Shloka 17

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उदाच हन्त ते वर्णयिष्यामि नमस्कृत्वा स्वयम्भुवे । पुरुषाय पुराणाय शाश्वतायाव्ययाय च

Transliteration

Mārkaṇḍeya uvāca: hanta te varṇayiṣyāmi namaskṛtvā svayambhuve | puruṣāya purāṇāya śāśvatāyāvyayāya ca ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya nói: “Được—hãy lắng nghe; ta sẽ thuật lại cho ngươi. Trước hết, ta cúi đầu đảnh lễ Đấng Tự Sinh, đấng Purusha nguyên thủy—vĩnh hằng, bất hoại—rồi mới bắt đầu.”

Word by Word

मार्कण्डेयःMarkandeya

उवाचsaid

हन्तindeed / well then / lo

तेto you

वर्णयिष्यामिI shall describe

नमस्कृत्वाhaving bowed / after saluting

स्वयम्भुवेto the Self-existent (Brahmā)

पुरुषायto the Person (Supreme Being)

पुराणायto the ancient one

शाश्वतायto the eternal one

अव्ययायto the imperishable one

चand

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Svayambhū (the Self-born Lord, commonly Brahmā)

Puruṣa (the Primeval Person)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.