Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 29, Shloka 20

Adhyaya 29 — Alarka’s Inquiry and Madalasa’s Teaching on Householder Dharma (Gārhasthya), Vaiśvadeva, and Atithi Hospitality

Sanskrit

नक्तञ्चरेभ्यो भूतेभ्यो बलिमाकाशतो हरेत् ।

पितॄणां निर्वपेच्चैव दक्षिणाभिमुखस्थितः ॥

Transliteration

naktañcarebhyo bhūtebhyo balim ākāśato haret / pitṝṇāṃ nirvapecc aiva dakṣiṇābhimukhasthitaḥ

Translation

应自上方抛洒供献（如同穿过空中）以施与夜间行走之众生；又当面向南方站立，为诸祖灵（Pitṛ）作供。

Word by Word

• नक्तञ्चरेभ्यः: to the night-roaming (beings)
• नक्तञ्चरेभ्यः: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्तं-चर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative/सम्प्रदान) बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (नक्तम् + चरः = 'night-wanderer')

• भूतेभ्यः: to beings/spirits
• भूतेभ्यः: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative/सम्प्रदान) बहुवचन

• बलिम्: offering
• बलिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन

• आकाशतः: from the sky/open space (i.e., upward/outside)
• आकाशतः: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative/अपादान), एकवचन

• हरेत्: should take/carry (offer)
• हरेत्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors (Pitṛs)
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• निर्वपेत्: should scatter/offer (as oblation)
• निर्वपेत्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर्वप् (धातु: निर् + वप्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• दक्षिणाभिमुखस्थितः: standing facing south
• दक्षिणाभिमुखस्थितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिण-अभिमुख-स्थित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन; कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle) from √स्था with उपसर्ग; समासः—तत्पुरुष (दक्षिण + अभिमुख + स्थित)

Speakers

• Not in Devi Māhātmyam; dharma-teaching context on daily rites.

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Pitṛs

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Pitṛ-pūjā
• Bhūta-bali
• Vaiśvadeva
• Ritual directions

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Dharma includes care for the vulnerable and unseen: one acknowledges nocturnal creatures/spirits without hostility, and one maintains gratitude toward ancestors—both sustaining harmony across generations and realms.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary dharma/ācāra instruction; it does not directly present sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara but supports the lived ethic that Purāṇas repeatedly embed within narrative.

What is the esoteric significance?

Facing south (the Pitṛ-direction) marks deliberate alignment with ancestral current; casting offerings ‘through the air’ acknowledges liminal beings—integrating the household into a wider, multi-layered ecology of life.