Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 42, Shloka 16

Adhyaya 42 — Dattatreya on the Yogic Import of Oṃ (Praṇava): Matras, Worlds, and Liberation

Sanskrit

प्राप्रोति ब्रह्मणि लयं परमे परमात्मनि ।

अक्षीणकर्मबन्धश्च ज्ञात्वा मृत्युमरिष्टतः ॥

Transliteration

prāproti brahmaṇi layaṃ parame paramātmani /

akṣīṇa-karma-bandhaś ca jñātvā mṛtyum ariṣṭataḥ //

Translation

Người ấy đạt đến sự hòa tan vào Phạm (Brahman)—Đấng Tối Thượng, Chân Ngã tối cao. Và, khi biết rõ cái chết đúng như thật, người ấy trở nên bất động và không còn sợ hãi, dù mối ràng buộc của nghiệp chưa hoàn toàn tiêu tận.

Word by Word

• prāpnoti: attains
• prāpnoti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + āp (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, Present), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• brahmaṇi: in Brahman
• brahmaṇi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

• layam: dissolution/absorption
• layam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: laya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• parame: supreme
• parame: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with paramātmani

• parama-ātmani: in the Supreme Self
• parama-ātmani: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); Karmadhāraya: ‘paramaḥ ātmā’

• akṣīṇa-karma-bandhaḥ: the unexhausted bond of karma
• akṣīṇa-karma-bandhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-kṣīṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक) + bandha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); Tatpuruṣa: ‘karmabandhaḥ’ with adjective ‘akṣīṇa’

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

• jñātvā: having known
• jñātvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), ‘having known’

• mṛtyum: death
• mṛtyum: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• ariṣṭataḥ: from omens (as indicators)
• ariṣṭataḥ: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ariṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative used adverbially (पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग), ‘from/through ominous signs’

Speakers

• Dattatreya (continuing Yoga-dharma exposition)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Brahman
• Paramātman

Key Themes

• Non-dual realization
• Liberation
• Karma
• Fearlessness
• Death-awareness

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Realization grants fearlessness: one may still live through residual karma, yet inwardly abides in Brahman. The ethical implication is steadiness and non-reactivity, grounded in insight rather than circumstances.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Again, this is not a genealogical or cosmological mark; it is mokṣa-śāstra embedded in Purāṇic discourse, a common Purāṇic function alongside Pancalakṣaṇa materials.

What is the esoteric significance?

The verse hints at jīvanmukti logic: absorption in the Highest while karmic traces persist (prārabdha-like remainder). ‘Knowing death’ implies seeing it as a transition of upādhis (limiting adjuncts), not of the Self.