Markandeya says- ‘During this Swarochish Manavantar, Indra was famously known as Vipaschit. The other deities were known as Paravat and Tushit. The names of the Saptarishis who lived during this Manavantar were Urja, Stamb, Pran, Dutt, Ali, Rishabh, Nischar and Arvaveera. Swarochish Manu had seven sons who were very mighty…
Markandeya says- ‘Swarochi became very sad after hearing the deer’s utterances. He realised how lowly and mean he had become. He decided to renounce life after abandoning his wives. But this did not happen because as soon as he met them, he forgot everything about renunciation. He continued to live…
Markandeya says- After getting married, Swarochi started living happily along with all his three wives at Malaya Mountain. One day, impressed by the mutual love, Swarochi and his wives had for each other, a female ruddy goose told another one- ‘Very rarely are found such couples who have love for each…
Markandeya says- ‘After getting cured from their respective diseases, both the companions of Manorama expressed their gratitude to Swarochi. Swarochi married both Vibhavari as well as Kalavati. To show her gratitude, Vibhavari taught Swarochi, a special art that helped him to understand the language of all the living creatures. Kalavati…
Markandeya says- ‘Agni became pleased by the Brahmin’s devotion. Agni entered into his body. The Brahmin’s body illuminated due to Agni’s radiance. When Varudhini saw this, she was fascinated by the Brahmin’s appearance. The Brahmin proceeded towards his home. Feeling helpless, Varudhini cursed her fate.’ Varudhini had once insulted a…
Kraustuki asked Markandeya- ‘O great sage! Now tell me something about Swarochish Manavantar?’ Markandeya replied- ‘Once upon a time, there lived a Brahmin at the bank of river Varuna. One day, a guest arrived at his place. The Brahmin treated his guest with due respect. After formal introduction, the Brahmin…
Markandeya says- ‘The people residing in KimPurusha Varsh enjoy a long life. They live for 10,000 years. They are never bothered by any kind of disease or sorrow. Just behind Kimpurusha Varsh is situated Hari Varsh. The residents of Hari Varsh enjoy an eternally youthful life because of the sugarcane…
Markandeya says- ‘Bhadrashva Varsh is situated towards the east of the great mountain Devakut. Five more mountains are situated within its area- Kauranj, Shwetaparna, Neela, Shaiwal and Parnashalagra. Bhadrashva consists of thousands of Janpadas. Numerous rivers like Sita, Shankhavali, Bhadra and Chakravarta flows there. People living in Bhadrashva Varsh are…
Kraustuki asked Markandeya- ‘O lord! How does Sri Hari live in the form of a tortoise?’ Markandeya replied- ‘Sri Hari in the form of a tortoise sits facing east. States situated in the central portion of his body are Vedi, Madra, Mandavya, Shalva, Khasa, Saraswat, Matsya etc. States which are…
Kraustuki asked Markandeya- ‘O lord! Please describe about Bharatavarsha.’ Markandeya replied- ‘Bharatavarsha is surrounded by oceans on all its three sides. People living towards the east of Bharatavarsha are known as Kirat while people living towards the west are called Yavan. The central part of Bharatavarsha is inhabited by all…
Markandeya says- ‘River Ganga originates from a place named Dhruvadhar. This particular place is related with Narayana. River Ganga, then falls on the Sumeru Mountain and gets distributed into four main streams. One of these streams flows towards Chaitrartha forest. The name of this particular stream is Sita. The same…
Markandeya says that the total area of Jambudweep comprises of one lakh Yojan while the area of Plakshdweep is twice the area of Jambudweep i.e. two lakh Yojans. Similarly, Shalmali is twice the area of Plaksh while Kusha is twice the area of Shalmali. The area of Kraunchdweep is twice…
Markandeya says- ‘Swayambhuva Manu had ten sons. He had divided the whole earth into seven continents. In the beginning of Treta Yuga, the sons of Priyavrata had done the same. Prajavati- the daughter of Kardam Prajapati had ten sons and two daughters from Priyavrata. Names of these ten sons were-…
Markandeya says- ‘Now I am going to tell you about Rudrasarga. One of the eight sons of Brahma started wailing after being created from his (Brahma) body. Brahma asked him as to why he was crying. The crying child requested Brahma to give him a name. Brahma named him as…
Markandeya says- ‘Nirmashti, the wife of Duhsah was the daughter of Yama. Altogether sixteen children were born to Duhsah and Nirmashti. Out of them eight were sons and the remaining eight were daughters. The name of the sons were- Dantakrishti, Tathokti, Parivarta, Angadhruka, Shakuni, Ganda, Pranrati, Garbhaha and Sasyaha while…
Markandeya says- ‘Brahma on seeing that inspite of all his creations the population was not increasing, he decided to create his Manasputras. These Manasputras were created merely by his wish. Their names were Bhrigu, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Angira, Marichi, Daksha, Atri and Vashishta. After this, he first created the ferocious…
Markandeya says- Brahma created one thousand couples from his mouth in the beginning of creation. These couples were radiant and possessed virtuous qualities (Satvik). Once again, Brahma created one thousand couples from his chest but this time they possessed the quality of Rajas. This phenomenon was repeated for the second…
Kraustuki then asked Markandeya about the origin of the deities. Markandeya replied- ‘With the objective of creating the deities, demons, ancestors and human beings, Brahma abandoned the part of his physical body in the ocean. The demons originated from the thighs of his abandoned body. Lord Brahma blessed the demons…
Kraustuki asked curiously- ‘Tell me how Brahma did his creations?’ Markandeya replied- ‘When Brahma got up from his sleep after the end of dissolution (Pralaya) named Padram, he found a void all around himself. He remembered Narayana who is also known by the name of Nastanu i.e. one who dwells…
Kraustuki said- ‘Tell me! O lord! How were the living beings created as the period of final annihilation was approaching its end.’ Markandeya replied- ‘When the nature establishes herself in the soul of the Purusha (supreme Almighty), all the created matter gets annihilated. Prakriti and Purusha are established in the…
Jaimini thanked the birds for enlightening him with self-knowledge. But he was still not satisfied. There were many questions to which he had no answers. He asked the birds- ‘How did this universe come into being? What will happen to it during the time of final annihilation? How did the deities,…
If the mention of the word Siva (auspicious) in the Vedas is considered to refer to Lord Siva, Siva spans all periods of Hindu mythology. No matter when he enters Hindu mythology, Siva is among the two or three most important gods— either as one of the later Hindu Triad,…
Sage Jaimini reached Vindhyachal and arrived before the birds as per Markandeya’s instructions. He said- ‘O birds! I am Jaimini, the disciple of Veda Vyasa. I have come here with a desire to have your glimpse.’ The birds welcomed him saying- ‘It is our great fortune that you have arrived…
Markandeya says – ‘In the lineage of the avian King Garuda, there were two brothers- Kank and Kandhar. One day, Kank visited Kailash Parbat where a demon Vidrayudrup, who was a slave of Kubera, was enjoying privacy with his wife and drinking wine. Seeing Kank, the demon showed his displeasure…
Once Jaimini, a disciple of sage Veda Vyasa expressed his curiosity before Markandeya- ‘O Lord! In the great epic Mahabharata, which was created by Veda Vyasa, description of Dharma, Arth, Kama and Moksha appears to be intertwined at times and at other times, it appears to be separate from one…
Markandeya had a miraculous birth and would never grow older than sixteen years old. His father was the sage Mrikandu, whose worship pleased Siva. Appearing with a boon, Siiva asked Mrikandu whether he wanted a son who Markandeya was destined to die at sixteen but Siva saved his devotee from…
Sage Markandeya then goes on to describe about the splendours of Sthanu Tirtha- Surya was Manu’s father. Vena was Manu’s grandson. He was wicked and always criticised the Vedas. Being displeased by his irreligious son, Vena’s father left for the forest to do penance where he attained salvation. In…
The sages requested Lomaharshan to reveal about river Saraswati’s origin, which flowed in Kurukshetra. Lomaharshan said- “Saraswati originates from Pakad tree (Indian fig tree). She enters Dwaitvan after passing through numerous mountains. While describing about her majesty, sage Markandeya felt that Saraswati was the source from, which everything originated-…
In this late myth in the Padma Purana, Kubera, god of wealth, is portrayed as a devotionalist (bhakta). He had a wonderful garden with beautiful flowers that he used in temple worship each day. One day his gardener, Hemamali, came back from a visit to the lake of the gods,…
Describing the types of Brahmin considered to be elligible to preside over the rituals of shradha, Markandeya told sage Gaurmukh- “The following types of brahmin are can perform shradha- trinachiket, trimadhu, trisuparna and the brahmins who are well versed in all the Vedas. The shradha rituals can be performed by…
Once sage Markandeya arrived at Naimisharanya to see sage Gaurmukh. Sage Gaurmukh was delighted to find such an enlightened soul at his hermitage. After the formalities were over, Gaurmukh requested him to shed light on the venerability of ancestors and the significance of shradha rituals. Sage Markandeya replied- “Lord Brahma,…
Once, Sutji recounted the following tale to the assembled sages, which had been originally told by sage Markandeya to Kraunchki long ago– ‘Once, Sage Ruchi became so disenchanted with the world that he decided to remain a bachelor, a decision which made his ‘Pitras'(ancestors) extremely worried. They tried to change…
Lomaharshana now gave the sages a list of the eighteen mahapuranas. In the beginning, there was only one Purana. The sage Vedavyasa divided this original Purana into eighteen mahapuranas. The mahapuranas have four lakh shlokas all together and their names are as follows. (i) The Brahma Purana: This was originally…
Once, while describing the origin of Puranas, Sutji told the sages who had assembled at Naimisharanya–‘Lord Shiva had first revealed the contents of Skanda Purana to Parvati at Kailash Mountain. Lord Brahma and few other deities were also present there at the time when Shiva was narrating the tale. Subsequently,…
Sutji once narrated the following tale to the assembled sages- In ancient times there lived a mighty king named Trishanku. He belonged to Suryavanshi dynasty. One day, he asked Sage Vashishtha whether there was any such Yagya by performing which, he would be entitled to go to heaven with his…
Yudhisthira requested Markandeya to describe what a sinner had to go through in Yamaloka and also that what kind of a person should be considered as the most ghastly sinner. Markandeya replied: ‘Donating food to needy people is an extremely virtuous deed and there is no virtuous deed greater than…
Markandeya told Yudhisthira– ‘Sage Jamdagni was a great devotee of Shiva and he lived in Narmadapur. He spent his day chanting mantras in the praise of Lord Shiva. Once, he performed an austere penance, which lasted for a month. Ultimately, Shiva manifested himself from the Siddheshwar Linga and appeared before…
Markandeya said–‘Manu ruled over Ayodhya during Swayambhuva manvantar. One day, while he was going to sleep, he heard a peculiar sound, as if numerous small bells were ringing. He was perplexed and could not ascertain the cause of that sound so he asked sage Vashishtha about this. Sage Vashishtha made…
Markandeya said–‘O Yudhisthira! King Purutkutsu was Samudra in his previous birth and had been cursed by Brahma. The descent of Narmada on earth made the deities extremely delighted and they requested Narmada to give them the privilege of experiencing her divine touch. But, Narmada refused to give them that privilege…
Explaining the reason why Narmada had to descend down to earth, Sutji narrated a tale to the assembled sages– ‘Once, Sage Markandeya was taking rest at the bank of river Narmada where Yudhisthira accompanied by Draupadi arrived there. Yudhisthira curiously asked Markandeya about the reason he had chosen the bank…
Once, Sage Shaunak asked Sutji about the means, which enabled human beings to attain salvation in Kali yuga. Sutji recounted a tale — ‘Once, Kartikeya had posed the same question to Lord Shiva. Emphasizing on the importance of pilgrimages, Lord Shiva had told him that in Kali yuga anybody could…
Lord Brahma soon after reaching Purushottam kshetra sat down and started meditating. He was so engrossed in his meditation that he remained in that state for a very long time. This resulted into total chaos as Yamaraj found that his power of causing death had no effect on people living…
Sutji then narrated the tale of Lord Varaha to the sages, which he had heard from Sage Vyasa— Once, while Narada was wandering about, he reached Meru mountain where he saw the abode of Lord Brahma. He also saw a giant sized entity, just next to Brahma’s abode. The person…
Narrating about the life of Sage Veda Vyasa, Suta said to the sages- “Once while sage Parashar was on his pilgrimage, he arrived at the bank of Yamuna. Satyavati, who emitted the smell of fish, helped him cross the river. Sage Parashar was very pleased with her. He transformed the…
Narada says: “O great sage! Why did Lord Vishnu appear as the son of Mrikandu? What did He do as his son? The Puranas say that during the Pralaya, Markandeya had witnessed the direct appearance of Lord Vishnu’s illusion. Kindly narrate these things in detail.” Sanatkumar says: “Listen O Devarshi!…
Sanatkumar says: O sage! Faith has the greatest significance. Achievement of everything and appeasement of Lord Vishnu depend upon the faith. Nothing is attainable without faith. Such as a human being faces inertia in the absence of life and is rendered motionless. Similarly, faith is like a spiritual light without…
The sages requested Lomaharshana, ―Please tell us how the sacred Vedas came to be divided.‖ Lomaharshana recounted the following story. When dvapara yuga arrived, Brahma noticed that people were becoming evil and were no longer paying sufficient attention to the Vedas. They were gradually deviating from the righteous path. Brahama…
You will remember that Shiva had granted Brahma the boon that he would be born as Brahma‘s son. To ensure that this indeed happened Brahma began to perform very difficult tapasya (meditation). But despite all this meditation, nothing happened. This failure greatly angered Brahma and he started to cry. As…
Describing the origin of this stotra, Sutji said– ‘Lord Vishnu himself had taught this powerful stotra to Sage Markandeya. The daily chanting of this powerful mantra had enabled Markandeya to conquer death. One who daily chants this stotra thrice a day enjoys a long life and never dies a premature…
Sage Jaimini, a disciple of Veda Vyasa, effected branches of Samaveda. Sage Jaimini had a son, Sumantu. Sumantu in turn had a son, Sukarma. Both of them studied a branch of Samaveda each. Sukarma divided his branch of Samaveda into sub-branches and taught them to his two disciples- Kaushalya Hiranyanabh…