Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 35, Shloka 16

Adhyaya 35 — Madālasa’s Instruction on Purity, Impurity, and Corrective Rites (Śauca and Aśauca)

Sanskrit

लेपादुल्लेखनात् सेकाद्वेश्मसंमार्जनार्चनात् ।

केशकीटावपन्ने च गोग्राते मक्षिकान्विते ॥

Transliteration

lepād ullekhanāt sekād veśma-saṃmārjanārcanāt /

keśa-kīṭāvapanne ca go-ghrāte makṣikānvite //

Translation

Bằng việc trát/láng, bằng cạo sạch, bằng rảy nước, bằng quét dọn và thờ phụng ngôi nhà—sự tịnh hóa được thành tựu, dù nhà bị vấy bởi tóc và côn trùng, dù bị bò đánh hơi làm ô uế, hay dù bị ruồi bu bám.

Word by Word

• lepāt: from smearing/plastering
• lepāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन)

• ullekhanāt: from scraping
• ullekhanāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ullekhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन)

• sekāt: from sprinkling/watering
• sekāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: seka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन)

• veśma-saṃmārjana-arcanāt: from house-sweeping and worship
• veśma-saṃmārjana-arcanāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veśma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃmārjana (प्रातिपदिक) + arcana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन); ‘from house-cleaning and worship’ (as a combined source/occasion)

• keśa-kīṭa-avapanne: when hair and insects have fallen/occurred (therein)
• keśa-kīṭa-avapanne: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: keśa (प्रातिपदिक) + kīṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + avapanna (कृदन्त; √pad/पत्)
• Form: Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); gender context-dependent (often neuter/masc.); past participle ‘fallen/occurred’; qualifying implied locus (e.g., place/thing)

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

• go-ghrāte: in/when it has been smelled by a cow
• go-ghrāte: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + ghrāta (कृदन्त; √ghrā ‘to smell’)
• Form: Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); ‘smelled by a cow’/‘cow-smelled’; qualifying implied locus

• makṣikā-anvite: in/when infested with flies
• makṣikā-anvite: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: makṣikā (प्रातिपदिक) + anvita (कृदन्त; √i ‘to go’ with anu-)
• Form: Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); ‘accompanied/infested with flies’; qualifying implied locus

Speakers

• Instructional narrator within Dharma discourse (frame-speaker not explicit in provided excerpt)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Domestic ritual cleanliness
• Purification of space
• Ritual + hygiene integration

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

A clean home is maintained through layered remedies—physical cleaning plus sacral re-ordering through worship—showing that dharma integrates the material and the ritual.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/dharma; not pancalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

Plastering and scraping represent renewing the 'surface of life'; worship (arcana) represents re-centering intention—purity is both environment and consciousness.