Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 42, Shloka 11

Adhyaya 42 — Dattatreya on the Yogic Import of Oṃ (Praṇava): Matras, Worlds, and Liberation

Sanskrit

सव्यञ्जनो मकारश्च स्वर्लोकः परिकल्प्यते ।

व्यक्ता तु प्रथमा मात्रा द्वितीयाव्यक्तसंज्ञिता ॥

Transliteration

savyañjano makāraśca svarlokaḥ parikalpyate /

vyaktā tu prathamā mātrā dvitīyāvyaktasaṃjñitā

Translation

Ang titik M, kasama ang bahaging katinig nito, ay iniisip bilang daigdig na Svarga. Ang unang mātrā ay “nahahayag” (manifest), at ang ikalawa ay sinasabing “di-nahahayag” (unmanifest).

Word by Word

• स: with/that
• स: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun/adjective, Masculine, Nominative Singular; qualifies 'व्यञ्जनः'

• व्यञ्जनः: consonant; consonantal element
• व्यञ्जनः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyañjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Singular

• मकारः: the letter 'm' (makāra)
• मकारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: makāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• स्वः: Svaḥ (heaven)
• स्वः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svar (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (often indeclinable-like in mantra usage), Nominative Singular; used as name of loka

• लोकः: world/realm
• लोकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Singular; in apposition to 'स्वः'

• परिकल्प्यते: is conceived/assigned
• परिकल्प्यते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√klṛp (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Passive (कर्मणि), 3rd person Singular

• व्यक्ता: manifest
• व्यक्ता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyakta (कृदन्त; √vyaj/√vac?; lexical adj. 'manifest')
• Form: Feminine, Nominative Singular; agrees with 'मात्रा'

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, particle

• प्रथमा: first
• प्रथमा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative Singular; ordinal adjective qualifying 'मात्रा'

• मात्रा: mora; measure (of sound)
• मात्रा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative Singular

• द्वितीया: second
• द्वितीया: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative Singular; ordinal adjective qualifying 'मात्रा' (understood)

• अव्यक्त: unmanifest
• अव्यक्त: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: avyakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter stem used as first member in compound; 'unmanifest'

• संज्ञिता: named; designated
• संज्ञिता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃjñita (कृदन्त; √jñā ज्ञा)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine, Nominative Singular; predicate adjective: 'named/called'

Speakers

• Unspecified in provided extract (didactic narration within Markandeya Purana’s philosophical instruction)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Praṇava
• Cosmology (svarga)
• Sāṃkhya-like vyakta/avyakta categories
• Phonetics

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse links spiritual practice with metaphysical discernment: one learns to see gradations from manifest experience to subtler, unmanifest ground—supporting detachment and clarity.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Philosophical categorization within Purāṇic instruction; not a direct pancalakṣaṇa narrative unit.

What is the esoteric significance?

M’s closure and resonance symbolize completion and withdrawal; pairing it with ‘vyakta/avyakta’ frames mantra as a map from articulated experience toward the unmanifest source.