Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 51, Shloka 106

Adhyaya 51 — Yaksha Injunctions: Graha-Children and Female Spirits Causing Domestic and Ritual Disruptions

Sanskrit

अनुप्रविश्य सा जातमपहृत्यात्मसम्भवम् ।

क्षणप्रसविनी बालं तत्रैवोत्सृजते द्विज ॥

Transliteration

anupraviśya sā jātam apahṛtyātma-sambhavam / kṣaṇa-prasavinī bālaṃ tatraivotsṛjate dvija

Translation

وہ وہاں داخل ہو کر نومولود—اپنی ہی اولاد—کو اٹھا لے جاتی ہے؛ اے دِوِج، وہ لمحہ بھر میں جنم دینے والی اسے وہیں اسی جگہ چھوڑ دیتی ہے۔

Word by Word

• anu-praviśya: having entered
• anu-praviśya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu + praviś (प्र-विश् धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्) from √viś with prefixes anu-, pra-; ‘having entered’

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• jātam: the newborn (child)
• jātam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāta (जात-प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used for ‘newborn’

• apahṛtya: having taken away
• apahṛtya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: apa + hṛ (हृ धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्) with prefix apa-; ‘having carried off’

• ātma-sambhavam: born of herself (her own offspring)
• ātma-sambhavam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātman (आत्मन्-प्रातिपदिक) + sambhava (सम्भव-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः: ‘ātmanā sambhavam’ = born of oneself; qualifies ‘jātam’

• kṣaṇa-prasavinī: the quick-delivering woman
• kṣaṇa-prasavinī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (क्षण-प्रातिपदिक) + prasavinī (प्रसविनी-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः: ‘kṣaṇe prasavinī’ = one who gives birth quickly/at a moment; apposition to ‘sā’

• bālam: the child
• bālam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (बाल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb of place (देशवाचक-अव्यय)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (अवधारण-अव्यय)

• utsṛjate: abandons/casts off
• utsṛjate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ut + sṛj (सृज् धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• dvija: O twice-born (brahmin)
• dvija: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (द्विज-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

Speakers

• Not specified in input; verse directly addresses a dvija

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Rakṣā (protection)
• Childbirth vulnerabilities
• Graha/piśāca-type affliction motifs
• Householder vigilance

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Negligence in protection during liminal moments (birth) is condemned; the community must actively safeguard mother and child. The ‘stealing and abandoning’ imagery conveys sudden infant peril.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/Dharma and rakṣā-vidhi; not pancalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘seizure’ of the newborn can symbolize prāṇa/tejas instability immediately after birth; protective boundaries (light, heat, ritual order) stabilize the transition into embodied life.