Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 35, Shloka 16

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

Sanskrit

लेपादुल्लेखनात् सेकाद्वेश्मसंमार्जनार्चनात् ।

केशकीटावपन्ने च गोग्राते मक्षिकान्विते ॥

Transliteration

lepād ullekhanāt sekād veśma-saṃmārjanārcanāt /

keśa-kīṭāvapanne ca go-ghrāte makṣikānvite //

Translation

以涂抹粉饰、以刮除、以洒净水、以扫除，并以礼敬供奉宅舍——即可成就净化；即便其为毛发与虫类所污，即便被牛嗅触而致不净，或为苍蝇所滋生充斥，亦复如是。

Word by Word

• lepāt: from smearing/plastering
• lepāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन)

• ullekhanāt: from scraping
• ullekhanāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ullekhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन)

• sekāt: from sprinkling/watering
• sekāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: seka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन)

• veśma-saṃmārjana-arcanāt: from house-sweeping and worship
• veśma-saṃmārjana-arcanāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veśma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃmārjana (प्रातिपदिक) + arcana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन); ‘from house-cleaning and worship’ (as a combined source/occasion)

• keśa-kīṭa-avapanne: when hair and insects have fallen/occurred (therein)
• keśa-kīṭa-avapanne: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: keśa (प्रातिपदिक) + kīṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + avapanna (कृदन्त; √pad/पत्)
• Form: Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); gender context-dependent (often neuter/masc.); past participle ‘fallen/occurred’; qualifying implied locus (e.g., place/thing)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• go-ghrāte: in/when it has been smelled by a cow
• go-ghrāte: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + ghrāta (कृदन्त; √ghrā ‘to smell’)
• Form: Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); ‘smelled by a cow’/‘cow-smelled’; qualifying implied locus

• makṣikā-anvite: in/when infested with flies
• makṣikā-anvite: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: makṣikā (प्रातिपदिक) + anvita (कृदन्त; √i ‘to go’ with anu-)
• Form: Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); ‘accompanied/infested with flies’; qualifying implied locus

Speakers

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

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Domestic ritual cleanliness
• Purification of space
• Ritual + hygiene integration

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

A clean home is maintained through layered remedies—physical cleaning plus sacral re-ordering through worship—showing that dharma integrates the material and the ritual.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/dharma; not pancalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

Plastering and scraping represent renewing the 'surface of life'; worship (arcana) represents re-centering intention—purity is both environment and consciousness.