Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 7, Shloka 11

Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory

Sanskrit

इति सञ्चिन्त्य रौद्रेण विघ्नराजेन वै ततः ।

तेनाविष्टो नृपः कोपादिदं वचनमब्रवीत् ॥

Transliteration

iti saṃcintya raudreṇa vighnarājena vai tataḥ / tenāviṣṭo nṛpaḥ kopād idaṃ vacanam abravīt

Translation

如此思量之后，凶猛的毗诃那罗阇（Vighnarāja，障碍之主）便起而作为；国王为其所摄，忿怒之中说出如下言辞。

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Quotative particle)

• saṃcintya: having thought
• saṃcintya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-√cint (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव: ‘having reflected’

• raudreṇa: by the fierce (one)
• raudreṇa: Karaṇa (करण/तृतीया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• vighnarājena: by Vighnarāja (lord of obstacles)
• vighnarājena: Karaṇa (करण/तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vighnarāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Particle), निश्चयार्थक

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Adverb): ‘then/thereupon/from that’

• tena: by him
• tena: Karaṇa (करण/तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन, सर्वनाम

• āviṣṭaḥ: possessed, seized
• āviṣṭaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√viś (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘possessed/entered’

• nṛpaḥ: the king
• nṛpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kopāt: from anger
• kopāt: Hetu (हेतु/पञ्चमी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kopa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन, सर्वनाम

• vacanam: speech, words
• vacanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• abravīt: said
• abravīt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speakers

• Narrator describing events; the king is about to speak (next verse continues his speech).

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Obstruction (vighna)
• Krodha (anger) and loss of discernment
• Possession/overpowering by a force (āveśa)
• Narrative causality leading to a consequential utterance

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse depicts how a mind influenced by an obstructive force (vighna) slides into krodha, leading to speech that is reactive rather than discerning. Ethically, it warns that anger is often not merely a personal emotion but a condition that ‘seizes’ the person, disrupting rāja-dharma (measured conduct of a ruler) and proper judgment.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

This verse is not primarily sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita in itself; it functions as vaṃśānucarita-style narrative movement (episode-level history/character action) within the Purāṇic storytelling framework, setting up ensuing events rather than presenting cosmology or genealogy.

What is the esoteric significance?

Vighnarāja can be read symbolically as the inner ‘obstructor’—the tendency that blocks sattvic clarity. ‘Possession’ (āviṣṭa) suggests how guṇic turbulence (especially rajas/tamas) can overtake the intellect, and the immediate consequence is vāg-doṣa (fault in speech), a key indicator of inner imbalance.