Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 12, Shloka 25

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

Sanskrit

योजनानां सहस्रं यो ज्वलदग्न्यास्तृतावनिः ।

तप्ताः सूर्यकरैश्चण्डैर्यत्रातीव सुदारुणैः ॥

Transliteration

yojanānāṃ sahasraṃ yo jvaladagnyāstṛtāvaniḥ | taptāḥ sūryakaraiś caṇḍair yatrātīva sudāruṇaiḥ ||

Translation

May isang pook na may lawak na isang libong yojana, na ang lupa ay nababalot ng naglalagablab na apoy; doon ang mga nilalang ay tinutupok ng mabagsik at lubhang malupit na sinag ng araw.

Word by Word

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas
• योजनानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; genitive plural

• सहस्रम्: a thousand
• सहस्रम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; numeral noun ‘a thousand’

• यः: which/that (which is)
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; relative pronoun

• ज्वलत्: blazing
• ज्वलत्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्वल् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, नपुंसकलिङ्ग?; here used as पूर्वपद in compound; ‘blazing’

• अग्न्या: with fire
• अग्न्या: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; instrumental singular; in compound relation

• आस्तृता: covered
• आस्तृता: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-स्तृ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; agreeing with अवनिः; ‘covered/spread over’

• अवनिः: ground/earth
• अवनिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular

• तप्ताः: scorched
• तप्ताः: Visheshya (विशेष्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘heated/burnt’; (understood with प्राणिनः/जन्तवः)

• सूर्यकरैः: by the sun’s rays
• सूर्यकरैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; instrumental plural; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सूर्यस्य कराः)

• चण्डैः: fierce
• चण्डैः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; agreeing with सूर्यकरैः

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-सम्बन्ध (relative adverb of place: ‘where’)

• अतीव: exceedingly
• अतीव: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतीव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तीव्रार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (intensifying adverb)

• सुदारुणैः: very dreadful
• सुदारुणैः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + दारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; instrumental plural; ‘very dreadful’; agreeing with सूर्यकरैः (or with implied instruments)

Speakers

• Same narrator continuing the naraka description

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Sūrya (as the scorching solar force in the imagery)

Key Themes

• Naraka topography
• Heat imagery
• Retribution

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Moral harm is portrayed as an environment one ‘falls into’ and cannot easily escape—emphasizing that habitual wrongdoing shapes one’s experiential world.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Not a direct pancalakṣaṇa unit (sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita), but a dharma-upadeśa passage that supports righteous conduct within the Purāṇic encyclopedic scope.

What is the esoteric significance?

Fire and harsh solar rays can be read as the ‘heat’ of unprocessed karma and the burning of conscience—inner torment externalized as cosmic geography.