Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 34
Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi Tested by Indra and Blessed by Nara-Nārāyaṇa
तौ शुक्लकृष्णौ नवकञ्जलोचनौ चतुर्भुजौ रौरववल्कलाम्बरौ । पवित्रपाणी उपवीतकं त्रिवृत् कमण्डलुं दण्डमृजुं च वैणवम् ॥ ३३ ॥ पद्माक्षमालामुत जन्तुमार्जनं वेदं च साक्षात्तप एव रूपिणौ । तपत्तडिद्वर्णपिशङ्गरोचिषा प्रांशू दधानौ विबुधर्षभार्चितौ ॥ ३४ ॥
tau śukla-kṛṣṇau nava-kañja-locanau catur-bhujau raurava-valkalāmbarau pavitra-pāṇī upavītakaṁ tri-vṛt kamaṇḍaluṁ daṇḍam ṛjuṁ ca vaiṇavam
One was fair and the other dark, and both were four-armed, lotus-petaled in Their eyes, clad in raurava deerskin and bark garments, and adorned with the threefold sacred thread. In Their most purifying hands They bore the mendicant’s waterpot, a straight staff, the Vaiṣṇava emblem, lotus-seed prayer beads, a cleansing implement, and the Vedas symbolized as bundles of darbha grass; tall and majestic, They shone with a yellow radiance like lightning—asceticism personified—worshiped by the foremost celestial sages.
FAQs
This verse describes two divine figures—one fair and one dark—four-armed, lotus-eyed, and bearing sacred renunciant emblems (sacred thread, waterpot, staff), indicating a transcendental, authoritative presence.
The verse blends ascetic symbols (bark/deerskin, kamaṇḍalu, daṇḍa) with divine attributes (four arms, lotus eyes) to show that true spiritual authority can appear with the humility of renunciation yet possess unmistakable divinity.
It encourages reverence for purity and discipline (simplicity, sacred conduct) while remembering that the Divine can guide and protect through authentic spiritual principles and teachers.