating to the listener

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Kūrma)

Key Themes

• Ethnography
• Regional catalogues
• Purāṇic geography

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Catalogues of peoples underscore the Purāṇic vision of an ordered human landscape. Ethically, it implies inclusivity within a cosmic order: diverse janapadas are placed within a single sacral cartography rather than outside dharma’s horizon.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Sthiti—descriptive ordering of the inhabited world (bhūgola / janapada-vyavasthā).

What is the esoteric significance?

Names function as ‘markers’ in a ritual-cosmological map: the world is not merely physical but semiotic, where regions/peoples correspond to larger astral and divine patterns.