Adhyaya 213
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya recounts a brief theological episode meant to praise a sacred site and impart ethical instruction. He introduces a “great deed” (caritaṃ mahat) of the Lord, declaring that merely hearing it frees one from all sins, thus setting a phalaśruti frame of promised spiritual fruit. Śambhu (Śiva) appears in the form of a child and plays with village boys using āmalaka fruits. The boys repeatedly throw the fruits; the deity instantly retrieves them and throws them back, extending the play in every direction, until the participants realize that the āmalaka is none other than Parameśvara. The chapter concludes by proclaiming Āmaleśvara as the supreme place among holy places, and asserts that worship there—even once—bestows attainment of the “highest state” (paramaṃ padam). In this way it binds a local shrine’s identity to the doctrine of divine immanence and to the salvific power of minimal yet sincere worship.
Shlokas
Verse 1
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । पुनरन्यत्प्रवक्ष्यामि देवस्य चरितं महत् । श्रुतमात्रेण येनैव सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: I shall again narrate another great deed of the Lord—by merely hearing which one is freed from all sins.
Verse 2
अबालो बालरूपेण ग्रामण्यैर्बालकैः सह । आमलैः क्रीडते शम्भुस्तत्ते वक्ष्यामि भारत
Though no child, Śambhu sports in a child’s form with the village boys, playing with āmalaka fruits. This I shall tell you, O Bhārata.
Verse 3
सर्वैस्तैरामलाः क्षिप्ता ये ते देवेन पाण्डव । आनीतास्तत्क्षणादेव ततः पश्चात्क्षिपेद्धरः
O Pāṇḍava, whatever āmalaka fruits all those boys threw, the Deva brought them back that very instant; only afterward would the thrower cast again.
Verse 4
यावद्गत्वा दिशो दिग्भ्य आगच्छन्ति पृथक्पृथक् । तावत्तमामलं भूतं पश्यन्ति परमेश्वरम्
So long as beings go forth toward the quarters and return again, each to their own direction, for that entire span they behold the Supreme Lord—spotless, stainless, and transcendent.
Verse 5
तृतीये चैव यत्कर्म देवदेवस्य धीमतः । स्थानानां परमं स्थानमामलेश्वरमुत्तमम्
And the deed performed on the third occasion by the wise Lord of gods—Āmaleśvara—is declared the supreme of holy abodes, the most excellent among all sacred stations.
Verse 6
तेन पूजितमात्रेण प्राप्यते परमं पदम्
By worshipping Him—even by that act alone—one attains the supreme state.