Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 10, Shloka 78

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

Sanskrit

दंष्ट्राकरालवदनं भ्रकुटीदरुणाकृतिम् ।

विरूपैर्भोषणैर्वक्त्रैर्वृतं व्याधिशतैः प्रभुम् ॥

Transliteration

daṃṣṭrākarālavadanaṃ bhrakuṭīdāruṇākṛtim /

virūpairbhoṣaṇairvaktrairvṛtaṃ vyādhiśataiḥ prabhum

Translation

他见那位主宰：獠牙外突，使其面容可怖；眉间紧蹙，令人战栗；周遭尽是丑恶咆哮之口，又被数百种疾病环绕围困。

Word by Word

• दंष्ट्राकरालवदनम्: with a fang-terrible mouth
• दंष्ट्राकरालवदनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दंष्ट्रा + कराल + वदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; ‘having a mouth terrible with fangs’

• भ्रकुटीदरुणाकृतिम्: of dreadful, frowning form
• भ्रकुटीदरुणाकृतिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्रकुटी + दारुण + आकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; ‘of dreadful form with knitted brows’

• विरूपैः: with deformed
• विरूपैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter/Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; qualifies ‘वक्त्रैः’

• भोषणैः: terrifying
• भोषणैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भोषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter/Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; ‘frightening/terrifying’ (contextual)

• वक्त्रैः: faces/mouths
• वक्त्रैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural

• वृतम्: surrounded
• वृतम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृ (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; agrees with implied object ‘(यमम्/प्रभुम्)’; ‘surrounded’

• व्याधिशतैः: by hundreds of diseases
• व्याधिशतैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याधि + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; ‘by hundreds of diseases’

• प्रभुम्: the lord (Yama)
• प्रभुम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

Speakers

• Frame-dialogue context not provided in input

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Yama

Key Themes

• Yama iconography
• Fear as moral pedagogy
• Disease as consequence

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The terrifying imagery is pedagogical: it discourages adharma by making consequences emotionally vivid, linking moral failure with suffering and affliction.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Eschatological/dharma instruction; not pañcalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘hundreds of diseases’ can be read as embodied karmic residues—afflictions (kleśa-like forces) that surround the jīva when it confronts the moral truth of its actions.