Shloka 17
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
मार्कण्डेय उदाच हन्त ते वर्णयिष्यामि नमस्कृत्वा स्वयम्भुवे । पुरुषाय पुराणाय शाश्वतायाव्ययाय च
Mārkaṇḍeya uvāca: hanta te varṇayiṣyāmi namaskṛtvā svayambhuve | puruṣāya purāṇāya śāśvatāyāvyayāya ca ||
مارکنڈےیہ نے کہا—اچھا، سنو؛ میں تمہیں اس کا بیان کروں گا۔ پہلے میں سْوَیَمبھو پروردگار کو، قدیم ترین پُرُش کو—جو ازلی اور غیر فانی ہے—سجدۂ ادب کر کے آغاز کرتا ہوں۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Before transmitting sacred or morally weighty knowledge, the speaker grounds the narration in reverence to the eternal, imperishable source of order (Svayambhū/Puruṣa). The verse models humility, legitimacy of speech, and the ethical discipline of beginning discourse with remembrance of the highest principle.
Mārkaṇḍeya prepares to begin a detailed account. He signals readiness (“hanta”), addresses the listener directly (“to you”), and performs an invocation—bowing to the Self-born, primeval, eternal, undecaying Puruṣa—thereby framing the forthcoming narration as sacred and authoritative.