Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 45, Shloka 50

Adhyaya 45 — Jaimini’s Cosmological Questions and the Opening of Markandeya’s Account of Primary Creation

Sanskrit

एकादशं मनस्तत्र देवा वैकारिका: स्मृता: ।

श्रोत्रं त्वक्चक्षुषी जिह्वा नासिका चैव पञ्चमी ॥

Transliteration

ekādaśaṃ manastatra devā vaikārikāḥ smṛtāḥ / śrotaṃ tvakcakṣuṣī jihvā nāsikā caiva pañcamī

Translation

于彼处，意（manas）被计为第十一；其主宰之神众被忆念为“vaikārika”类。（五种知觉器官为：）耳、皮肤、双眼、舌，以及鼻为第五。

Word by Word

• ekādaśam: the eleventh
• ekādaśam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); numeral adjective qualifying 'manas'

• manaḥ: mind
• manaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tatra: there/in that context
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) of place

• devāḥ: the deities (senses)
• devāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• vaikārikāḥ: modificatory/derived (from vikāra)
• vaikārikāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaikārika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); adjective qualifying 'devāḥ'

• smṛtāḥ: are remembered/are said
• smṛtāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त-कृदन्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); used predicatively ‘are said/considered’

• śrotram: ear (hearing)
• śrotram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tvak: skin (touch)
• tvak: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvac (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• cakṣuṣī: two eyes (sight)
• cakṣuṣī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakṣus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Dual (द्विवचन)

• jihvā: tongue (taste)
• jihvā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jihvā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• nāsikā: nose (smell)
• nāsikā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāsikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

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

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphasis

• pañcamī: the fifth
• pañcamī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); ordinal adjective qualifying 'nāsikā' (as the fifth)

Speakers

• Not explicitly indicated in the provided excerpt (cosmology narration within the Purāṇic discourse)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Presiding deities of mind and senses (collective reference)

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Sāṅkhya
• Manas
• Jñānendriyas
• Sarga

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By making mind the ‘eleventh’, the text highlights that sense-data alone does not yield experience; mind coordinates, selects, and synthesizes. Ethically, mastery of mind is implied as the key to mastery of senses.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Sarga: further enumeration of the evolved cognitive instruments.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘eleventh’ mind is the inner sense (antaḥkaraṇa) that binds the five sense streams into a single ‘I experience’ continuum—an esoteric bridge between multiplicity (five) and unity (one experiencer).