Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 42, Shloka 16

Adhyaya 42 — Dattatreya on the Yogic Import of Oṃ (Praṇava): Matras, Worlds, and Liberation

Sanskrit

प्राप्रोति ब्रह्मणि लयं परमे परमात्मनि ।

अक्षीणकर्मबन्धश्च ज्ञात्वा मृत्युमरिष्टतः ॥

Transliteration

prāproti brahmaṇi layaṃ parame paramātmani /

akṣīṇa-karma-bandhaś ca jñātvā mṛtyum ariṣṭataḥ //

Translation

他得以融入梵（Brahman）——至上者、最高自性。并且，如实了知死亡之后，即使业力之系缚尚未全然耗尽，也能不动不摇，远离怖畏。

Word by Word

• prāpnoti: attains
• prāpnoti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + āp (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, Present), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• brahmaṇi: in Brahman
• brahmaṇi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

• layam: dissolution/absorption
• layam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: laya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• parame: supreme
• parame: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with paramātmani

• parama-ātmani: in the Supreme Self
• parama-ātmani: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); Karmadhāraya: ‘paramaḥ ātmā’

• akṣīṇa-karma-bandhaḥ: the unexhausted bond of karma
• akṣīṇa-karma-bandhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-kṣīṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक) + bandha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); Tatpuruṣa: ‘karmabandhaḥ’ with adjective ‘akṣīṇa’

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

• jñātvā: having known
• jñātvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), ‘having known’

• mṛtyum: death
• mṛtyum: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• ariṣṭataḥ: from omens (as indicators)
• ariṣṭataḥ: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ariṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative used adverbially (पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग), ‘from/through ominous signs’

Speakers

• Dattatreya (continuing Yoga-dharma exposition)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Brahman
• Paramātman

Key Themes

• Non-dual realization
• Liberation
• Karma
• Fearlessness
• Death-awareness

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Realization grants fearlessness: one may still live through residual karma, yet inwardly abides in Brahman. The ethical implication is steadiness and non-reactivity, grounded in insight rather than circumstances.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Again, this is not a genealogical or cosmological mark; it is mokṣa-śāstra embedded in Purāṇic discourse, a common Purāṇic function alongside Pancalakṣaṇa materials.

What is the esoteric significance?

The verse hints at jīvanmukti logic: absorption in the Highest while karmic traces persist (prārabdha-like remainder). ‘Knowing death’ implies seeing it as a transition of upādhis (limiting adjuncts), not of the Self.