Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 12, Shloka 21

Adhyaya 12 — The Son Describes the Narakas: Mahāraurava, Tamas, Nikṛntana, Apratiṣṭha, Asipatravana, and Taptakumbha

Sanskrit

दुःखस्य हेतुभूतानि पापकर्मकृतां नृणाम् ।

चक्रेष्वारोपिताः केचिद् भ्राम्यन्ते तत्र मानवाः ॥

Transliteration

duḥkhasya hetubhūtāni pāpakarma-kṛtāṃ nṛṇām /

cakreṣv āropitāḥ kecid bhrāmyante tatra mānavāḥ

Translation

Para sa mga taong nakagawa ng mga makasalanang gawain, may mga dahilan na nagiging batayan ng pagdurusa. Ang ilang mga tao, na nakasakay sa mga gulong, ay umiikot doon.

Word by Word

• duḥkhasya: of suffering
• duḥkhasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन (neuter genitive singular)

• hetubhūtāni: having become causes
• hetubhūtāni: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hetu + bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (‘हेतुः भूता’ = cause-become); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन; विशेषण (neut. nom. pl)

• pāpakarmakṛtām: of those who committed sinful acts
• pāpakarmakṛtām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa + karma + √kṛ (कृ धातु) + kṛt (क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘पापं कर्म कृतवन्तः’); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी बहुवचन (genitive plural: of the doers of sinful deeds)

• nṛṇām: of men
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी बहुवचन (masc. genitive plural)

• cakreṣu: on/in the wheels
• cakreṣu: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी बहुवचन (neuter locative plural)

• āropitāḥ: having been placed
• āropitāḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√ruh (रुह् धातु) + āropita (क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन; कर्मणि-भावः (having been mounted/placed)

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim + cit (सर्वनाम-प्रयोग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun: some)

• bhrāmyante: wander; spin
• bhrāmyante: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhram (भ्रम् धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद (they wander/rotate)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (there)

• mānavāḥ: men; humans
• mānavāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (masc. nominative plural)

Speakers

• Narrator (frame-speakers not determinable from excerpt alone)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Yama (implicit)

Key Themes

• Karma as cause (hetu)
• Naraka punishments
• Moral causality

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Suffering has identifiable causes (hetu): pāpa-karma is presented as the root. The verse encourages reflective ethics—trace pain back to actions and correct conduct at its source.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Dharma instruction via karmaphala narrative; supportive cosmological-ethical content.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Mounted on wheels’ can signify being carried by compulsions. When actions are unexamined, one is ‘ridden’ by karma rather than riding it through discernment (viveka).