Adhyaya 117
In this adhyāya, Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a king (rājendra) and points him toward a highly meritorious pilgrimage place called Trilocana Tīrtha. It is praised as a puṇya tīrtha, a sacred locus where the Lord (Deveśa), revered by all the worlds, is present. The prescribed observance is simple: bathe at the tīrtha and then worship Śaṅkara (Śiva) with bhakti. The promised fruit is stated with certainty—one who dies after such worship attains Rudra’s abode, without doubt. The chapter further frames this reward in Purāṇic cosmology: after the end of a cosmic cycle (kalpa-kṣaya), the beneficiary is said to return, remain without separation in divine proximity, and be honored for a hundred years.
Shlokas
Verse 1
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेत्तु राजेन्द्र पुण्यं तीर्थं त्रिलोचनम् । तत्र तिष्ठति देवेशः सर्वलोकनमस्कृतः
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Then, O lord of kings, one should go to the holy tīrtha called Trilocana. There abides the Lord of the gods, revered and bowed to by all the worlds.”
Verse 2
तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा भक्त्यार्चयति शङ्करम् । रुद्रस्य भवनं याति मृतो नास्त्यत्र संशयः
“Whoever bathes at that tīrtha and, with devotion, worships Śaṅkara—upon dying he goes to Rudra’s abode; of this there is no doubt.”
Verse 3
कल्पक्षये ततः पूर्णे क्रीडित्वा च इहागतः । आवियोगेन तिष्ठेत पूज्यमानः शतं समाः
“When the end of the kalpa arrives and is fulfilled, having sported and delighted there, he returns here; and, without separation, he dwells for a hundred years, honored and revered.”
Verse 117
। अध्याय
End of the adhyāya: the sacred chapter colophon marker.