Mārkaṇḍeya’s Request to See Māyā and the Vision of the Cosmic Deluge
खं रोदसी भागणानद्रिसागरान् द्वीपान् सवर्षान् ककुभ: सुरासुरान् । वनानि देशान् सरित: पुराकरान् खेटान् व्रजानाश्रमवर्णवृत्तय: ॥ २८ ॥ महान्ति भूतान्यथ भौतिकान्यसौ कालं च नानायुगकल्पकल्पनम् । यत् किञ्चिदन्यद् व्यवहारकारणं ददर्श विश्वं सदिवावभासितम् ॥ २९ ॥
khaṁ rodasī bhā-gaṇān adri-sāgarān dvīpān sa-varṣān kakubhaḥ surāsurān vanāni deśān saritaḥ purākarān kheṭān vrajān āśrama-varṇa-vṛttayaḥ
圣者看见整个宇宙:虚空、天与地、星辰、群山与大海、巨岛与大陆、四方无边的疆域,以及诸天与阿修罗等众生。又见森林、国土、江河、城邑与矿藏,农耕村落与牧牛之地,并见诸种姓与诸住期(varṇa-āśrama)之职业与修行。亦见构成万有的五大元素及其一切衍生物,并见“时间”本身——它在梵天之日中调御无量劫与诸时代(yuga)的推移。除此之外,为世间生活之用而造的一切也尽现眼前,仿佛皆真实无虚。
This verse lists the visible and subtle components of the cosmos—sky, worlds, stars, mountains, oceans, continents, directions, devas and asuras, lands, rivers, cities, and social orders—showing the universe as an ordered manifestation perceived within a divine vision.
To present the entire range of existence—celestial, terrestrial, and societal—as one comprehensive field of manifestation, emphasizing that all categories of beings and places are included within the Lord’s all-pervading arrangement.
Seeing life as part of a vast, ordered creation can reduce ego-centered anxiety and increase humility, responsibility (dharma), and devotion—using one’s role and duties as a means to remember the Supreme.