Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 14, Shloka 35

Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments

Sanskrit

उपभोगात्क्षयं याति भुज्यमानमिवाशनम् ।

एवमेतॆ महापापं यातनाभिरहर्निशम् ॥

Transliteration

upabhogāt kṣayaṃ yāti bhujyamānam ivāśanam / evam ete mahāpāpaṃ yātanābhir aharniśam

Translation

Kapag naranasan, ito’y nauuwi sa pagkaubos—gaya ng pagkain kapag kinain. Kaya ang mga nilalang na ito’y inuubos ang malaking kasalanan sa pamamagitan ng mga pahirap araw at gabi.

Word by Word

• upabhogāt: from enjoyment/consumption
• upabhogāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upabhoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kṣayam: to destruction, diminution
• kṣayam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• yāti: goes, comes to
• yāti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धाातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• bhujyamānam: being eaten/consumed
• bhujyamānam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhuj (धातु) + śāna (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• iva: like
• iva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक अव्यय (comparative particle: like/as)

• āśanam: food
• āśanam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• evam: thus
• evam: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक अव्यय (adverb: thus)

• ete: these (persons)
• ete: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); सर्वनाम

• mahā-pāpam: great sin
• mahā-pāpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय: 'mahac ca tat pāpam'

• yātanābhiḥ: by torments
• yātanābhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), तृतीया (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• aharniśam: day and night
• aharniśam: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aharniśam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb); द्वन्द्व-समास (ahar + niśā) used adverbially: 'day and night'

Speakers

• Unclear from provided excerpt (later addresses 'rājan')

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Karma exhaustion
• Naraka
• Retribution
• Moral causality

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Karmic results are finite and are ‘spent’ through experience—painful states like hell are depicted as mechanisms by which severe wrongdoing is worked off.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Dharma and afterlife doctrine; not a primary lakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘food’ analogy implies a conservation-like model: karmic stock diminishes through fruition (vipāka), suggesting a cyclic accounting of moral energy rather than eternal damnation.