Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 15, Shloka 74

Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell

Sanskrit

तद्गच्छ त्वं नृपश्रेष्ठ तद्भाक्तुममरालयम् ।

एतेऽपि पापं नरके क्षपयन्तु स्वकर्मजम् ॥

Transliteration

tad gaccha tvaṃ nṛpaśreṣṭha tad bhāktum amarālayam | ete 'pi pāpaṃ narake kṣapayantu svakarmajam ||

Translation

因此，哦诸王之最胜者，前往享受不死者的天界住处吧。至于这些他人，在地狱中，让他们耗尽由自身业行所生之罪。

Word by Word

• tat: that (place/thing)
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; deictic pronoun

• gaccha: go
• gaccha: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्/imperative), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person), Singular; Parasmaipada

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• nṛpa-śreṣṭha: O best of kings
• nṛpa-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa sense: ‘श्रेष्ठः नृपाणाम्’

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• bhaktum: to enjoy/partake
• bhaktum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/infinitive of purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhaj (धातु)
• Form: Tumun-anta (तुमुन्/infinitive), ‘to partake/enjoy’

• amara-ālayam: abode of the immortals (heaven)
• amara-ālayam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amara (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: ‘आलयः अमराणाम्’

• ete: these (people)
• ete: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), additive/emphatic

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• kṣapayantu: let them exhaust/destroy
• kṣapayantu: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṣi (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्/imperative), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Plural; Parasmaipada; causative sense ‘cause to perish/consume’ in usage

• sva-karma-jam: born of their own deeds
• sva-karma-jam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘स्वकर्मणः जातम्’ qualifying pāpam

Speakers

• Likely Indra (or a divine authority) addressing the king; framed within the Pitā–Putra narration

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Indra (implicit/likely)
• Devas (collective, via 'amarālayam')

Key Themes

• Karma
• Naraka
• Moral causality
• Justice and recompense
• Heavenly reward

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Merit and demerit are owned by the agent: each being must normally undergo the results of its own actions. Heaven is enjoyed by the meritorious, while sinners exhaust their demerit through suffering—an assertion of moral causality rather than arbitrary punishment.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Primarily Dharma/karma instruction within an ākhyāna (narrative) rather than sarga/pratisarga. It supports Purāṇic teaching on dharma and karmaphala (often treated as an ancillary didactic layer alongside the five marks).

What is the esoteric significance?

“Exhausting sin” (pāpa-kṣaya) in naraka symbolizes the purgative aspect of suffering: pain is not merely punitive but a mechanism by which karmic knots are loosened, enabling onward movement in saṃsāra.