Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 26, Shloka 28

Adhyaya 26 — Madālasa Names Alarka and Reorients Him Toward Kshatriya Duty

Sanskrit

कर्ममार्गः समुच्छेदं नैवं देवि ! गमिष्यति ।

पितृपिण्डनिवृत्तिश्च नैवं साध्वि ! भविष्यति ॥

Transliteration

karma-mārgaḥ samucchedaṃ naivaṃ devi! gamiṣyati / pitṛ-piṇḍa-nivṛttiś ca naivaṃ sādhvi! bhaviṣyati //

Translation

“O Devi, ang landas ng itinakdang gawa (mga tungkulin at ritwal) ay hindi dapat maputol sa ganitong paraan. O marangal, sa ganito ring paraan, ang pag-aalay ng mga bilog na kanin (piṇḍa) sa mga ninuno ay hindi dapat magwakas.”

Word by Word

• कर्म-मार्गः: the path of rites/actions
• कर्म-मार्गः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कर्मणः मार्गः)

• समुच्छेदम्: destruction, cutting off
• समुच्छेदम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुच्छेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• एवम्: thus, in this manner
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारार्थे (thus/in this way)

• देवि: O goddess/lady
• देवि: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• गमिष्यति: will go/lead to
• गमिष्यति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• पितृ-पिण्ड-निवृत्तिः: cessation of (offering) ancestral rice-balls
• पितृ-पिण्ड-निवृत्तिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + निवृत्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पितॄणां पिण्डः) + तत्पुरुष (पिण्डस्य निवृत्तिः)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारार्थे

• साध्वि: O virtuous lady
• साध्वि: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साध्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• भविष्यति: will be/happen
• भविष्यति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speakers

• Jaḍa to Madālasā

Key Themes

• Pitṛ Puja
• Śrāddha / piṇḍa-dāna
• Karma-mārga
• Social-religious continuity

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Dharma is intergenerational: household and royal duties sustain not only society but also the ritual economy of obligations to ancestors. Renunciation that breaks these duties is treated as adharma when undertaken without proper succession and provision.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Anucarita with dharma-upadeśa (ethical instruction) connected to vaṃśa maintenance.

What is the esoteric significance?

Pitṛ offerings symbolize repayment of existential ‘debts’ (ṛṇa). Esoterically, stopping them implies severing the subtle bonds of continuity (saṃskāra/lineage-memory) that stabilize embodied life.