Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 12, Shloka 19

Adhyaya 12 — The Son Describes the Narakas: Mahāraurava, Tamas, Nikṛntana, Apratiṣṭha, Asipatravana, and Taptakumbha

Sanskrit

तावद् यावदशेषं वै तत्पापं हि क्षयं गतम् ।

अप्रतिष्ठञ्च नरकं शृणुष्व गदतो मम ॥

Transliteration

tāvad yāvad aśeṣaṃ vai tatpāpaṃ hi kṣayaṃ gatam /

apratiṣṭhaṃ ca narakaṃ śṛṇuṣva gadato mama

Translation

Thời gian đó kéo dài cho đến khi tội lỗi thực sự bị tiêu diệt hoàn toàn. Và bây giờ hãy nghe ta nói về địa ngục gọi là Apratiṣṭha.

Word by Word

• tāvat: so long; up to that extent
• tāvat: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-अर्थे (indeclinable of extent/duration)

• yāvat: as long as; until
• yāvat: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत्-सम्बन्धे (correlative indeclinable: as long as)

• aśeṣam: completely; without remainder
• aśeṣam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन; अव्ययीभावेन क्रियाविशेषणवत् (neuter acc./nom. sg used adverbially)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (निपात)
• Form: निपात; अवधारण/खलु-अर्थे (particle of emphasis/indeed)

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; विशेषण (demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (neuter nominative singular)

• hi: for; indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (निपात)
• Form: निपात; हेतौ/निश्चये (particle: for/indeed)

• kṣayam: destruction; end
• kṣayam: Gati-Karma (गति-कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (masculine accusative singular)

• gatam: has gone to; has reached
• gatam: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु) + gata (क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘गतम्’ = प्राप्तम्/गतः (PPP used predicatively)

• apratiṣṭham: without support; unstable
• apratiṣṭham: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-pratiṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter acc. sg qualifying narakam)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (निपात)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• narakam: hell
• narakam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (neuter accusative singular)

• śṛṇuṣva: listen
• śṛṇuṣva: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (2nd person sg imperative, Ātmanepada)

• gadataḥ: of (me) speaking
• gadataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gad (गद् धातु) + gadat (शतृ/कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present active participle); षष्ठी एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (genitive singular: ‘of me who is speaking’)

• mama: my; of me
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी एकवचन (genitive singular pronoun)

Speakers

• Narrator instructing a listener (frame-speakers not determinable from excerpt alone)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Yama (implicit)

Key Themes

• Karmic exhaustion
• Naraka taxonomy
• Instructional discourse

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Even extreme suffering is conditioned by karma and ends when demerit is depleted—reinforcing moral causality and the practical importance of avoiding pāpa and cultivating puṇya.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Didactic dharma material; often situated within cosmological descriptions (loka/naraka), which are supportive rather than one of the strict five.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Apratiṣṭha’ (‘without footing’) can symbolize a mind with no stable grounding in dharma—falling through states of fear and instability until karmic imbalance is resolved.