Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 46, Shloka 27

Adhyaya 46 — Cosmic Dissolution, the Emergence of Brahma, and the Measures of Time (Yugas, Manvantaras, and Brahma’s Day)

Sanskrit

चत्वारि तु सहस्राणि वर्षाणां कृतमुच्यते ।

शतानि सन्ध्या चत्वारि सन्ध्यांशश्च तथाविधः ॥

Transliteration

catvāri tu sahasrāṇi varṣāṇāṃ kṛtam ucyate | śatāni sandhyā catvāri sandhyāṃśaś ca tathāvidhaḥ ||

Translation

Ang Kṛta (Satya) ay sinasabing apat na libong (banal) taon. Ang sandhyā, ang takipsilim na dugtungan, ay apat na raang taon, at ang sandhyāṃśa, ang bahagi ng takipsilim, ay kapareho rin ang sukat.

Word by Word

• catvāri: four
• catvāri: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catvāri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण (numeral adjective)

• tu: indeed / but
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात/पदार्थ-विशेषक (particle: but/indeed)

• sahasrāṇi: thousands
• sahasrāṇi: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• varṣāṇām: of years
• varṣāṇām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• kṛtam: the Kṛta (age)
• kṛtam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ कृ धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकृत्-प्रत्यय (past passive participle used as noun)

• ucyate: is said / is called
• ucyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• śatāni: hundreds
• śatāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• sandhyā: the twilight (junction-period)
• sandhyā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sandhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• catvāri: four
• catvāri: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catvāri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• sandhyāṃśaḥ: the sandhyā-portion
• sandhyāṃśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sandhyā-aṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (sandhyāyāḥ aṃśaḥ = part of the sandhyā)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• tathāvidhaḥ: of the same kind / likewise
• tathāvidhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tathā-vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (tathā + vidha = of such kind)

Speakers

• Didactic narrator detailing yuga components.

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Yuga durations
• Sandhyā periods

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Transitions matter: moral and social orders do not shift abruptly but through ‘junctions’; vigilance is especially needed in liminal periods.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Chronological apparatus for manvantara and vaṃśa narration; yuga-junctions often mark resets in sarga/pratisarga storytelling.

What is the esoteric significance?

Sandhyā and sandhyāṃśa symbolize the subtle thresholds of consciousness—entry and exit points where transformation is easiest and instability greatest.