Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 4
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 pantas na may pambihirang haba ng buhay, at siya lamang ang nakaligtas sa pagtatapos ng isang araw ni Brahmā, nang ang buong sansinukob ay nalusaw sa baha ng paglipol. Ngunit ang mismong si Mārkaṇḍeya, ang pinakadakila sa lahi ni Bhṛgu, ay isinilang sa aming angkan sa kasalukuyang araw ni Brahmā, at hanggang ngayo’y wala pa kaming nakikitang ganap na pralaya sa araw na ito. Kilala rin na habang siya’y walang magawa at palutang-lutang sa dakilang karagatan ng paglipol, nakita niya sa nakapanghihilakbot na tubig ang isang kamangha-manghang Persona—isang sanggol na lalaki, nag-iisa, na nakahimlay sa tiklop ng isang dahon ng punong balete. O Sūta, labis akong nalilito at sabik na maunawaan ang dakilang pantas na si Mārkaṇḍeya. O dakilang yogī, kinikilala ka sa lahat ng Purāṇa bilang awtoridad; kaya pawiin mo ang aking 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
The “wondrous child” is the Supreme Lord (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa), revealing His transcendence: even when the universe is dissolved, He remains, and all creation rests within Him.
They are puzzled by the tradition that Mārkaṇḍeya survived the end-of-kalpa devastation, even though he is said to be born in the current age—so they request Sūta, an accepted Purāṇic authority, to resolve the apparent contradiction.
It directs the mind from changing circumstances to the unchanging Lord—cultivating faith that the Supreme is the stable refuge beyond worldly “floods” of uncertainty and time.