Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 12, Shloka 34

Adhyaya 12 — Auttami and Tamasa

Sanskrit

अतः परं भीमतरेण तप्तकुम्भं निबोध मे ।

समन्ततस्तप्तकुम्भा वह्निज्वालासमावृताः ॥

Transliteration

ataḥ paraṃ bhīmataraṃ taptakumbhaṃ nibodha me / samantatas taptakumbhā vahnijvālāsamāvṛtāḥ

Translation

Ngayon ay alamin mo mula sa akin ang higit pang kakila-kilabot na impiyernong tinatawag na Taptakumbha. Sa lahat ng panig ay may mga kalderong nag-aalab sa init, nababalutan ng mga dila ng apoy.

Word by Word

• ataḥ: thereafter
• ataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connecting adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverbial particle; meaning ‘thereafter/from this’

• param: further/next
• param: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/sequence marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय) used adverbially; ‘further/next’

• bhīmatareṇa: by/with the more terrible
• bhīmatareṇa: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhīmatara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; comparative degree (तर)

• taptakumbham: the heated cauldron
• taptakumbham: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapta+kumbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; कर्मधारय: taptaḥ kumbhaḥ

• nibodha: know/understand
• nibodha: Kriyā (क्रिया/imperative action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni√budh (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्/imperative), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person), Singular; Parasmaipada

• me: from me/to me
• me: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Genitive (6th/षष्ठी) or Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; enclitic ‘me’ (mama/mahyaṃ) — here: ‘from me’ in sense of speaker

• samantatas: on all sides
• samantatas: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samantatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb; ‘on all sides/entirely’

• taptakumbhāḥ: heated cauldrons
• taptakumbhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapta+kumbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; कर्मधारय: taptaḥ kumbhaḥ

• vahni-jvālā-samāvṛtāḥ: covered with flames of fire
• vahni-jvālā-samāvṛtāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vahni+jvālā+sam-ā-√vṛ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त/ktá) ‘samāvṛta’; Masculine, Nominative, Plural; तत्पुरुष: vahneḥ jvālābhiḥ samāvṛtāḥ

Speakers

• Pitā instructing Putra (Father-to-son dialogue)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Karma-phala
• Naraka
• Ethical consequence
• Retributive justice

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Actions (karma) ripen into proportionate experiences; cruelty and wrongdoing are depicted as leading to intense, inescapable suffering, urging restraint, compassion, and dharmic conduct.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This passage is ancillary dharma/karma instruction rather than one of the five core lakṣaṇas; it supports the Purāṇic aim of dharma by illustrating karma-phala (not sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita directly).

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘cauldron’ imagery externalizes inner states: unchecked passions and harmful deeds ‘boil’ the mind; fire symbolizes the consuming nature of pāpa and the inescapability of its maturation.