Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 76, Shloka 43

Adhyaya 76 — The Sixth Manvantara: Cakshusha Manu, the Child-Snatcher, and the Problem of Kinship

Sanskrit

ब्रह्मोवाच क्षीणाधिकारो भवति मुक्तियोग्यो न कर्मवान् ।

सत्त्वाधिकारवान् मुक्तिमवाप्स्यति ततो भवान् ॥

Transliteration

brahmovāca kṣīṇādhikāro bhavati muktiyogyo na karmavān / sattvādhikāravān muktim avāpsyati tato bhavān

Translation

ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਜਿਸ ਦਾ ਅਧਿਕਾਰ (ਅਧਿਕਾਰ-ਭੋਗ) ਖਤਮ ਹੋ ਚੁੱਕਾ ਹੈ, ਉਹੀ ਮੁਕਤੀ ਲਈ ਯੋਗ ਹੈ; ਕਰਮ-ਬੰਧਨ ਨਾਲ ਬੱਝਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਨਹੀਂ। ਪਰ ਜਿਸ ਕੋਲ ਸੱਤਵ-ਅਧਿਕਾਰ ਹੈ ਉਹ ਮੁਕਤੀ ਪਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ; ਇਸ ਲਈ ਤੂੰ ਵੀ ਉਹ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕਰੇਂਗਾ।

Word by Word

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• kṣīṇa-adhikāraḥ: one with diminished entitlement (to ritual action)
• kṣīṇa-adhikāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣīṇa (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + adhikāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (kṣīṇaḥ adhikāraḥ yasya/saḥ = whose entitlement is diminished / diminished entitlement)

• bhavati: becomes / is
• bhavati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• mukti-yogyaḥ: fit for liberation
• mukti-yogyaḥ: Predicative (विशेष्य-विशेषण-भाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक) + yogya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (muktyai yogyaḥ = fit for liberation)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• karmavān: one engaged in (ritual) action
• karmavān: Predicative (विशेष्य-विशेषण-भाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; वत्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessing actions/ritual activity)

• sattva-adhikāra-vān: one possessing the qualification of sattva (purity)
• sattva-adhikāra-vān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sattva (प्रातिपदिक) + adhikāra (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (sattvasya adhikāraḥ = entitlement to sattva/knowledge) + वत्-प्रत्यय (possessing)

• muktim: liberation
• muktim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• avāpsyati: will attain
• avāpsyati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु) उपसर्गः अव-
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: therefore / from that
• tataḥ: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/हेतु-अर्थे (from that/therefore)

• bhavān: you
• bhavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; आदरार्थक-प्रयोग (honorific 'you')

Speakers

• Brahmā to Ānanda

Primary Deities

• Brahmā

Key Themes

• Sattva and liberation
• Adhikāra
• Karma and renunciation
• Moksha

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Liberation is linked to inner qualification (sattva, clarity, dispassion) rather than sheer activity; action performed under binding compulsion differs from action aligned with purification and release.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Still within the manvantara stream (manvantara), this is a doctrinal aside explaining the moral-spiritual prerequisites that underwrite cosmic offices like Manu and their eventual liberation.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Adhikāra’ can be read as the remaining momentum of embodied destiny; when it is attenuated and sattva predominates, consciousness can disengage from compulsory becoming.