Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 8, Shloka 144

Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala

Sanskrit

ततो निपातितो भूमौ विष्ठाशी श्वा व्यजायत । वान्ताशी शीतदग्धश्च मासमात्रे मृतोऽपि सः ॥

Transliteration

tato nipātito bhūmau viṣṭhāśī śvā vyajāyata / vāntāśī śītadagdhaś ca māsamātre mṛto 'pi saḥ

Translation

Rồi bị quật ngã xuống đất, hắn sinh làm chó ăn phân. Sống bằng đồ nôn mửa, bị cái lạnh thiêu đốt, hắn chết chỉ trong một tháng.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) of sequence; ‘thereupon/then’

• nipātitaḥ: having been thrown down
• nipātitaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (as subject of passive sense)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni√pat (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kridanta past passive participle (कर्मणि भूतकृदन्त/क्त), Masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा) Singular; agrees with śvā

• bhūmau: on the ground
• bhūmau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (भूमि) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; location

• viṣṭhāśī: eating excrement
• viṣṭhāśī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣṭhā-āśin (विष्ठा + आशिन्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘viṣṭhāṃ aśnāti’; Masculine, Nominative Singular; adjective to śvā

• śvā: a dog
• śvā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śvan (श्वन्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• vyajāyata: was born
• vyajāyata: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√jan (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada; ‘was born/was produced’

• vāntāśī: eating vomit
• vāntāśī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vānta-āśin (वान्त + आशिन्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘vāntaṃ aśnāti’; Masculine, Nominative Singular; adjective to saḥ (the same being)

• śītadagdhaḥ: burnt by cold (frostbitten)
• śītadagdhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śīta-dagdha (शीत + दग्ध) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘śītena dagdhaḥ’ (burnt/frostbitten by cold); Masculine, Nominative Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• māsa-mātre: within a mere month
• māsa-mātre: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa-mātra (मास + मात्र) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘māsasya mātram’; Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; time-locative

• mṛtaḥ: dead
• mṛtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (मृत) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Singular; predicate adjective

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, particle (निपात) conveying ‘even/also’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

Speakers

• Narratorial voice within the frame (specific speaker not identifiable from provided excerpt alone)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bībhatsa", "secondaryRasa": "bhayānaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Karma
• Rebirth
• Suffering in low births
• Moral causality

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse depicts the harsh fruition of adharma: consciousness is driven into degrading embodiments where life is brief and painful. It functions as a warning that status and power cannot shield one from karmic consequence.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Primarily within Vamśānucarita / narrative exemplum (ethical history/illustration) rather than Sarga/Pratisarga proper; it is a didactic episode teaching karmaphala through story.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘low foods’ (feces, vomit) symbolize the mind’s fall into tamas and compulsive consumption; ‘burned by cold’ conveys the torment of embodiment when inner dharma-heat (tapas) is absent.