Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 51, Shloka 24

Adhyaya 51 — Yaksha Injunctions: Graha-Children and Female Spirits Causing Domestic and Ritual Disruptions

Sanskrit

तस्यापि रक्षां कुर्वोत जीर्णोपानद्विधारणात् ।

तथापसव्यगमनाच्छाण्डालस्य प्रवेशणात् ॥

Transliteration

tasyāpi rakṣāṃ kurvota jīrṇa-upānad-vidhāraṇāt / tathā apasavya-gamanāc chāṇḍālasya praveśanāt

Translation

அவனிடமிருந்தும் பாதுகாப்பு மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும்—சிதைந்த காலணிகளை அணியாமலும், அசுப/அநுசிதமான நடமாட்டம்-ஆசாரங்களைத் தவிர்த்தலும், பாதுகாக்கப்பட்ட இடத்தில் சாண்டாளன் நுழைவதைத் தடுத்தலும்।

Word by Word

• tasya: of him/its
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (6th), Singular

• api: also
• api: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), additive “also”

• rakṣām: protection
• rakṣām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rakṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• kurvīta: should do/should perform
• kurvīta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Optative/vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular

• jīrṇa-upānat-dvi-dhāraṇāt: from wearing worn-out footwear (and) double-wearing
• jīrṇa-upānat-dvi-dhāraṇāt: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīrṇa (कृदन्त; √jṛ (धातु)) + upānat (प्रातिपदिक) + dvi (संख्याशब्द) + dhāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa: jīrṇa-upānat = “worn-out footwear”; dvi-dhāraṇa = “double-wearing”; overall ablative cause; Neuter, Ablative (5th), Singular

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• apasavya-gamanāt: from going in the reverse/inauspicious direction
• apasavya-gamanāt: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apasavya (प्रातिपदिक) + gamana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (karmadhāraya: apasavya-gamana = “moving counterclockwise/inauspicious circumambulation”); Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• śāṇḍālasya: of a caṇḍāla (outcaste)
• śāṇḍālasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāṇḍāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Singular

• praveśanāt: from entering
• praveśanāt: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praveśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th), Singular

Speakers

• Dharmic instruction (normative purity/auspiciousness rules)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Śauca/Āśauca norms
• Auspiciousness
• Protective boundaries
• Social codes (historical)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text frames ‘protection’ as maintaining auspicious order in one’s environment—through personal upkeep and by regulating boundary-crossings that the tradition considered ritually disruptive.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This is ācāra-dharma (conduct/purity regulation), outside the five hallmark narrative-chronological topics.

What is the esoteric significance?

Worn footwear and ‘apasavya’ conduct symbolize negligence and inversion of right order; ‘guarding entry’ allegorizes protecting the mind-space from destabilizing influences.