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
诸权威说：摩利坎杜之子马尔坎德耶圣者寿命极长；在劫末毁灭之洪水中，宇宙尽被吞没时，唯他一人存留。然而这位婆利古族中最胜的马尔坎德耶，却又在现今梵天之日的此劫中生于我族，而至今我们并未见到此劫有任何全面毁灭。又众所周知：他在毁灭的大海中无助漂泊时，于可怖之水里见到一位奇妙的人格——一名婴孩独自卧于榕叶的褶中。噢，苏多啊，因此我疑惑深重、好奇难抑。大瑜伽行者啊，你被公认为诸《往世书》之权威，愿你为我断除迷惘。
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.