Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 51, Shloka 106

Adhyaya 51 — Yaksha Injunctions: Graha-Children and Female Spirits Causing Domestic and Ritual Disruptions

Sanskrit

अनुप्रविश्य सा जातमपहृत्यात्मसम्भवम् ।

क्षणप्रसविनी बालं तत्रैवोत्सृजते द्विज ॥

Transliteration

anupraviśya sā jātam apahṛtyātma-sambhavam / kṣaṇa-prasavinī bālaṃ tatraivotsṛjate dvija

Translation

她一旦闯入其中，便掳走新生之婴——那人自己的子嗣；而且，噢二次生者，那在刹那间促成分娩者，就在原处弃下那孩子。

Word by Word

• anu-praviśya: having entered
• anu-praviśya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu + praviś (प्र-विश् धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्) from √viś with prefixes anu-, pra-; ‘having entered’

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• jātam: the newborn (child)
• jātam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāta (जात-प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used for ‘newborn’

• apahṛtya: having taken away
• apahṛtya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: apa + hṛ (हृ धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्) with prefix apa-; ‘having carried off’

• ātma-sambhavam: born of herself (her own offspring)
• ātma-sambhavam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātman (आत्मन्-प्रातिपदिक) + sambhava (सम्भव-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः: ‘ātmanā sambhavam’ = born of oneself; qualifies ‘jātam’

• kṣaṇa-prasavinī: the quick-delivering woman
• kṣaṇa-prasavinī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (क्षण-प्रातिपदिक) + prasavinī (प्रसविनी-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः: ‘kṣaṇe prasavinī’ = one who gives birth quickly/at a moment; apposition to ‘sā’

• bālam: the child
• bālam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (बाल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb of place (देशवाचक-अव्यय)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (अवधारण-अव्यय)

• utsṛjate: abandons/casts off
• utsṛjate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ut + sṛj (सृज् धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• dvija: O twice-born (brahmin)
• dvija: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (द्विज-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

Speakers

• Not specified in input; verse directly addresses a dvija

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Rakṣā (protection)
• Childbirth vulnerabilities
• Graha/piśāca-type affliction motifs
• Householder vigilance

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Negligence in protection during liminal moments (birth) is condemned; the community must actively safeguard mother and child. The ‘stealing and abandoning’ imagery conveys sudden infant peril.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/Dharma and rakṣā-vidhi; not pancalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘seizure’ of the newborn can symbolize prāṇa/tejas instability immediately after birth; protective boundaries (light, heat, ritual order) stabilize the transition into embodied life.