The Markandeya Purana

by Bibek Debroy

  Chapter 22

  ‘The son said, “After they had eaten, the lord of the hooded ones was worshipped by his two sons and the son of the lord of the earth. With his charming words, the serpent cheerfully generated affection in the friend of his two sons. He said, ‘O fortunate one! Tell me. Is everything well in the house you have come from? You should tell me without any doubt, like a son does to his father. Listen to my words. Everything that belongs to me, gold, silver, garments, mounts and seats, anything that is difficult to get, belongs to you.’ Kuvalayashva replied, ‘O illustrious one! Through your favours, there is gold in my father’s house. There is nothing of this nature that I lack. My father has ruled the earth for one thousand years, just as you rule Patala. Nevertheless, my mind does not hanker after any of this. If a father is alive, that is great fortune and such people have performed extremely auspicious deeds. For such people, a crore of coins is like a blade of grass. A crore of coins is equivalent to youth. I have virtuous friends who are just like me. We have no ailments of the body or the mind. The wealth is with my father and I have youth. What don’t I possess? When men are attracted towards what is false, their minds turn towards asking. I desire nothing. Why should my tongue utter anything other than the truth? Those who are covered with the shade offered by their fathers’ arms are happy and need not worry about whether wealth exists at home or not. But there are those who, since childhood, have been deprived of a father, even though they may have a family. I think that the creator has made them deviate from the path of happiness. Therefore, devoted to our fathers, we always distribute from the store of riches, jewels and other things to those who desire them. Since the jewel on the crest of my diadem has touched your feet, I have got everything.’ Addressed in these words, the excellent serpent spoke lovingly to the prince who had been a benefactor to his sons. ‘If you do not desire jewels or gold, if there is anything else that would please your heart, tell me about it. I will give it to you.’ Kuvalayashva replied, ‘O illustrious one! Through your favours, everything that I wish for exists in my house. In particular, I have now been able to see you. Therefore, I have achieved my purpose and my life has been successful. Despite being human, I have been able to touch the limbs of a divinity like you. The dust from your feet has touched my head. O lord of the nagas! What have I not been able to obtain? However, if you still wish to bestow the boon that my heart wants, let it be such that my mind does not withdraw from the performance of auspicious deeds. Gold, jewels, gems, mounts, homes, seats, women, food, drink, sons, beautiful garlands and unguents and all the objects of pleasure like singing and musical instruments—in my view, all of these are the fruits of the tree of auspicious deeds. Therefore, a man must be attached to auspicious deeds and, controlling himself, make efforts to sprinkle those roots. Nothing will then be impossible to get.’ Ashvatara said, ‘O wise one! Your intelligence is devoted to dharma. It shall be that way. You have spoken the truth. All of these are the fruits of dharma. However, you have now come to my house and you must accept something that is impossible for those in the world of humans to obtain.’ Hearing these words, the prince glanced towards the faces of the sons of the lord of the nagas.

  ‘“Those two brave ones bowed down before their father and clearly communicated everything in the prince’s mind. ‘O father! Deceived by an evil-souled one and hearing about her beloved’s death, his beloved wife gave up her life. The evil-minded danava did this because of his enmity. She was the daughter of the king of the gandharvas and her name was Madalasa. O father! This grateful one made a pledge that having been separated from Madalasa, he would not have another wife. The valiant Ritadhvaja wishes to see the one who was beautiful in her limbs. O father! If you can do what he desires, that will be a service.’ Ashvatara replied, ‘When the elements of a body have been decomposed, how can they be brought back and shown? That can only happen in a dream, or in Shambara’s maya.’ 344 Shatrujit’s son, full of love and embarrassment, bowed down before the great-souled lord of the nagas and said, ‘O father! Even if you can show me a Madalasa fashioned out of maya, I will regard that as a great favour.’ Ashvatara replied, ‘O child! In that case, behold the maya you wish to see. Though you are a child, since you have come to my house, you are like my senior.’ 345 Madalasa had been hidden in his house and the Indra of the nagas had her brought there and showed the prince the auspicious lady, having chanted some words to confuse them. ‘O prince! Is this your wife, Madalasa, or is she not?’ On seeing the slender-limbed one, he instantly lost all sense of shame. Exclaiming ‘My love,’ he rushed towards her. But the naga Ashvatara immediately restrained him. Ashvatara said, ‘O son! I have already told you. She is fashioned out of maya. Do not touch her. Since she is fashioned out of maya, she will vanish the moment she is touched.’ At this, he exclaimed, ‘Alas, my love!’ and fell down on the ground, unconscious. He thought of the beautiful lady. ‘Is this a delusion or is this something else? She must be mine. Using weapons, the enemies could not bring me down in battle, but such is the pull that I have been brought down. Have I really been shown something fashioned out of maya, or is this a combination of air, water, fire, earth and space?’ 346 Comforting Kuvalayashva, the serpent told him everything about how she had been brought back from the world of the dead. Delighted at having got his beloved back, he bowed down before the naga. As soon as he thought of his horse, it arrived. Honoured by them, he ascended it and taking her with him, returned to his own city.

  ‘“Filled with devotion, if a man continuously listens to this account, he obtains the fruits of chanting the Vedas, something that is very difficult to obtain on earth. He always obtains happiness and everything that he desires. There is nothing that is impossible for him to obtain in the world.”’

  Chapter 23

  ‘The son said, “Having returned to his own city, he told his father everything about how he had got the slender-limbed one back from the world of the dead. The auspicious one prostrated herself at the feet of her father-in-law and mother-in-law. As used to be the case earlier, depending on the norms and the age, she worshipped, honoured and embraced her relatives. In the city, the citizens engaged in great festivities. For a very long time, Ritadhvaja enjoyed himself with the slender-waisted one, in waterfalls, mountains, the banks of rivers, gardens, beautiful forests and groves. Desiring to exhaust her store of good deeds, she too enjoyed herself with him in those beautiful spots.

  ‘“After a long period of time, King Shatrujit, having ruled the earth properly, followed the dharma of time. 347 The citizens instated his son Ritadhvaja, who was generous in his conduct and deeds, as the king. He ruled over the subjects properly, as if they were his own sons. Madalasa gave birth to her first son and his intelligent father named him Vikranta. The servants were delighted at this, but Madalasa laughed.

  ‘“Once, the infant son was lying down on Madalasa’s lap, weeping in indistinct tones. To soothe him, she said, ‘O child! You are pure and you have no name. That has only been thought of now. You are not this body, consisting of the five elements. It does not belong to you. Why are you weeping? Or perhaps you are weeping because of your birth. Despite being pure, you have been born on earth, created out of many elements with qualities and devoid of qualities, with all the senses. In this world, a man is born weak. Created from the elements and nourished by the elements, he grows, with food, water and other things. But what belongs to you? What grows and what declines? This body is only a covering. When it is shattered, you will still remain. Do not be so foolish as to get attached to it. Because of good and bad deeds and because of delusion caused by insolence, you have been tied down to the bonds of this body. The father, the son, the mother and the beloved amount to nothing. “This is mine. This is not mine.” Do not get entangled in this aggregation of elements. Those who are confused in their intelligence think that greater unhappiness is the antidote to unhappiness and that objects of pleasure can give rise to happiness. Learned ones, not confused in their intelligence, know that this pursuit of h
appiness gives rise to greater misery. When a woman laughs, her bones 348 can be seen. Her shining eyes reveal the impurities of the marrow. Her breasts are only a mass of flesh and so are her genital organs. She is hell personified. The earth is like a vehicle and the body is on that vehicle. But there is a different being 349 in the form of the body. One has an excessive sense of ownership towards the body. However, one is so deluded that one does not have a sense of ownership towards the earth. 350 Give up both dharma and adharma, notions of truth and falsehood. 351 Having cast aside both truth and falsehood, cast aside what really needs to be cast aside.’ Thus instructed by the king’s wife, as the days passed, the son grew up. Since he had been soothed in that way, he developed a sparkling understanding about the atman. He obtained his strength and his intelligence from his father. In a similar way, because of his mother’s words, he developed an understanding about the atman. Having developed this understanding since birth, the son became wise. He had no sense of ‘mine’ and his mind turned away from garhasthya. A second son was born and his father addressed him by the name of Subahu. Madalasa laughed again. As was the case earlier, she soothed the child again. As she spoke to the child, the immensely intelligent one also developed understanding. When the third son was born, the king addressed him as Shatrumardana. The one with the excellent eyebrows again laughed for a very long time. As before, the slender-limbed one developed the child’s understanding. Therefore, he was without desire and did not pursue anything that would yield fruits. When the fourth son was born, the king wished to give him a name. He saw that Madalasa, who was auspicious in her deeds, was laughing.

  ‘“Since she was laughing, the king was filled with great curiosity. He said, ‘Whenever I wished to give a name, you laughed. Tell me the reason for this. I think that the names I gave, Vikranta, Subahu and Shatrumardana, were good ones. Since they indicate valour and pride, they are appropriate names for kshatriyas. 352 O fortunate one! If you think those weren’t appropriate names, then you give a name to the fourth son.’ Madalasa replied, ‘O great king! I must certainly do what you have commanded me to. I will therefore name your fourth son. This one will know about dharma and he will be famous in the world by the name of Alarka. Your youngest son will be intelligent.’ The lord of the earth heard the name the mother had thought for their son. He laughed and said, ‘O auspicious one! The name you have thought for my son is meaningless. 353 O Madalasa! What is the point of giving such a meaningless name?’ Madalasa replied, ‘O great king! Conferring a name is no more than customary practice. O lord of the earth! Listen. The names you have given also have no meaning. Wise people say that the atman pervades everything. The word “kranti” signifies that a person is going from one place to another place. But the atman that is in the body is everywhere and does not go. Therefore, in my view, a name like Vikranta is meaningless. 354 O lord of the earth! You gave your son the name of Subahu. 355 However, since the atman is without a form, this is meaningless. You gave your third son the name of Arimardana. 356 But I think this is also meaningless. Listen to the reason. It is the same atman that exists in all bodies. O king! That being the case, who is an enemy and who is a friend? Elements are crushed by elements. How can something that has no form be crushed? It is the concept of differentiation that leads to anger and such sentiments. It is only because of customary practice that such names are thought of. In that case, why are you of the view that the name Alarka alone is meaningless?’ Thus addressed, the lord of the earth agreed that what his immensely intelligent and beloved queen had spoken was the truth. To generate understanding in him, the one with the excellent eyebrows started to speak to her son exactly as she had done earlier. The king told her, ‘O foolish one! What are you doing? Why are you influencing my child’s beliefs? You are conferring a wicked understanding on him, just as you had done with my earlier sons. If you wish to bring me pleasure, please favour me by acting in accordance with my words. Engage this son in the path of pravritti. 357 O queen! Do not make him deviate from the path of action. O virtuous one! There should not be nivritti from offering pindas to the ancestors. Depending on what is done, auspicious and inauspicious deeds, the ancestors go to the world of the gods, descend downwards, become humans, or are born as other kinds of species. They may suffer from hunger and thirst and can be weakened. That is the reason men engage in action and offer them pindas and water. O one with the excellent eyebrows! That is the reason they always tend to gods and guests too. Men provide sustenance to gods, humans, ancestors, pretas, bhutas, guhyakas, birds, worms and insects. 358 O slender-limbed one! Therefore, instruct my son, who has been born as a kshatriya, about action that will bring him benefit in this world and in the next.’

  ‘“At this, the virtuous and beautiful lady, Madalasa, soothed the son named Alarka and taught him accordingly. ‘O son! Grow and delight my husband’s mind with your action. Protect properly, so that you can enjoy fruits in this world and in the next. Do good deeds to friends and destroy those who are evil-hearted. O son! You are blessed. Bereft of enemies, you will rule over the earth for a long period of time. Protect and enjoy. As the fruit of dharma, you will obtain immortality. On festive occasions, satisfy those who are immortals on earth. 359 Satisfy the wishes of your relatives. Turn your heart towards doing good to others. Withdraw your mind from the wives of other men. Always meditate on Murari in your heart. 360 Conquer the six enemies. 361 Do not think about what is transient and use your understanding to counter delusion. Conquer kings and accumulate wealth, spending this wealth on earning fame. Be scared of hearing others being criticized. Rescue people who are immersed in an ocean of calamities. Please the gods with many sacrifices, and brahmanas who seek refuge with you with food. Satisfy women with unmatched objects of desire. O brave one! For a long period of time, satisfy enemies with battles. O child! When you are a child, delight the minds of your relatives and follow the commands of your seniors. When you are young, delight women who are ornaments of good lineages. O child! When you are old, delight the forest dwellers who live in the forest. Rule over the kingdom and delight your well-wishers. O son! Protect the virtuous and perform sacrifices and rites. O child! For the sake of cattle and brahmanas, slay wicked enemies in battles, facing death in this way.’”’

  Chapter 24

  ‘The son said, “From one day to another day, the child Alarka was soothed by his mother in this way and he grew in age and intelligence. When he became a kumara, 362 and the sacred thread ceremony had been performed, Ritadhvaja’s wise son prostrated himself before his mother and said, ‘O mother! I am humbly bowing down before you. Tell me everything that I should do for happiness in this world and in the next one. What should I do for myself? What should I do for dharma? What is beneficial for the subjects? What is best for keeping all the subjects happy?’

  ‘“Madalasa replied, ‘O child! Having been instated in the kingdom, one must rule over the earth and perform all the tasks that delight subjects, as long as they do not conflict with one’s own dharma. Since they strike at the roots of truth, one must avoid the vices. By ensuring that counsel is not divulged outside, one must protect oneself from enemies. One must distinguish the wicked from the virtuous and identify advisers who have been corrupted by the enemy. If a chariot deviates from its own path, eight kinds of destruction can happen. 363 This is what happens to a king whose counsel is divulged outside. Using spies, the king must ascertain the enemy’s efforts. A king should not trust his friends, his acquaintances or his relatives. If the task so requires, the king should trust even those who are not friends. Skilled about the place, increase and decrease, he must determine his six modes. 364 The Indra among men must not succumb to desire. The lord of the earth must first control himself, then the ministers, servants and citizens. It is only after he knows this has been done that he acts against the enemy. If a king tries to conquer the enemy without conquering these, he is conquered by advisers who have not conquered themselves. He is then bound down by arrays of the enemy. O son! Therefore, a lord of
the earth must first conquer desire and the other vices. When he has conquered them, the king conquers. If he has not conquered them, he is destroyed. A wicked king is destroyed by enemies like desire, anger, avarice, insolence, pride and delight. It is remembered that Pandu was brought down because he was addicted to desire. 365 Since he could not control his anger, Anuhlada killed his own son. 366 Aila was killed because he was greedy. 367 Because of his insolence, Vena was killed by brahmanas. 368 The son of Anayusha was killed because of his pride. 369 Puranjaya was destroyed because of delight. 370 Having conquered these enemies, the great-souled Marutta conquered everything. Remembering this, a lord of the earth must cast aside the six vices. A king must learn from the conduct of a crow, a cuckoo, a bee, a crane, a snake, a peacock, a swan, a cock and iron. 371 Towards the enemy, a lord of men must behave like an owl. 372 At the right time, the lord of the earth must act like an ant. 373 His acts will be known as much as fire in kindling or seeds in silk-cotton. 374 Like the sun and the moon, he must protect the earth through his policy. He must learn from a courtesan, a lotus, a sharabha, a shulika and a woman with heavy breasts. 375 The lord of the earth must formulate policy on the basis of sama, dana, danda and bheda and protect the earth. 376 Like a chandala woman, he must use his wisdom and serve. If he wishes to protect the earth, the lord of the earth must follow the conduct of the five—Shakra, Surya, Yama, Soma and Vayu. For four months, Indra sustains the earth through his showers. Like that, the lord of the earth must nurture the world through his generosity. For eight months, Surya draws up the water through his rays. In that way, the king must collect taxes through subtle means. When it is the right time, Yama acts against both friend and foe. Like that, the king must be impartial in his treatment of the virtuous and the wicked, regardless of whether he likes them or dislikes them. The sight of the full moon fills a man with delight. Like that, when all the subjects are satisfied, the king has followed auspicious conduct. Secretly, the wind circulates among all beings. Like that, the king must use his spies amidst citizens, advisers, enemies and relatives. A king who goes to heaven does not deviate from dharma and his mind is not attracted to objects associated with avarice, wealth, desire or anything else. There are foolish men who deviate from their own dharma and follow perverse paths. A king who brings them back to their own dharma goes to heaven. O son! If the dharma of the varnas and the ashramas does not suffer in a kingdom, then that king obtains eternal happiness in this world and in the next one. This is the supreme task that leads to a king’s prosperity, to establish men in their own dharma and not allow them to be distracted by evil-minded ones. If he rules beings in this way, the lord of the earth does what he is supposed to do. When he rules properly, he obtains a share in that dharma. 377 If a king acts in this way and protects the four varnas, he finds happiness and pleasure with Shakra in Shakra’s world.’”’