Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 29, Shloka 14

Adhyaya 29 — Alarka’s Inquiry and Madalasa’s Teaching on Householder Dharma (Gārhasthya), Vaiśvadeva, and Atithi Hospitality

Sanskrit

तस्मात् पुत्र ! मनुष्येण देवर्

5षिपितृमानवाः ।

भूतानि चानुदिवसं पोष्याणि स्वतनुर्यथा ॥

Transliteration

tasmāt putra manuṣyeṇa devarṣipitṛmānavāḥ | bhūtāni cānudivasaṃ poṣyāṇi svatanur yathā ||

Translation

Vì vậy, hỡi con, con người nên hằng ngày nuôi dưỡng chư thiên, các hiền thánh (ṛṣi), tổ tiên, đồng loại, và cả các loài hữu tình (bhūta), cẩn trọng như nuôi dưỡng chính thân thể mình.

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), ablatival adverbial use: ‘therefore/from that’ (तस्मात्-प्रयोगः)

• putra: O son
• putra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• manuṣyeṇa: by a man / by a human
• manuṣyeṇa: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• deva-ṛṣi-pitṛ-mānavāḥ: gods, sages, ancestors, and humans
• deva-ṛṣi-pitṛ-mānavāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक) + pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva-samāsa (द्वन्द्व), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• bhūtāni: living beings
• bhūtāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• anudivasaṃ: daily
• anudivasaṃ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anu (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + divasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva-samāsa (अव्ययीभाव) used adverbially; sense: ‘day by day’ (प्रतिदिनम्)

• poṣyāṇi: to be nourished / should be maintained
• poṣyāṇi: Vidhi (विधेय/आज्ञा)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṣ (धातु) → poṣya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Kṛtya (कृत्य) gerundive/future passive participle (भाव्य/कर्तव्य-अर्थ), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative Plural (प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचन)

• svatanūḥ: one’s own body
• svatanūḥ: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + tanū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘own body’; Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• yathā: as / just like
• yathā: Upamā (उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Comparative particle (उपमा/प्रकारबोधक अव्यय)

Speakers

• Instructional dialogue (elder to disciple/‘son’)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Devas
• Pitṛs

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Pañca-mahāyajña ethos (implicit)
• Daily discipline
• Ahimsā and care for beings

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The householder’s dharma is relational: one must sustain multiple orders of life and lineage daily, with the same seriousness as self-care.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Dharma-upadeśa (conduct) and social ethics embedded within Purāṇic instruction.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘As one’s own body’ implies non-duality in practice: widening identity from ‘self’ to a network of beings, making compassion and offering a spiritual discipline.