Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 15, Shloka 71
Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell
धर्म उवाच अब्बिन्दवो यथाम्भोधौ यथा वा दिवि तारकाः ।
यथा वा वर्षता धारा गङ्गायां सिकता यथा ॥
dharma uvāca abbindavo yathāmbhodhau yathā vā divi tārakāḥ |
yathā vā varṣatā dhārā gaṅgāyāṃ sikatā yathā ||
达摩说道：“如大海中的水滴；如苍穹中的群星；如倾注时的雨流；如恒河中的沙粒——（亦复如是）……”
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FAQs
Dharma uses vast natural analogies to shift the listener from accounting to awe: ethical excellence, when consistent and sincere, can accumulate beyond ordinary enumeration.
Didactic passage (dharma instruction) using cosmological imagery; not a pancalakṣaṇa enumeration but harmonizes with purāṇic style of teaching via cosmic scale.
Ocean, sky, rain, and Gaṅgā symbolize depth, expanse, descent of grace, and purification. The verse hints that merit aligned with compassion becomes ‘oceanic’—a field rather than a count.