Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 92, Shloka 36

Adhyaya 92 — Devi’s Assurance of Protection and the Fruits of Reciting the Devi Mahatmyam

Sanskrit

सैव काले महामारी सैव सृष्टिर्भवत्यजा ।

स्थितिं करोति भूतानां सैव काले सनातनी ॥

Transliteration

saiva kāle mahāmārī saiva sṛṣṭir bhavaty ajā / sthitiṃ karoti bhūtānāṃ saiva kāle sanātanī

Translation

唯有她，在某一时刻化为大疫；唯有她化为创造——无生者。她维系众生之存在；而在另一时刻，唯有她，这位永恒者，亦如是施行。

Speakers

• Narrative voice within Devī Māhātmyam frame

Primary Deities

• Devī

Shakti Aspects

• ['Mahāmāyā/Devī as Sarga-Sthiti'
• 'Devī as disease-force (Mahāmārī)'
• 'Ajā (unborn)']

Key Themes

• Shaktism
• Theodicy
• Cosmic functions
• Sarga-Sthiti (and implied Pralaya)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The Purāṇa refuses a simplistic division of ‘good forces’ and ‘bad forces’: even calamity is within divine governance. Ethically, it encourages humility and resilience—responding to suffering with discernment rather than metaphysical blame.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Directly maps onto Sarga (creation) and Sthiti (maintenance), with Pralaya implied via time-conditioned transformations and destructive modalities like mahāmārī.

What is the esoteric significance?

Mahāmārī can symbolize the purgative force that breaks attachments; what appears as ‘ruin’ may function as a severe corrective within a larger rhythm of renewal.