Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 51, Shloka 48

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

Sanskrit

मधुक्षीरघृताक्तांस्तु शान्त्यर्थं होमयेत् तिलान् । कुर्वोत मित्रविन्दांश्च तथेष्टिं तत्प्रशान्यते ॥

Transliteration

madhu-kṣīra-ghṛtāktāṃs tu śāntyarthaṃ homayet tilān | kurvota mitravindāṃś ca tatheṣṭiṃ tat praśānyate ||

Translation

为求安宁，应将芝麻投入以蜂蜜、乳与酥油（ghee）涂抹的圣火中；亦当行结友之事，并修作 iṣṭi 祭供——如此彼（灾厄）便得平息。

Word by Word

• madhukṣīraghṛtāktān: (sesames) smeared with honey, milk, and ghee
• madhukṣīraghṛtāktān: Karma (कर्म/Object of homayet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhu (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣīra (प्रातिपदिक) + ghṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + ākta (अञ्ज्/अक्त from अञ्ज् धातु, क्त-कृदन्त)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: madhu-kṣīra-ghṛtaiḥ āktān (smeared with honey, milk, and ghee)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adversative/emphatic particle (तु)

• śānti-artham: for pacification
• śānti-artham: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śānti (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: śānteḥ artham (for the sake of pacification)

• homayet: should offer in fire / perform homa
• homayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: hu (हु धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्/Optative), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; parasmaipada

• tilān: sesame seeds
• tilān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Bahuvacana

• kurvīta: should make/do
• kurvīta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्/Optative), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; ātmanepada (कुर्वीत)

• mitravindān: (rites/acts) that win friends
• mitravindān: Karma (कर्म/Object of kurvīta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mitra (प्रातिपदिक) + vindā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Bahuvacana; karmadhāraya: mitrāṇi vindanti/mitra-vindāḥ (friend-winning/obtaining friends)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction (समुच्चय)

• tathā: thus/likewise
• tathā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (तथा)

• iṣṭim: a sacrificial rite (iṣṭi)
• iṣṭim: Karma (कर्म/Object of kurvīta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: iṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• tat: thereby/that
• tat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Anaphora)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā/Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; here adverbial/anaphoric ‘thereby/that’

• praśānyate: is pacified/ceases
• praśānyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śam (शम् धातु) with pra-
• Form: Laṭ lakāra, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; ātmanepada; passive/intransitive sense ‘becomes pacified’

Speakers

• Instructional voice prescribing śānti for the hatred-causing affliction

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Agni

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Śānti rites
• Homa
• Restoring social concord

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ritual appeasement is paired with ethical action: not only offerings, but also deliberate cultivation of friendship—suggesting dharma is both ceremonial and relational.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/upāya instruction within Purāṇic discourse; not a pancalakṣaṇa core narrative unit.

What is the esoteric significance?

Sweet and nourishing substances (honey, milk, ghee) symbolize softening hostility and replenishing harmony; sesame in homa is traditionally linked with purification and warding.