Shloka 16

उत्तङ्कोपाख्यानप्रारम्भः — Uttanka’s Tapas, Viṣṇu-stuti, and the Dhundhumāra Prophecy

Opening

Devanagari script

एतत्‌ ते सर्वमाख्यातमतीतानागतं तथा । वायुप्रोक्तमनुस्मृत्य पुराणमृषिसंस्तुतम्‌,राजन! ऋषियोंद्वारा प्रशंसित तथा वायुदेवद्वारा वर्णित पुराणकी बातोंका स्मरण करके मैंने तुमसे यह भूत-भविष्यका सारा वृत्तान्त बताया है

Transliteration

etat te sarvam ākhyātam atītānāgataṃ tathā | vāyu-proktam anusmṛtya purāṇam ṛṣi-saṃstutam, rājan |

Translation

马尔坎德耶说道：“我已将这一切尽数告知于你——既有往昔，亦有将来。追忆那古老的《往世书》（Purāṇa）记述，此记述为诸仙（ṛṣi）所称颂，亦由风神伐由（Vāyu）所宣说；我便将这整段叙事向你道尽，噢，大王。”

Word by Word

• {'etat': 'this (matter, account)', 'te': 'to you', 'sarvam': 'all, the whole', 'ākhyātam': 'has been narrated/told', 'atīta': 'past', 'anāgata': 'future, yet to come', 'tathā': 'and also

• likewise', 'vāyu-proktam': 'spoken/proclaimed by Vāyu (the Wind-god)', 'anusmṛtya': 'having recalled

• remembering', 'purāṇam': 'ancient tradition

• Purāṇic narrative', 'ṛṣi-saṃstutam': 'praised/commended by the ṛṣis (seers)', 'rājan': 'O king'}

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Vāyu
• Ṛṣis
• the King (rājan)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the authority of sacred tradition: a truthful account gains weight when it is remembered from an ancient Purāṇic source, affirmed by ṛṣis, and attributed to a divine revealer (Vāyu). It models responsible transmission—speaking after recollection and grounding one’s words in respected lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya concludes a long narration to the king, stating that he has conveyed the complete account spanning past and future, based on a Purāṇic tradition associated with Vāyu and praised by the seers.