Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 71, Shloka 10
Adhyaya 71 — The King’s Remorse and the Sage’s Counsel on the Necessity of a Wife
अपत्नीकॊ नरो भूप ! न योग्यॊ निजकर्मणाम् । ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियॊ वापि वैश्यः शूद्रोऽपि वा नृप ॥
apatnīko naro bhūpa na yogyo nija-karmaṇām / brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyo vāpi vaiśyaḥ śūdro 'pi vā nṛpa
ਹੇ ਰਾਜਨ! ਪਤਨੀ ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨਾ ਪੁਰਸ਼ ਆਪਣੇ ਸਵਧਰਮ ਦੇ ਕਰਤੱਬਾਂ ਲਈ ਯੋਗ ਨਹੀਂ—ਚਾਹੇ ਉਹ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣ ਹੋਵੇ, ਖ਼ਤਰੀ, ਵੈਸ਼੍ਯ ਜਾਂ ਸ਼ੂਦਰ ਵੀ, ਹੇ ਨ੍ਰਿਪਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ।
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The text stresses the normative Purāṇic view that many duties—especially household rites and social responsibilities—presume a stable marital partnership; abandonment disrupts both personal and communal dharma.
Ethical instruction embedded in narrative (ancillary to vaṃśānucarita). It is not cosmological (sarga/pratisarga) nor chronological (manvantara) content.
‘Not fit for one’s own karma’ can be read as: without the balancing principle of commitment and reciprocity, action loses its sanctifying frame and becomes merely self-driven.