Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 3
Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi Tested by Indra and Blessed by Nara-Nārāyaṇa
आहुश्चिरायुषमृषिं मृकण्डतनयं जना: । य: कल्पान्ते ह्युर्वरितो येन ग्रस्तमिदं जगत् ॥ २ ॥ स वा अस्मत्कुलोत्पन्न: कल्पेऽस्मिन् भार्गवर्षभ: । नैवाधुनापि भूतानां सम्प्लव: कोऽपि जायते ॥ ३ ॥ एक एवार्णवे भ्राम्यन् ददर्श पुरुषं किल । वटपत्रपुटे तोकं शयानं त्वेकमद्भुतम् ॥ ४ ॥ एष न: संशयो भूयान् सूत कौतूहलं यत: । तं नश्छिन्धि महायोगिन् पुराणेष्वपि सम्मत: ॥ ५ ॥
āhuś cirāyuṣam ṛṣiṁ mṛkaṇḍu-tanayaṁ janāḥ yaḥ kalpānte hy urvarito yena grastam idaṁ jagat
Para otoritas berkata bahawa Ṛṣi Mārkaṇḍeya, putra Mṛkaṇḍu, berusia amat panjang; pada akhir kalpa, ketika seluruh jagat ditelan banjir pralaya, hanya beliau yang tersisa. Namun Mārkaṇḍeya yang mulia, keturunan utama Bhṛgu itu, lahir dalam keluargaku pada kalpa sekarang, dan hingga kini kami belum menyaksikan pralaya menyeluruh pada hari Brahmā ini. Juga termasyhur bahwa ketika beliau mengembara tak berdaya di samudra pralaya, di air yang menggetarkan itu beliau melihat Pribadi yang menakjubkan: seorang bayi laki-laki terbaring sendirian di lipatan sehelai daun beringin. Wahai Sūta, karena inilah keraguanku dan rasa ingin tahuku begitu besar. Wahai mahāyogī, engkau diakui sebagai otoritas bahkan di antara Purāṇa; mohon lenyapkan kebingunganku.
Lord Brahmā’s day, consisting of his 12 hours, lasts 4 billion 320 million years, and his night is of the same duration. Apparently Mārkaṇḍeya lived throughout one such day and night and in the following day of Brahmā continued living as the same Mārkaṇḍeya. It seems that when annihilation occurred during Brahmā’s night, the sage wandered throughout the fearful waters of destruction and saw within those waters an extraordinary personality lying on a banyan leaf. All of these mysteries concerning Mārkaṇḍeya will be clarified by Sūta Gosvāmī at the request of the great sages.
FAQs
This verse distinguishes the present time from a total inundation of beings, implying that the extraordinary pralaya-experience being discussed is not an ordinary, ongoing worldly flood but a special cosmic event connected with Markandeya’s vision.
They emphasize Markandeya’s historical presence and credibility—he is a revered Bhargava sage known within their own tradition—making their curiosity about his pralaya vision more grounded and urgent.
It encourages perspective: worldly upheavals are not ultimate; time moves in vast cycles, so one should cultivate steady devotion and inner clarity rather than panic over changing external conditions.