Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 5, Shloka 14

Adhyaya 5 — Tvashta’s Wrath, the Birth of Vritra, and the Divine Descent as the Pandavas

Sanskrit

धर्मेण तेजसा त्यक्तं बलहीनमरूपिणम् ।

ज्ञात्वा सुरेशं दैतेयास्तज्जये चक्रुरुद्यमम् ॥

Transliteration

dharmeṇa tejasā tyaktaṃ balahīnam arūpiṇam | jñātvā sureśaṃ daiteyās tajjaye cakrur udyamam ||

Translation

Nang malaman na ang panginoon ng mga diyos (Indra) ay iniwan na ng dharma at ningning (śrī)—walang kapangyarihan at wari’y walang anyo—ang mga Daitya ay nagsagawa ng pagsisikap upang lupigin siya.

Word by Word

• dharmeṇa: by dharma/righteousness
• dharmeṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), तृतीया विभक्ति (Inst. 3), एकवचन (sg.)

• tejasā: by splendor/power
• tejasā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tejas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), तृतीया विभक्ति (Inst. 3), एकवचन (sg.)

• tyaktam: abandoned
• tyaktam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.); ‘abandoned’ (qualifying sureśam)

• bala-hīnam: devoid of strength
• bala-hīnam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bala (प्रातिपदिक) + hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.); तत्पुरुषः: ‘बलेन हीनः’

• a-rūpiṇam: formless/without proper form
• a-rūpiṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.)

• jñātvā: having known
• jñātvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; ‘having known/realized’

• sureśam: the lord of the gods (Indra)
• sureśam: Karma (कर्म) (object of jñātvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura-īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘सुराणाम् ईशः’

• daiteyāḥ: the Daityas
• daiteyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiteya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nom. 1), बहुवचन (pl.)

• tat-jaye: in conquering him / for his defeat
• tat-jaye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + jaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), सप्तमी विभक्ति (Loc. 7), एकवचन (sg.); तत्पुरुषः: ‘तस्य जयः’ → ‘तज्जय’ ; अर्थे ‘तस्य जये’ (in his conquest/defeat)

• cakruḥ: made/undertook
• cakruḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद (P.), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन (pl.)

• udyamam: effort/enterprise
• udyamam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.)

Speakers

• Narratorial puranic voice (contextual narration; specific frame-speaker not provided in input)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Indra (Sureśa)

Key Themes

• Dharma and royal potency (tejas)
• Decline of divine authority
• Asura opportunism
• Cosmic order and its disruption

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Authority (even divine kingship) is sustained by dharma and tejas; when righteousness and inner radiance depart, power collapses and hostile forces naturally rise. The verse frames political/moral decline as a spiritual causality, not merely a military one.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This aligns most closely with Manvantara/Anucarita-style narration: episodic accounts of gods, demons, and rulership across cosmic time that illustrate dharma’s maintenance or erosion within a given era.

What is the esoteric significance?

Indra symbolizes the governing mind/sovereignty; tejas is the luminous force of disciplined virtue. When dharma-tejas is ‘abandoned,’ sovereignty becomes ‘arūpin’ (unmanifest/ineffective), and lower impulses (Daityas) attempt to seize control—an inner allegory of ethical and psychological degeneration precipitating conflict.