Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 12, Shloka 22

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

Sanskrit

यावद्वर्षसहस्राणि न तेषां स्थितिरन्तरा ।

घटीयन्त्रेषु चैवाऽन्यो बद्धस्तोये यथा घटी ॥

Transliteration

yāvad varṣa-sahasrāṇi na teṣāṃ sthitir antarā /

ghaṭī-yantreṣu caivānyo baddhas toye yathā ghaṭī

Translation

Trong hàng ngàn năm, không có sự tạm dừng nào trong tình trạng của họ. Một người khác bị trói vào cơ chế guồng nước, giống như một cái bình (ghaṭī) trong nước.

Word by Word

• yāvat: for as long as
• yāvat: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-अर्थे (for as long as)

• varṣasahasrāṇi: thousands of years
• varṣasahasrāṇi: Kala-Adhikarana (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘वर्षाणां सहस्राणि’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचन (neut. nom./acc. pl; duration)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (निपात)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी बहुवचन (genitive plural: of them)

• sthitiḥ: rest; stability
• sthitiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (fem. nominative singular)

• antarā: in between; in the interval
• antarā: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: antarā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘मध्ये/अन्तरे’ अर्थे (in between; in the interval)

• ghaṭīyantreṣu: in the ghaṭī-machines
• ghaṭīyantreṣu: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghaṭī + yantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी बहुवचन (neut. loc. pl)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (निपात)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (just/indeed)

• anyaḥ: another (one)
• anyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (masc. nominative singular)

• baddhaḥ: bound
• baddhaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bandh (बन्ध् धातु) + baddha (क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (masc. nom. sg: bound)

• toye: in water
• toye: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (neut. locative singular)

• yathā: like; as
• yathā: Upamana (उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (as; like)

• ghaṭī: a water-pot; bucket
• ghaṭī: Upamana (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghaṭī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (fem. nominative singular)

Speakers

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

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Yama (implicit)

Key Themes

• Duration of karmaphala
• No respite
• Naraka mechanisms

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The absence of ‘intermediate respite’ conveys that habitual wrongdoing can lead to prolonged, uninterrupted consequences. It motivates discipline and timely repentance/atonement (prāyaścitta) before patterns harden.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ethical instruction (dharma) through vivid karmaphala depiction; not a genealogical/manvantara passage.

What is the esoteric significance?

Bound like a pot in a water-wheel: the being is lifted and plunged repeatedly—symbolic of oscillation between craving and aversion, a mechanical repetition that continues until karmic momentum is spent.