Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 10, Shloka 58

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

Sanskrit

कूटसाक्षी मृषावादी यश्चासदनुशास्ति वै ।

ते मोहमृत्यवः सर्वे तथा वेदविन्दकाः ॥

Transliteration

kūṭasākṣī mṛṣāvādī yaś cāsad anuśāsti vai / te mohamṛtyavaḥ sarve tathā vedavinindakāḥ

Translation

伪证者、说谎者与教人邪道者，皆遭迷乱之死；诋毁吠陀者亦复如是。

Word by Word

• kūṭasākṣī: false witness
• kūṭasākṣī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūṭa-sākṣin (प्रातिपदिक; kūṭa + sākṣin)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• mṛṣāvādī: liar, speaker of falsehood
• mṛṣāvādī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛṣā-vādin (प्रातिपदिक; mṛṣā + vādin)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun

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

• asat: what is wrong/untrue
• asat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used adverbially as object of anuśāsti

• anuśāsti: instructs, teaches
• anuśāsti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√śās (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle/emphasis (निपात)

• te: they, those
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); demonstrative pronoun

• mohamṛtyavaḥ: deaths (agents) of delusion
• mohamṛtyavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: moha-mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक; moha + mṛtyu)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); adjective qualifying te

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय)

• vedavinindakāḥ: revilers of the Veda
• vedavinindakāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda-vindaka (प्रातिपदिक; veda + vindaka)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

Speakers

• Unspecified in provided excerpt (didactic narration)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Satya (truth)
• Judicial ethics (witnessing)
• Respect for Veda
• Karmaphala

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Truth is a social and cosmic pillar: perjury, lying, and misguiding others corrode dharma and therefore culminate in confusion at death rather than lucidity and peace.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary dharma instruction.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Moha-mṛtyu’ implies loss of discernment at the final moment. Veda-revilement symbolizes rejection of pramāṇa (valid means of knowledge), which ripens as epistemic darkness when the self most needs orientation.