Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 10, Shloka 24

Adhyaya 10 — Jaimini’s Questions on Birth, Death, Karma, and the Embodied Journey

Sanskrit

हतं मया हतश्चान्यैर्हतं मे घातितं तथा ।

दत्तं ममाऽन्यैरन्येभ्यो मया दत्तमनेकशः ॥

Transliteration

hataṃ mayā hataś cānyair hataṃ me ghātitaṃ tathā /

dattaṃ mamānyair anyebhyo mayā dattam anekaśaḥ

Translation

我曾杀人，也曾被他人所杀；亦曾使他人被杀。属于我的，被他人转赠他人；而我自己也曾多次施与。

Word by Word

• hatam: killed
• hatam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Kta-participle (past passive participle), Napuṃsakalिङ्ग, Prathamā/Dvitīyā (1st/2nd), Ekavacana; used impersonally: 'killing done' / 'I was killed'

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartṛ-karaṇa (कर्ता/करण in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana; instrumental agent

• hataḥ: killed
• hataḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Kta-participle, Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate

• ca: and
• ca: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samucchaya-nipāta

• anyaiḥ: by others
• anyaiḥ: Kartṛ-karaṇa (कर्ता/करण in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana; instrumental agent

• hatam: killed
• hatam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Kta-participle, Napuṃsakalिङ्ग, Prathamā/Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• me: of me / my
• me: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana (enclitic)

• ghātitam: caused to be killed
• ghātitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (धातु) + ṇic (णिच् causative) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Causative kta-participle (past passive participle), Napuṃsakalिङ्ग, Prathamā/Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; 'caused to be killed'

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Prakāra-avyaya (adverb: likewise)

• dattam: given
• dattam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Kta-participle, Napuṃsakalिङ्ग, Prathamā/Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; 'given'

• mama: my / of me
• mama: Sambandha (षष्ठī-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana

• anyaiḥ: by others
• anyaiḥ: Kartṛ-karaṇa (कर्ता/करण in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana; instrumental agent

• anyebhyaḥ: to others
• anyebhyaḥ: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Caturthī (4th/चतुर्थी), Bahuvacana; recipient

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartṛ-karaṇa (कर्ता/करण in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana

• dattam: given
• dattam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Kta-participle, Napuṃsakalिङ्ग, Prathamā/Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• anekaśaḥ: many times
• anekaśaḥ: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anekaśaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Prakāra/saṅkhyā-avyaya (adverb: many times/in many ways)

Speakers

• Unspecified speaker; reflective confession of karmic actions

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Karma (hiṃsā and dāna)
• Moral causality
• Non-ownership/impermanence

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Acts of violence rebound through the cycle of births, and possessions do not remain ‘mine’; the verse encourages ahiṃsā, generosity, and relinquishment of possessiveness.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Didactic karma-teaching embedded in narrative discourse; loosely part of dharma exposition rather than cosmological categories.

What is the esoteric significance?

Killer/killed/causer triad mirrors the bondage of doership (kartṛtva); release comes by transcending the sense of agency through knowledge.