Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 34, Shloka 62

Adhyaya 34 — Madālāsā’s Instruction on Sadācāra (Householder Conduct, Purity, and Daily Rites)

Sanskrit

इष्टापूर्तायुषां हन्त्री परदारगतिर् नृणाम् ।

न हीदृशमनायुष्यं लोके किञ्चन विद्यते ॥

Transliteration

iṣṭāpūrtāyuṣāṃ hantrī paradāragatir nṛṇām | na hīdṛśam anāyuṣyaṃ loke kiñcana vidyate ||

Translation

Đối với nam giới, việc đến với vợ người khác phá hoại công đức của tế lễ và các hạnh lành, lại còn làm tổn giảm thọ mạng. Trên đời này không có điều gì gây hại cho tuổi thọ bằng thế.

Word by Word

• iṣṭa-pūrta-āyuṣām: of the merit-born lifespan (from iṣṭa and pūrta)
• iṣṭa-pūrta-āyuṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: iṣṭa (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + pūrta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (plural); तत्पुरुष (determinative): ‘of the lifespan (āyus) connected with iṣṭa and pūrta (meritorious rites)’

• hantrī: a destroyer
• hantrī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hantrī (प्रातिपदिक; from √han (धातु) ‘to kill’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (fem.), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (singular)

• para-dāra-gatiḥ: going to another’s wife (adultery)
• para-dāra-gatiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; apposition to hantrī)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक) + gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (fem.), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (singular); तत्पुरुष: ‘going to another’s wife’

• nṛṇām: of men
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (plural)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध/Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/हेतुबोधक (particle: indeed/for)

• īdṛśam: such
• īdṛśam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण of anāyuṣyam

• anāyuṣyam: that which is life-shortening/unwholesome to longevity
• anāyuṣyam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject of vidyate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: an-āyuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (singular)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• kiñcana: anything whatsoever
• kiñcana: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; appositional with anāyuṣyam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiñcana (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (singular); अनिश्चित/अल्पार्थ: ‘anything at all’

• vidyate: exists/is found
• vidyate: Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु) (आत्मनेपद; ‘to be found/exist’)
• Form: लट् (present/लट्), आत्मनेपद (ātmanepada), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

Speakers

• Unspecified in input (instructional voice)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Karma-phala
• Sexual ethics
• Merit (puṇya) loss
• Longevity

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ethics is not merely social: adultery is framed as a direct destroyer of puṇya and vitality, negating even accumulated religious and charitable merit.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary dharma instruction; not pañcalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

Violation of marital boundaries is treated as a rupture of dharmic ‘protective field’ (rakṣā); such rupture is said to drain āyuḥ/ojas, hence the emphasis on longevity loss.