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
Sinasabi ng mga kinikilalang awtoridad na si Ṛṣi Mārkaṇḍeya, anak ni Mṛkaṇḍu, ay isang pambihirang mahabang-buhay na pantas; sa wakas ng kalpa, nang lamunin ng baha ng pralaya ang buong sansinukob, siya lamang ang naiwan. Ngunit ang gayong Mārkaṇḍeya—ang pinakadakila sa lahi ni Bhṛgu—ay isinilang sa aming angkan sa kasalukuyang kalpa, at hanggang ngayon ay wala pa kaming nakikitang ganap na pagkalipol sa araw ni Brahmā na ito. Kilala rin na habang siya’y walang magawa at palutang-lutang sa dakilang karagatan ng pralaya, nakita niya sa nakapanghihilakbot na tubig ang isang kamangha-manghang Persona: isang sanggol na lalaki na nakahiga mag-isa sa tiklop ng dahon ng balete. O Sūta, dahil dito’y napakalaki ng aming pagdududa at pag-uusisa. O dakilang yogī, na kinikilalang awtoridad maging sa mga Purāṇa, pakiusap, pawiin mo ang aming pagkalito.
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.