Shloka 11

Devanagari script

उन्होंने कहा है कि आप इस जलसे अपने दोनों नेत्र धोकर अदृश्य प्राणियोंको भी देख सकेंगे और आप जिसे यह जल अर्पित करेंगे, वह मनुष्य भी अदृश्य भूतोंको देखनेमें समर्थ होगा”

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca—uktaṃ hi te yathā etena jalena sva-netre prakṣālya adṛśyān prāṇinaḥ api draṣṭuṃ śakṣyasi; yasya ca tvaṃ etad jalam arpayiṣyasi sa manuṣyo 'pi adṛśyān bhūtān draṣṭuṃ samartho bhaviṣyati.

Translation

马尔坎德耶说道：“已宣示：以此水洗净双目，便能看见连寻常不可见之众生亦在其内。且你将此水赐与何人，那人亦将获得洞见无形幽灵之力。”

Word by Word

उक्तम्said/declared

तेby you (all)

यत्that which

अनेनwith this

जलेनwith water

स्वेin/at your own (two)

नेत्रेtwo eyes

प्रक्षाल्यhaving washed

अपिalso/even

अदृश्यान्invisible

प्राणिनःliving beings/creatures

द्रक्ष्यसिyou will see

चand

यम्whom

अस्मत्this

जलम्water

अर्पयिष्यसिyou will offer

सःhe

अपिalso

अदृश्यान्invisible

भूतान्beings/spirits

द्रष्टुम्to see

समर्थःcapable

भविष्यतिwill be

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

jala (water)

netra (eyes)

adṛśyāḥ prāṇinaḥ (invisible beings)

adṛśyāni bhūtāni (unseen spirits)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights that perception can be transformed through a consecrated medium: a special water grants the ethical power of ‘seeing’ what is normally hidden, and this capacity can be shared through offering—implying responsibility in how extraordinary knowledge is used and transmitted.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya explains the efficacy of a particular water: washing one’s eyes with it enables vision of invisible beings, and offering that water to another person grants the same ability to that recipient.