Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 71, Shloka 1
Adhyaya 71 — The King’s Remorse and the Sage’s Counsel on the Necessity of a Wife
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे औत्तममन्वन्तरे सप्ततितमोऽध्यायः ।
एकसप्ततितमोऽध्यायः- ७१
मार्कण्डेय उवाच तां प्रेषयित्वा राजापि स्वभर्तृगृहमङ्गनाम् ।
चिन्तयामास निःश्वस्य किमत्र सुकतं भवेत् ॥
iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe auttamamanvantare saptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ / ekasaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ- 71 / mārkaṇḍeya uvāca tāṃ preṣayitvā rājāpi svabhartṛgṛham aṅganām / cintayāmāsa niḥśvasya kim atra sukataṃ bhavet
如是，在《吉祥摩尔迦ṇḍeya往世书》中，于奥多摩·摩奴万达罗之内，第七十章终。第七十一章：摩尔迦ṇḍeya说道：既已遣送那女子归其夫家，国王亦长叹沉思：“此中还能有什么善行（或正道）可言呢？”
FAQs
True dharma includes post-action reflection: even after correcting an external wrong, the ruler asks what further good—atonement, charity, or counsel—may be required to heal the moral remainder.
Manvantara is explicitly named; the colophon anchors the episode in the purāṇic chronological framework.
The king’s ‘sigh’ signifies the awakening of conscience (antar-dharma). The search for sukṛta indicates an inner turning from mere power to wisdom-guided action.