Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 12, Shloka 14

Adhyaya 12 — The Son Describes the Narakas: Mahāraurava, Tamas, Nikṛntana, Apratiṣṭha, Asipatravana, and Taptakumbha

Sanskrit

लेलिह्यमाना भ्राम्यन्ते परस्परसमागमे ।

एवं तत्रापि सुमहान् क्लेशस्तमसि मानवैः ॥

Transliteration

lelihyamānā bhrāmyante paraspara-samāgame /

evaṃ tatrāpi sumahān kleśas tamasi mānavaiḥ

Translation

他们在剧痛中摇晃翻滚，彼此相撞时便踉跄跌倒。于是，在那黑暗之中，人们遭受极其巨大的折磨。

Word by Word

• लेलिह्यमानाः: licking (repeatedly)
• लेलिह्यमानाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लेलिह्य (धातु √लिह्) + शानच् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Present participle, शानच्), पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• भ्राम्यन्ते: they wander/whirl about
• भ्राम्यन्ते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), आत्मनेपद (Ātmanepada)

• परस्पर-समागमे: in mutual encounter/coming together
• परस्पर-समागमे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परस्पर (प्रातिपदिक) + समागम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: ‘of one another’), पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (locative adverb: place)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय/अपि-कार (particle: also/even)

• सु-महान्: very great
• सु-महान्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘सु’ उपसर्गवत् तीव्रतावाचक (intensifier)

• क्लेशः: distress, torment
• क्लेशः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्लेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तमसि: in darkness (Tamas)
• तमसि: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• मानवैः: by men, by humans
• मानवैः: Karana/Agent-in-passive (करण/कर्तृ-तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speakers

• Uncertain from provided verses alone (likely a narrator describing narakas within the Purāṇic dialogue frame)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Yama (implicit by naraka context)

Key Themes

• Karma
• Naraka
• Retributive justice
• Ethical consequence

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Actions generate consequences: the text emphasizes that suffering in naraka is not random but the fruition of adharma. The imagery of collision in darkness underscores confusion and mutual harm born of ignorance (tamas) and wrongdoing.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Primarily within Dharma/Adharma-phala (karmic results) discussions that Purāṇas include alongside broader cosmology; it aligns most closely with ancillary didactic material rather than the core five (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita), though it is often embedded within cosmological mapping of worlds (loka/naraka).

What is the esoteric significance?

Darkness (tamas) symbolizes avidyā: when consciousness is obscured, beings ‘collide’—their impulses clash, producing compounded suffering. Naraka becomes a mirror of inner states hardened into experiential realms.