Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 14, Shloka 24

Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments

Sanskrit

यथा बीजं हि भूपाल ! पयांसि समवेक्षते ।

पुण्यापुण्ये तथा कालदेशान्यकर्मकारकम ॥

Transliteration

yathā bījaṃ hi bhūpāla ! payāṃsi samavekṣate / puṇyāpuṇye tathā kāladeśānyakarmakārakam

Translation

大王啊，正如种子依赖水与诸缘而生长，功德与罪过的成熟亦依赖时、处及其他助缘之行而得其果报。

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/तुलना)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (indeclinable of manner/comparison)

• bījam: seed
• bījam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bīja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• bhūpāla: O king
• bhūpāla: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular)

• payāṃsi: waters
• payāṃsi: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: payas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Plural)

• samavekṣate: considers/looks at
• samavekṣate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (Present indicative, 3rd person singular, Ātmanepada)

• puṇya: merit
• puṇya: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• apuṇya: demerit
• apuṇya: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apuṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• tathā: so/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (indeclinable of manner: 'so/thus')

• kāla: time
• kāla: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• deśa: place
• deśa: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• anya: other
• anya: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular); विशेषण (adjectival)

• karma-kārakam: that which produces action/effect
• karma-kārakam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: karma-kāraka (प्रातिपदिक; कर्म + कारक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: 'of action')

Speakers

• Dialogue setting; addressed to a king (bhūpāla)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Karma theory
• Conditionality
• Time-place factors
• Moral causation

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Results are not simplistic or immediate; karma ripens when supportive conditions converge. This discourages both despair (“nothing changes”) and arrogance (“I alone cause outcomes”).

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Didactic Dharma/karma exposition; not directly one of the five markers, though it supports the Purāṇic worldview underlying manvantaras and historical cycles.

What is the esoteric significance?

Time and place symbolize the ‘field’ (kṣetra) in which latent impressions mature. Mastery involves choosing environments and disciplines that deny ‘water’ to harmful seeds and nourish liberating ones.