Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 30
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Request to See Māyā and the Vision of the Cosmic Deluge
हिमालयं पुष्पवहां च तां नदीं निजाश्रमं यत्र ऋषी अपश्यत । विश्वं विपश्यञ्छ्वसिताच्छिशोर्वै बहिर्निरस्तो न्यपतल्लयाब्धौ ॥ ३० ॥
himālayaṁ puṣpavahāṁ ca tāṁ nadīṁ nijāśramaṁ yatra ṛṣī apaśyata viśvaṁ vipaśyañ chvasitāc chiśor vai bahir nirasto nyapatal layābdhau
他看见了喜马拉雅山、普什帕跋陀罗河，以及自己的道场——昔日他曾在此得见那罗与那罗延二圣仙。随后，马尔坎德耶正观照整个宇宙之时，那婴孩一口气息将他从体内呼出，抛回到劫灭的汪洋之中。
FAQs
This verse depicts the overwhelming inundation of dissolution (layābdhi), showing how the universe can be withdrawn by the Lord’s inconceivable potency, beyond ordinary perception and control.
In the narrative, Mārkaṇḍeya witnesses a wondrous infant whose mere exhalation casts him outward—revealing the Supreme Lord’s immeasurable power and the tiny position of even great sages before divine līlā.
It cultivates humility: even vast experiences and achievements are fragile before time and the Lord’s will, so one should seek steadiness through bhakti and remembrance of the Supreme.