Adhyaya 128
This adhyāya is cast as Mārkaṇḍeya’s counsel to a royal listener, urging him to proceed to Bhṛkuṭeśvara, praised as an excellent tīrtha. The sanctity of the place is grounded in the austere life of the sage Bhṛgu—immensely powerful and severe—who undertook long tapas to obtain offspring. A boon is then granted by a deity hailed as “Andhakaghātin” (slayer of Andhaka), marking the tīrtha as under Śaiva divine agency. Specific rites and their fruits are taught: bathing at the tīrtha and worshipping Parameśvara yields eightfold the merit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice. One who seeks a child, if he ritually bathes (snāpayet) Bhṛkuṭeśa with ghee and honey, gains the desired son. The chapter further extols dāna: gifting gold to a brāhmaṇa—or alternatively cows and land—is declared equivalent to granting the entire earth with its seas, caves, mountains, forests, and groves. In closing, a social-cosmic logic of reward is affirmed: the donor enjoys heavenly pleasures and later attains high status on earth, as a king or a greatly honored brāhmaṇa, presenting an ethical economy of patronage and devotion tied to the sacred place.
Shlokas
Verse 1
मार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेत्तु राजेन्द्र भृकुटेश्वरमुत्तमम् । यत्र सिद्धो महाभागो भृगुः परमकोपनः
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Then, O lord of kings, one should go to the excellent Bhṛkuṭeśvara, where the greatly fortunate sage Bhṛgu—famed for fierce wrath—became perfected, a siddha.”
Verse 2
तेन वर्षशतं साग्रं तपश्चीर्णं पुरानघ । पुत्रार्थं वरयामास पुत्रं पुत्रवतां वरः
O sinless one, in former times he performed austerities for a full hundred years and more; desiring a son, that best among fathers sought the boon of a son.
Verse 3
वरो दत्तो महाभाग देवेनान्धकघातिना । तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा पूजयेत्परमेश्वरम्
O greatly fortunate one, the boon was granted by the god who slew Andhaka. And whoever, bathing at that sacred tīrtha, worships Parameśvara, the Supreme Lord…
Verse 4
अग्निष्टोमस्य यज्ञस्य फलमष्टगुणं लभेत् । भृकुटेशं तु यः कश्चिद्घृतेन मधुना सह
He would obtain eightfold the fruit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice. And whoever worships Bhṛkuṭeśa with ghee and with honey…
Verse 5
पुत्रार्थी स्नापयेद्भक्त्या स लभेत्पुत्रमीप्सितम् । तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा दद्याद्विप्राय काञ्चनम्
One who longs for a son should, with devotion, perform the ritual bathing (of Bhṛkuṭeśa); he attains the son he desires. And whoever, bathing at that tīrtha, gives gold to a brāhmaṇa…
Verse 6
गोदानं वा महीं वापि तस्य पुण्यफलं शृणु
Whether it be the gift of a cow, or even of land—hear now the meritorious fruit of that act.
Verse 7
ससमुद्रगुहा तेन सशैलवनकानना । दत्ता पृथ्वी न सन्देहस्तेन सर्वा नृपोत्तम
O best of kings, by him the entire earth was indeed given—together with its oceans and caves, with its mountains, forests, and groves; of this there is no doubt.
Verse 8
तेन दानेन स स्वर्गे क्रीडयित्वा यथासुखम् । मर्त्ये भवति राजेन्द्रो ब्राह्मणो वा सुपूजितः
By that gift he delights in heaven according to his pleasure; and upon returning to the mortal world, he becomes either a lord of kings or a highly honored brāhmaṇa.
Verse 128
। अध्याय
End of the chapter (adhyāya).