Shloka 8

Adhyaya 28 — Alarka Inquires into Varna and Ashrama Dharma; Madalasa Defines the Fourfold Duties

Sanskrit

तद्वद् द्विजातिशुश्रूषा पोषणं क्रयविक्रयौ ।

वर्णधर्मास्त्विमे प्रोक्ताः श्रूयन्तां चाश्रमाश्रयाः ॥

Transliteration

tadvat dvijātiśuśrūṣā poṣaṇaṃ krayavikrayau | varṇadharmās tv ime proktāḥ śrūyantāṃ cāśramāśrayāḥ ||

Translation

तथैव द्विजसेवा च भरणं क्रयविक्रयौ। एवं वर्णधर्माः प्रोक्ताः; शृणु त्वाश्रमसंश्रितान् धर्मान्॥

Word by Word

• tadvat: likewise; in that manner
• tadvat: Prakāra (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadvat (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb/particle (तद्वत्-प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय)

• dvijāti-śuśrūṣā: service to the twice-born
• dvijāti-śuśrūṣā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvijāti (प्रातिपदिक) + śuśrūṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘service of the twice-born’

• poṣaṇam: nourishing; maintenance
• poṣaṇam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: poṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• kraya-vikrayau: purchase and sale
• kraya-vikrayau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kraya (प्रातिपदिक) + vikraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Dual (द्विवचन); इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व: ‘buying and selling’

• varṇa-dharmāḥ: class-duties; varna-dharmas
• varṇa-dharmāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘duties of the classes’

• tu: but; indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Adversative/contrast particle (व्यतिरेक-निपात)

• ime: these
• ime: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• proktāḥ: declared; stated
• proktāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+vac (धातु) → prokta (कृदन्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त/PPP), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); predicative ‘have been declared’

• śrūyantām: let (them) be heard
• śrūyantām: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद); passive sense ‘let them be heard’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय)

• āśrama-āśrayāḥ: based on the āśramas; pertaining to āśrama-stages
• āśrama-āśrayāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक) + āśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘having recourse to the āśramas’ (qualifying implied ‘dharmaḥ/vidhayaḥ’)

Speakers

• Not specified in the provided excerpt (Ācāra instruction within Markandeya Purāṇa’s discourse context)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Varṇadharma
• Āśrama-dharma (transition)
• Social structure

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Dharma is presented as layered: social duty (varṇa) is completed by life-stage duty (āśrama). The teaching signals that ethics are contextual—appropriate to role and stage—rather than one-size-fits-all.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/Dharma instruction; it is structural guidance rather than cosmogenesis or genealogy.

What is the esoteric significance?

The move from varṇa to āśrama indicates an inward progression: from external social function toward disciplined life-stages aimed at purification and liberation.