Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 81, Shloka 11
Adhyaya 81 — Suratha and Samadhi Seek Sage Medhas; Introduction to Mahamaya and the Madhukaitabha Origin Account
सोऽचिन्तयत् तदा तत्र ममत्वाकृष्टचेतनः ।
मत्पूर्वैः पालितं पूर्वं मया हीनं पुरं हि तत् ।
मद्भृत्यैस्तै रसद्वृत्तैर्धर्मतः पालयते न वा ॥
so ’cintayat tadā tatra mamatvākṛṣṭa-cetanaḥ |
mat-pūrvaiḥ pālitaṃ pūrvaṃ mayā hīnaṃ puraṃ hi tat |
mad-bhṛtyais tair asad-vṛttair dharmataḥ pālyate na vā ||
在那里，他的心被占有之念牵引，便思忖道：“那座城邦，昔日由我祖先守护、后来亦由我护持，如今却无我在。我的那些仆臣——行止不善者——究竟是依于达摩而治理，还是不依达摩？”
FAQs
Even after losing everything, attachment persists; the verse diagnoses bondage as ‘mamatā’—the sense of ‘mine’ that drags the mind back into sorrow and anxiety.
Dharma-oriented ākhyāna within manvantara-set narrative: it introduces the human problem (attachment/delusion) that the Goddess teaching will resolve.
The ‘city’ can symbolize the body-mind complex once ‘ruled’ by discernment; when discernment is absent, lower tendencies (‘wicked servants’) may or may not uphold dharma—prompting the need for Devi’s awakening power.