Shloka 1

Adhyaya 73 — The Uttama Manvantara: Classes of Devas, Indra Sushanti, and the Royal Lineage

Sanskrit

इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे औत्तममन्वन्तरे द्विसप्ततितमोऽध्यायः ।

त्रिसप्ततितमोऽध्यायः- ७३ ।

मार्कण्डेय उवाच ।

मन्वन्तरे तृतीयेऽस्मिन् औत्तमस्य प्रजापतेः ।

देवानिन्द्रमृषीन् भूपान् निबोध गदतो मम ॥

Transliteration

iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe auttamamanvantare dvisaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ / trisaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ- 73 / mārkaṇḍeya uvāca / manvantare tṛtīye 'smin auttamasya prajāpateḥ / devān indram ṛṣīn bhūpān nibodha gadato mama

Translation

یوں شری مارکنڈیہ پران کے اوتّم منونتر میں باب بہتر اختتام کو پہنچا۔ اب باب تہتر شروع ہوتا ہے۔ مارکنڈیہ نے کہا—پرجاپتی اوتّم کے اس تیسرے منونتر میں جو دیوتا، اندر، رشی اور راجے تھے، انہیں میرے بیان سے سمجھو۔

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), quotation/closure particle (इति-प्रयोग)

• śrī-mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇe: in the Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa
• śrī-mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī + mārkaṇḍeya + purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक); समासः
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); ग्रन्थ-नाम

• auttama-manvantare: in the Auttama Manvantara
• auttama-manvantare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: auttama + manvantara (प्रातिपदिक); समासः
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; ‘Auttama’ qualifying manvantara

• dvi-saptatitamaḥ: seventy-second
• dvi-saptatitamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi + saptati + tama (प्रातिपदिक); समासः
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; ordinal ‘seventy-second’

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• tri-saptatitamaḥ: seventy-third
• tri-saptatitamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri + saptati + tama (प्रातिपदिक); समासः
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; ordinal ‘seventy-third’

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• manvantare: in the Manvantara
• manvantare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manvantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular

• tṛtīye: third
• tṛtīye: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; agrees with manvantare

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; pronoun

• auttamasya: of Auttama
• auttamasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: auttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• prajāpateḥ: of Prajāpati
• prajāpateḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajāpati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Singular

• devān: the gods
• devān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• indram: Indra
• indram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• ṛṣīn: the sages
• ṛṣīn: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Plural

• bhūpān: kings
• bhūpān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Plural

• nibodha: know/understand (listen)
• nibodha: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: budh (धातु) + ni (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular, Parasmaipada

• gadataḥ: of (me) speaking
• gadataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gad (धातु)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Genitive (6th), Singular; masculine/neuter form used with mama: ‘of me who am speaking’

• mama: my/of me
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (6th), Singular; pronoun

Speakers

• Mārkaṇḍeya (narrator) to his interlocutor (Bhāguri implied from prior verse)

Primary Deities

• Indra

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Manvantara
• Lists (devas/ṛṣis/kings)
• Purāṇic chronology

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text’s didactic method is catalogic: by naming the bearers of dharma (ṛṣis) and protectors of society (kings) alongside devas, it links cosmic and social order.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Manvantara: a classic manvantara-listing passage, giving the personnel for a specific epoch.

What is the esoteric significance?

The fourfold list (devas–Indra–ṛṣis–kings) mirrors layered governance: energies, sovereignty, wisdom, and enforcement—suggesting an integral model for sustaining order in any ‘age’ or system.