Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 61, Shloka 1
Adhyaya 61 — The Second Manvantara Begins: The Brahmin’s Swift Journey and Varuthini’s Temptation on Himavat
कrauष्टुकिरुवाच
कथितं भवता सम्यग् यत् पृष्टोऽसि महामुने ।
भूसमुद्रादिसंस्थानं प्रमाणानि तथा ग्रहाः ॥
krauṣṭukir uvāca
kathitaṃ bhavatā samyag yat pṛṣṭo 'si mahāmune |
bhū-samudrādi-saṃsthānaṃ pramāṇāni tathā grahāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Krauṣṭuki: O dakilang pantas, wasto mong inilarawan ang itinatanong—ang kaayusan ng daigdig, ng mga karagatan at iba pa, ang kanilang mga sukat, at gayundin ang mga planeta.
FAQs
The verse models śāstric learning: first establish the cosmic setting (space, measures, luminaries), then proceed to time-cycles (manvantaras). Right order of inquiry is itself a discipline.
It bridges 'Sthāna' (cosmic arrangement) to 'Manvantara' (time-periods ruled by Manus), signaling a shift in Purāṇic scope.
Outer cosmography functions as a scaffold: understanding ordered cosmos prepares the mind to grasp ordered time (cycles), implying a correspondence between spatial and temporal dharma.