Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 26

Mārkaṇḍeya’s Request to See Māyā and the Vision of the Cosmic Deluge

Devanagari script

तद्दर्शनाद् वीतपरिश्रमो मुदा प्रोत्फुल्ल‍हृत्पद्मविलोचनाम्बुज: । प्रहृष्टरोमाद्भ‍ुतभावशङ्कित: प्रष्टुं पुरस्तं प्रससार बालकम् ॥ २६ ॥

Transliteration

tad-darśanād vīta-pariśramo mudā protphulla-hṛt-padma-vilocanāmbujaḥ prahṛṣṭa-romādbhuta-bhāva-śaṅkitaḥ praṣṭuṁ puras taṁ prasasāra bālakam

Translation

Vừa nhìn thấy đứa trẻ, mọi mệt nhọc của Mārkaṇḍeya liền tan biến. Niềm hỷ lạc khiến hoa sen trong tim và hoa sen nơi đôi mắt ông nở rộ, lông tóc dựng lên vì xúc động. Bối rối trước thân phận của hài nhi kỳ diệu ấy, vị hiền triết tiến đến trước mặt để thưa hỏi.

Synonyms

• tat: from that
• tat: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); used as pronoun ‘that’

• darśanāt: from (the) sight
• darśanāt: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th), Singular; ‘from seeing/at the sight’

• vīta-pariśramaḥ: free from fatigue
• vīta-pariśramaḥ: Karta-anvaya (कर्ता-अन्वय; qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vīta (कृदन्त/भूतकृदन्त from √i/vi- ‘to go away’) + pariśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘pariśramaḥ vītaḥ yasya’ = ‘whose fatigue is gone’ (as adjective)

• mudā: with joy
• mudā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mudā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; adverbial use ‘with joy’

• protphulla-hṛt-padma-vilocana-ambujaḥ: whose heart-lotus and lotus-eyes were fully blossomed
• protphulla-hṛt-padma-vilocana-ambujaḥ: Karta-anvaya (कर्ता-अन्वय; qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: protphulla (कृदन्त/ppp from √phull ‘to bloom’, with pra+ut) + hṛt (प्रातिपदिक) + padma (प्रातिपदिक) + vilocana (प्रातिपदिक) + ambuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; multi-member tatpuruṣa: ‘protphullam hṛt-padmaṁ (heart-lotus) yasya’ and ‘vilocanāmbuje (lotus-eyes) yasya’—describing the subject

• prahṛṣṭa-romā: with hair bristling (in rapture)
• prahṛṣṭa-romā: Karta-anvaya (कर्ता-अन्वय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prahṛṣṭa (कृदन्त/ppp from √hṛṣ ‘to rejoice’, pra-) + roman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘prahṛṣṭāni romāṇi yasya’ (hair standing on end)

• adbhuta-bhāva-śaṅkitaḥ: startled by a wondrous feeling
• adbhuta-bhāva-śaṅkitaḥ: Karta-anvaya (कर्ता-अन्वय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adbhuta (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāva (प्रातिपदिक) + śaṅkita (कृदन्त/ppp from √śaṅk ‘to suspect/fear’)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘adbhuta-bhāveṇa śaṅkitaḥ’ = ‘astonished/suspicious due to wondrous feeling’

• praṣṭum: to ask
• praṣṭum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन; purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prach (धातु)
• Form: Infinitive (तुमुन्/तुम्), ‘to ask’

• puraḥ: in front
• puraḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण; locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puras (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb ‘in front/before’

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; pronoun ‘him’

• prasasāra: advanced
• prasasāra: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+√sṛ (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; ‘went forth/advanced’

• bālakam: the boy
• bālakam: Karta (कर्ता; implied subject in apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular; used appositionally with implied subject (the boy)

Purport

Mārkaṇḍeya wanted to ask the child about His identity and therefore approached Him.

Characters & Entities

• bālaka (the boy)
• the Lord (Bhagavān/Paramātmā)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say happens when a devotee gets darshan of the Lord?

This verse says that on seeing the Lord, exhaustion disappears and devotional ecstasies arise—joy, a blossoming heart, wide lotus-like eyes, and hairs standing on end—along with awe that impels the devotee to approach and inquire.

Why did the boy run forward to ask questions after seeing the Lord?

Because the Lord’s presence awakened intense wonder and devotion in him; his inner fatigue and hesitation fell away, and he naturally hastened forward to seek understanding directly from the divine person before him.

How can I apply this shloka in modern life as a bhakti practice?

Seek “darśana” through steady hearing and remembrance—especially Śrīmad Bhāgavatam śravaṇam—so the heart becomes softened and energized; then approach spiritual life with sincere inquiry (praśna) rather than doubt or distraction.