Shloka 23
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Consolation to the King: Exempla of Rāma and the Efficacy of Allies (मार्कण्डेयाश्वासनम्)
ब्रह्माजी बोले--पुत्रो! मैं तुम सबपर प्रसन्न हूँ, वर माँगो और तपस्यासे निवृत्त हो जाओ। केवल अमरत्वको छोड़कर जिसकी जो-जो इच्छा हो, उसके अनुसार वह वर माँगे। उसका वह मनोरथ पूर्ण होगा ।। यद् यदग्नौ हुतं सर्व शिरस्ते महदीप्सया । तथैव तानि ते देहे भविष्यन्ति यथेप्सया
yad yad agnau hutaṁ sarvaṁ śiras te mahad-īpsayā | tathaiva tāni te dehe bhaviṣyanti yathepsayā ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: Brahmā declared that he was pleased and invited the ascetic to ask for boons—excluding only immortality. He then gave a specific assurance: whatever had been offered into the fire with intense resolve would return to the petitioner in embodied form, exactly as desired.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच