Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 14, Shloka 84

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

Sanskrit

पश्यतो भृत्यवर्गस्य मित्राणामतिथेस्तथा ।

एको मिष्टान्नभुग् भुङ्क्ते ज्वलदङ्गारसञ्चयम् ॥

Transliteration

paśyato bhṛtya-vargasya mitrāṇām atithes tathā | eko miṣṭānna-bhug bhuṅkte jvalad-aṅgāra-sañcayam ||

Translation

若有人在仆从、友人及宾客注视之下，独自享用甘美之食——彼于地狱中等同吞食一堆炽燃的火炭。

Word by Word

• paśyataḥ: of (one) who sees / in the presence of
• paśyataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paś (धातु) → paśyat (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन (Singular); वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle stem) ‘paśyat’ का षष्ठी एकवचन; Masculine/Neuter genitive singular (contextual)

• bhṛtya-vargasya: of the group of servants
• bhṛtya-vargasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhṛtya (प्रातिपदिक) + varga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; ‘भृत्यानां वर्गः’ (genitive tatpurusha); पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• mitrāṇām: of friends
• mitrāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (Plural)

• atitheḥ: of the guest
• atitheḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: atithi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन (Singular)

• tathā: and likewise / also
• tathā: Avyaya (अव्यय/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण/समुच्चयार्थ (adverb/conjunctive sense)

• ekaḥ: alone, one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular)

• miṣṭānna-bhuk: eater of sweet food
• miṣṭānna-bhuk: Karta (कर्ता/Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: miṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + anna (प्रातिपदिक) + bhuj (धातु) → bhuk (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; ‘miṣṭam annaṃ’ (कर्मधारय within) + ‘bhuk’ (भुज्-धातोः क्विप्/कृदन्त ‘भुक्’ = eater); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhuṅkte: eats
• bhuṅkte: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद (Ātmanepada)

• jvalat-aṅgāra-sañcayam: a heap of burning coals
• jvalat-aṅgāra-sañcayam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jvalat (कृदन्त) + aṅgāra (प्रातिपदिक) + sañcaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; ‘jvalantaḥ aṅgārāḥ’ (कर्मधारय) + ‘sañcaya’ (heap); पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular)

Speakers

• Dialogue frame not explicit in the provided excerpt; didactic naraka catalogue.

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Gṛhastha ethics
• Atithi-dharma
• Fairness to dependents
• Karma and retribution

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Householder dharma requires sharing, especially with guests and dependents. Self-indulgence in front of the needy is treated as cruelty; the coal-heap punishment mirrors the ‘burn’ of selfishness.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ethical instruction (dharma) and karmaphala narrative; supportive material rather than cosmological/genealogical core.

What is the esoteric significance?

Sweet food symbolizes enjoyed merit; consuming it alone converts ‘sweetness’ into ‘burning,’ indicating how misappropriated pleasure becomes suffering.