Shloka 22
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Consolation to the King: Exempla of Rāma and the Efficacy of Allies (मार्कण्डेयाश्वासनम्)
ब्रह्मोवाच प्रीतो5स्मि वो निवर्तध्वं वरान् वृणुत पुत्रका: । यद् यदिष्टमृते त्वेकममरत्वं तथास्तु तत्
brahmovāca prīto 'smi vo nivartadhvaṃ varān vṛṇuta putrakāḥ | yad yad iṣṭam ṛte tv ekam amaratvaṃ tathāstu tat ||
Brahmā said: “I am pleased with you. Now cease your austerities and return; choose your boons, dear sons. Whatever you desire shall be granted—except for one thing: immortality. That shall not be.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even divine favor has principled limits: extraordinary rewards may be granted for austerity and virtue, but immortality is withheld, underscoring the cosmic order in which embodied beings remain subject to death.
Brahmā appears, expresses satisfaction with the recipients’ conduct (typically austerity or devotion), instructs them to stop and return, and offers them boons—explicitly excluding the boon of immortality.