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Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 8, Shloka 43

Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala

Sanskrit

अथवा किं ममैतेन साम्ना प्रोक्तेन कारणम् ।

अनार्ये पापसङ्कल्पे क्रूरे चानृतवादिनि ॥

Transliteration

athavā kiṃ mamaitena sāmnā proktena kāraṇam /

anārye pāpasaṅkalpe krūre cānṛtavādini //

Translation

“若非如此，我以和解之辞与你言说又有何益？你卑劣无耻，专怀罪恶之谋，残忍暴虐，且口吐虚妄。”

Word by Word
athavāor else
athavā:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connecting)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootathavā (अव्यय)
FormConjunction/alternative particle (विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय)
kimwhat?
kim:
Prashna (प्रश्न/what?)
TypeNoun
Rootkim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd—प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular; interrogative pronoun (प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम)
mamaof me / my
mama:
Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
TypeNoun
Rootasmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormGenitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; 1st person pronoun
etenaby/with this
etena:
Karana (करण/Instrument)
TypeNoun
Rootetad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; demonstrative pronoun
sāmnāby a sāman-chant / by a hymn
sāmnā:
Karana (करण/Instrument)
TypeNoun
Rootsāman (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular
proktenaspoken/uttered
proktena:
Visheshana (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootpra+vac (धातु) → prokta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
FormPast passive participle (क्त/PPP); Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; agreeing with sāmnā
kāraṇamreason / purpose
kāraṇam:
Prashna (प्रश्न/what reason?)
TypeNoun
Rootkāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd—प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular
anāryeO ignoble woman
anārye:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
TypeAdjective
Rootanārya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; used as संबोधन/locative of address
pāpa-saṅkalpeO one of sinful resolve
pāpa-saṅkalpe:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
TypeAdjective
Rootpāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṅkalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-सम्भाव्य; ‘sinful intention’); Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; addressing same person
krūreO cruel one
krūre:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
TypeAdjective
Rootkrūra (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; addressing
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connecting)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
FormConjunction (समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय)
anṛta-vādiniO speaker of falsehood
anṛta-vādini:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
TypeAdjective
Rootanṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + vādinī (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (उपपद/कर्मधारय-भाव: ‘speaking untruth’); Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; addressing
Speakers
Asura speaker (Śumbha / his representative voice in the encounter) addressing the Devī
Primary Deities
Devī (Durgā/Caṇḍikā context)Śumbha (asura)
Shakti Aspects
Devī as the autonomous supreme feminine power (no specific epithet explicit in this pādawithin Durgā Saptashatī context)
Key Themes
Dharma vs. adharmaAsuric arroganceTruth vs. falsehoodFailure of conciliation (sāman) before violence

FAQs

The verse dramatizes the breakdown of sāman (conciliation) when the speaker deems the other party unworthy—branding the Devī as ignoble and deceitful. Ethically, it exposes an asuric pattern: projection and slander of virtue, justifying coercion when persuasion fails. It warns that arrogance and false attribution of vice to the righteous are themselves marks of adharma.

This belongs primarily to Vaṃśānucarita/Carita (narrative of deeds) within the Purāṇic mode—specifically the Devī’s heroic cycle embedded in the Markandeya Purāṇa. It is not a sarga/pratisarga (creation) or manvantara-focused datum in itself, but part of the exemplary sacred history used to teach dharma.

Esoterically, the refusal of sāman symbolizes the ego’s incapacity to reconcile with Śakti (truth-consciousness). Calling the Devī ‘anṛtavādinī’ (liar) reflects avidyā’s inversion—where the asuric mind mistakes the Real for false and the false for real—setting the stage for inner conflict that can only be resolved by the triumph of divine discernment and power.

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