Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 16, Shloka 80

Adhyaya 16 — The Son’s Counsel on Renunciation and the Anasuya–Mandavya Episode: The Suspension of Sunrise and the Power of Pativrata

Sanskrit

अनसूयोवाच न विषादस्त्वया भद्रे ! कर्तव्यः पश्य मे बलम् ।

पतिशुश्रूषयावाप्तं तपसः किं चिरेण ते ॥

Transliteration

anasūyovāca na viṣādas tvayā bhadre! kartavyaḥ paśya me balam /

pati-śuśrūṣayā āptaṃ tapasaḥ kiṃ cireṇa te

Translation

阿那苏雅说道：“善良的夫人啊，切莫绝望——且看我的威力。既然（此等威力）可由对夫君的虔敬奉事而得，又何必久修苦行呢？”

Word by Word

• anasūyā: Anasūyā
• anasūyā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anasūyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: Liṭ (लिट्, perfect), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), negation particle (निषेध-निपात)

• viṣādaḥ: despair, grief
• viṣādaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन); 2nd person pronoun

• bhadre: O auspicious one!
• bhadre: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhadra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• kartavyaḥ: to be done; (here) to be indulged/allowed
• kartavyaḥ: Pradhāna (प्रधान/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + tavya (तव्यत्)
• Form: Gerundive/obligatory participle (कृत्य, तव्यत्), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); predicate adjective with viṣādaḥ

• paśya: see!
• paśya: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ (लोट्, imperative), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (षष्ठी/6) or Dative (चतुर्थी/4), Singular (एकवचन); enclitic; here genitive ‘my’

• balam: power, strength
• balam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• pati-śuśrūṣayā: by service to (your) husband
• pati-śuśrūṣayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक) + śuśrūṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष ‘by service to (one’s) husband’

• avāptam: obtained, attained
• avāptam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ava-√āp (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); qualifying tapaḥ

• tapasaḥ: of austerity; of tapas
• tapasaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular (एकवचन)

• kim: what (use)? why?
• kim: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Interrogative particle used adverbially (प्रश्न-निपात)

• cireṇa: after long time; with delay
• cireṇa: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन); idiomatically ‘after a long time/with delay’

• te: for you
• te: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (षष्ठी/6) or Dative (चतुर्थी/4), Singular (एकवचन); here dative ‘for you’

Speakers

• Anasūyā

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Pativratā as tapas
• Consolation and instruction
• Spiritual efficacy through dharmic duty
• Siddhi grounded in ethics

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse asserts a purāṇic ethic: disciplined duty performed with sincerity can equal or surpass formal asceticism. It discourages despair and presents dharma-as-practice as spiritually transformative.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/dharma instruction within narrative; not a cosmological or genealogical pancalakṣaṇa passage.

What is the esoteric significance?

Service (śuśrūṣā) is treated as an inner yajña that concentrates mind and prāṇa, generating ‘bala’ (spiritual potency). The teaching reframes tapas as inner heat born of steadfast love and self-control.