Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 58, Shloka 23

Adhyaya 58 — The Kurma-Form of Narayana: Mapping Bharata through Nakshatras, Regions, and Planetary Afflictions

Sanskrit

महाराष्ट्राः सकर्णाटाः गोनर्दाश्चित्रकूटकाः ।

चोलाः कोलगिराश्चैव क्रौञ्चद्वीपजटाधराः ॥

Transliteration

mahārāṣṭrāḥ sakarṇāṭā gonardāś citrakūṭakāḥ | colāḥ kolagirāś caiva krauñcadvīpa-jaṭādharāḥ ||

Translation

یہاں مہاراشٹر کے لوگ کرناٹوں کے ساتھ، گونرد اور چترکوٹ کے باشندے، چول اور کولگیری کے لوگ، اور نیز کرونچ دیوپ کے جٹادھاری لوگ بھی شمار کیے گئے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• महाराष्ट्राः: the Mahārāṣṭras (people of Maharashtra)
• महाराष्ट्राः: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सकर्णाटाः: the Karṇāṭas (Karnataka people)
• सकर्णाटाः: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सकर्णाट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन

• गोनर्दाः: the Gonardas
• गोनर्दाः: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोनर्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन

• चित्रकूटकाः: the Citrakūṭakas (people of Citrakūṭa)
• चित्रकूटकाः: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्रकूटक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन

• चोलाः: the Cholas
• चोलाः: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चोल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन

• कोलगिराः: the Kolagiras
• कोलगिराः: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोलगिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction ‘and’)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle ‘indeed/just’)

• क्रौञ्चद्वीपजटाधराः: the matted-haired (ascetics) of Krauñca-dvīpa
• क्रौञ्चद्वीपजटाधराः: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रौञ्च-द्वीप-जटा-धर (प्रातिपदिक); धर (धातु √धृ ‘to bear’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः/सम्बन्ध-तत्पुरुषः: ‘क्रौञ्चद्वीपस्य जटाधराः’

Speakers

• Purāṇic narrator (catalogue style); specific interlocutors not indicated in the supplied excerpt

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Cosmography
• Ethnography
• Sacred geography
• Purāṇic catalogues

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The passage is primarily descriptive: it maps the Purāṇic imagination of Bhārata’s regions and borderlands, emphasizing the vast diversity of peoples within the moral-geographical universe where dharma is to be lived.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

It aligns most closely with Vaṃśānucarita/Manvantara-related cosmographical description (a supporting cosmography/earth-description component commonly embedded in Purāṇas), rather than Sarga/Pratisarga narratives.

What is the esoteric significance?

Lists of lands and peoples function as a ritual-cognitive 'mandala' of the world: naming regions sacralizes space and integrates peripheral groups into a single cosmological order.