Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 57, Shloka 44

Adhyaya 57 — The Ninefold Divisions of Bharata: Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples

Sanskrit

प्राग्ज्योतिषाश्च मद्राश्च विदेहास्ताम्रलिप्तकाः । मल्ला मगधगोमन्ताः प्राच्या जनपदाः स्मृताः ॥

Transliteration

prāgjyotiṣāśca madrāśca videhāstāmraliptakāḥ / mallā magadhagomantāḥ prācyā janapadāḥ smṛtāḥ

Translation

普罗阇焦底沙（Prāgjyotiṣa）、摩陀罗（Madrā）、毗提诃（Videha）与多摩罗利补多迦（Tāmraliptaka）；摩罗（Malla）、摩揭陀（Magadha）与瞿曼多（Gomanta）——这些被追忆为东方诸国。

Word by Word

• प्राग्ज्योतिषाः: the Prāgjyotiṣas
• प्राग्ज्योतिषाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राक् + ज्योतिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘प्राग्-ज्योतिष’ (name of a people/region)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• मद्राः: the Madrās
• मद्राः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; जनपद-नाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• विदेहाः: the Videhas
• विदेहाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विदेह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; जनपद-नाम

• ताम्रलिप्तकाः: the Tāmraliptakas
• ताम्रलिप्तकाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताम्र + लिप्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘ताम्र-लिप्तक’ (Tāmralipta/Tāmraliptaka people)

• मल्लाः: the Mallās
• मल्लाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मल्ल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; जनपद-नाम

• मगधगोमन्ताः: the Magadhas and the Gomantas
• मगधगोमन्ताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मगध + गोमन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व (copulative): मगधाः + गोमन्ताः (two peoples grouped)

• प्राच्याः: eastern
• प्राच्याः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राच्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘janapadāḥ’)

• जनपदाः: countries/territories
• जनपदाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनपद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• स्मृताः: are said/are remembered as
• स्मृताः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा बहुवचन; ‘are remembered/called’

Speakers

• Paurāṇic narrator (geographical enumeration; frame-speaker not explicit in the given excerpt)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Geography
• Prācya janapadas
• Cultural memory of ancient regions

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By anchoring sacred history in identifiable places (Videha, Magadha, etc.), the Purāṇa ties dharma and memory to the landscape, making geography a vessel of tradition.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Best classed as cosmography/earth-description (bhū-varṇana), which commonly accompanies vaṃśa and vaṃśānucarita sections.

What is the esoteric significance?

Named regions become ‘mandalas’ of memory—nodes in a sacred network where stories, rituals, and identities can be situated and retrieved.