Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 10, Shloka 10

Adhyaya 10 — Jaimini’s Questions on Birth, Death, Karma, and the Embodied Journey

Sanskrit

वेदानधीष्व सुमते यथानुक्रममादितः ।

गुरुशुश्रूषणे व्यग्रो भैक्षान्नकृतभोजनः ॥

Transliteration

vedān adhīṣva sumate yathānukramam āditaḥ |

guruśuśrūṣaṇe vyagro bhaikṣānna-kṛta-bhojanaḥ ||

Translation

(Ông nói:) “Hỡi Sumati, hãy học các Veda theo thứ tự, bắt đầu từ đầu. Hãy chuyên tâm phụng sự thầy, và chỉ thọ thực bằng đồ khất thực (xin ăn) đúng như quy định.”

Word by Word

• वेदान्: the Vedas
• वेदान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• अधीष्व: study
• अधीष्व: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अधि+इ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• सुमते: O Sumati
• सुमते: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुमति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

• यथा: according to
• यथा: Prakaraṇa (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (as/according to)

• अनुक्रमम्: in due order
• अनुक्रमम्: Prakaraṇa (प्रकार/रीति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (accusative of manner)

• आदितः: from the beginning
• आदितः: Kala/Avadhi (काल/अवधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb: from the beginning)

• गुरु-शुश्रूषणे: in service to the teacher
• गुरु-शुश्रूषणे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + शुश्रूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (गुरोः शुश्रूषणम्)

• व्यग्रः: eager, intent
• व्यग्रः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (कर्ता)

• भैक्ष-अन्न-कृत-भोजनः: one whose meal is made of alms-food
• भैक्ष-अन्न-कृत-भोजनः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भैक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्न (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (कृदन्त; कृ धातु, क्त) + भोजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त अंशयुक्त; समासः—तत्पुरुष (भैक्षान्नेन कृतं भोजनं यस्य)

Speakers

• Within the narrated story: Bhārgava father instructing Sumati (as reported by the Birds)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Brahmacarya
• Vedic study (svādhyāya)
• Guru service
• Austerity/discipline

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Knowledge is framed as inseparable from discipline: learning the Veda requires humility (service), restraint (regulated food), and method (sequence).

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This is dharma-śikṣā (instruction on conduct), a common Purāṇic function alongside pancalakṣaṇa narratives; it aligns especially with varṇāśrama-dharma teaching rather than cosmological cataloging.

What is the esoteric significance?

The triad—svādhyāya, guru-sevā, and bhikṣā—purifies ego and senses, preparing the mind to grasp the ‘supreme secret’ behind birth/death that the chapter is moving toward.