Shloka 11
प्रत्यक्ष हि त्वया दृष्ट ऋषिर्गच्छन् महातपा: । मार्कण्डेयोडप्रमेयात्मा धर्मेण चिरजीविता,तुमने अमेयात्मा महातपस्वी मार्कण्डेयजीको जो अभी यहाँसे गये हैं, प्रत्यक्ष देखा है। उन्हें धर्मपालनसे ही चिरजीविता प्राप्त हुई है
pratyakṣaṃ hi tvayā dṛṣṭa ṛṣir gacchan mahātapāḥ | mārkaṇḍeyo 'prameyātmā dharmeṇa cirajīvitā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “For you have indeed seen with your own eyes the great ascetic sage, Mārkaṇḍeya, as he departed from here—one whose inner nature is beyond measure. It is through steadfast adherence to dharma that he has attained long life.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links longevity and spiritual stature to dharma: sustained righteous conduct is presented as the cause of Mārkaṇḍeya’s extraordinary long life and revered status.
Yudhiṣṭhira points out that the listener has personally witnessed the great sage Mārkaṇḍeya departing; he uses this immediate observation to underscore Mārkaṇḍeya’s dharmic life and its fruit—long life.