Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 58, Shloka 80

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

Sanskrit

राशयश्च तथर्क्षेषु ग्रहराशिष्ववस्थिताः ।

तस्माद् ग्रहर्क्षपीडासु देशपीडां विनिर्दिशेत् ॥

Transliteration

rāśayaśca tatharkṣeṣu graharāśiṣvavasthitāḥ / tasmād graharkṣapīḍāsu deśapīḍāṃ vinirdiśet

Translation

नक्षत्रेष्वपि राशयः स्थिताः, राशिषु ग्रहाः प्रतिष्ठिताः। तस्मात् ग्रह-नक्षत्रपीडायां तदनुरूपस्य प्रदेशस्य पीडां परीक्षेत्।

Word by Word

• rāśayaḥ: zodiacal signs
• rāśayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāśi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

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

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय)

• ṛkṣeṣu: in the constellations (nakṣatras)
• ṛkṣeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural

• graha-rāśiṣu: in the planetary signs
• graha-rāśiṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: graha + rāśi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural; tatpuruṣa = “in the planetary signs/positions”

• avasthitāḥ: are situated
• avasthitāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-sthā (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Plural; agrees with rāśayaḥ

• tasmāt: therefore; from that
• tasmāt: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative used adverbially (तस्मात् इति हेत्वर्थे)

• graha-ṛkṣa-pīḍāsu: in planetary/constellation afflictions
• graha-ṛkṣa-pīḍāsu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: graha + ṛkṣa + pīḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural; tatpuruṣa = “in afflictions by planets and constellations”

• deśa-pīḍām: affliction of a region (country)
• deśa-pīḍām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa + pīḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• vinirdiśet: one should indicate/predict
• vinirdiśet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-nir-diś (धातु)
• Form: Optative/vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speakers

• Continuing cosmological-astrological instruction

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Jyotiṣa
• Omens
• Sacred geography
• Cosmology
• State/collective welfare

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse extends dharma to the collective: celestial disharmony is read as a sign for communal vigilance and corrective rites, implying rulers/communities should respond responsibly to omens.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Applied cosmology: derived from Sarga/Pratisarga-style ordering, used for interpreting worldly conditions (not a separate pancalakṣaṇa category but an application of cosmological mapping).

What is the esoteric significance?

It encodes a ‘correspondence principle’: micro (graha/rāśi) and macro (deśa) mirror one another, suggesting an occult unity of cosmos and polity.