Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 35, Shloka 11

Adhyaya 35 — Madālasa’s Instruction on Purity, Impurity, and Corrective Rites (Śauca and Aśauca)

Sanskrit

तथा कार्पासिकानाञ्च विशुद्धिर्जलबhasmanā ।

दारुदन्तास्थिशृङ्गाणां तक्षणाच्छुद्धिरिष्यते ॥

Transliteration

tathā kārpāsikānāñ ca viśuddhir jala-bhasmanā /

dāru-dantāsthi-śṛṅgāṇāṃ takṣaṇāc chuddhir iṣyate //

Translation

同样，棉制之物以水与灰净化；而木、齿、骨与角，则以刮削、削去其表层而得清净。

Word by Word

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/समुच्चय-वाचक-अव्यय (adverb: likewise/so)

• कार्पासिकानाम्: of cotton-things (made of karpāsa)
• कार्पासिकानाम्: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी / Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्पासिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• विशुद्धिः: purification; cleansing
• विशुद्धिः: कर्ता (कर्तृ / Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• जल-भस्मना: with watery ash / ash-water
• जल-भस्मना: करण (करणम् / Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + भस्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/सम्बन्ध: ‘water-ash’ i.e., ash mixed with water), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• दारु-दन्त-अस्थि-शृङ्गाणाम्: of wood, teeth, bones, and horns
• दारु-दन्त-अस्थि-शृङ्गाणाम्: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी / Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दारु (प्रातिपदिक) + दन्त (प्रातिपदिक) + अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक) + शृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (copulative: wood, teeth, bones, horns), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तक्षणात्: by scraping/cutting
• तक्षणात्: अपादान (अपादानम् / Source: ‘by/from’ means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• शुद्धिः: purification
• शुद्धिः: कर्ता (कर्तृ / Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• इष्यते: is held to be; is considered
• इष्यते: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद; भावे/कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense: ‘is considered/held’)

Speakers

• Instructional narrator within Dharma discourse (frame-speaker not explicit in provided excerpt)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Śauca (purity)
• Material-specific cleansing rules

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text assumes impurities cling differently to different materials; ethical discipline is expressed as attentiveness to context rather than one-size-fits-all rules.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Categorize as ācāra/dharma guidance (not a pancalakṣaṇa narrative unit). It supports Purāṇic social-religious functioning rather than cosmogony or genealogy.

What is the esoteric significance?

Scraping (takṣaṇa) symbolizes removing the 'outer layer' of defilement—suggesting that some impurities are not washed away by addition (water) but by subtraction (paring away).