The Markandeya Purana

by Bibek Debroy

  Chapter 77

  ‘Kroushtuki said, “You have spoken to me about seven Manus, beginning with Svayambhuva and you have also told me about the gods, kings and sages in those manvantaras. O great sage! But there will be seven other manvantaras in this kalpa. Please tell me about the Manus, gods and others in these.”

  ‘Markandeya replied, “I have told you about Savarni, 764 Samjna’s son. He was the equal of his elder brother, the Manu. 765 He will be the eighth Manu. The saptarshis will be Rama, Vyasa, Galava, Diptimat, Kripa, Rishyashringa and Drona. The three categories of gods will be Sutapas, Amitabhas and Mukhyas. Each of these categories has twenty gods and since there are three categories, the total number is sixty. Tapa, Tapas, Shakra, Dyuti, Jyoti, Prabhakara, Prabhasa, Dayita, Dharma, Tejas, Rashmi, Vakratu and so on are the twenty in the category of gods who are Sutapas. Prabhu, Vibhu, Vibhasa and others are the twenty in the category of gods who are Amitabhas. Now hear about the third category—Dama, Danta, Rita, Soma, Vinta and others constitute the twenty. These are the gods who are known as the Mukhyas. They are the sons of Maricha and Prajapati Kashyapa and will be the lords of the manvantara during the manvantara of Savarni Manu. O sage! Their Indra will be Bali, Virochana’s son. That daitya is in Patala now, bound by the noose of time. Viraja, Arvavira, Nirmoha, Satyavak, Kriti, Vishnu and others—these sons of Savarni Manu will be kings.”’

  Chapter 78 766

  ‘Markandeya said, “I have spoken to you about Surya’s son, Savarni. He is referred to as the eighth Manu. Now hear about his origin in detail. Listen. Ravi’s son, the immensely fortunate Savarni, became the lord of a manvantara because of the favours of Mahamaya. In the preceding manvantara of Svarochisha, the king named Suratha was born in Chaitra’s lineage. He was the king of the entire earth and he protected his subjects properly, treating them like his own sons. There were kings who did not destroy the Kolas 767 and they became his enemies. Though he wielded an extremely powerful staff, he had a battle with them. In that battle, the kings who did not destroy the Kolas defeated him. After this, he returned to his own city and ruled over his kingdom alone. 768 Nevertheless, the immensely fortunate one was attacked by his powerful enemies. He was weak in strength and wicked and evil-souled advisers conspired against him. Even though he was in his own city, they robbed him of his treasury and army. Having lost all his possessions, the lord of the earth pretended to go out on a hunt. Alone, he rode a horse and went to the desolate forest. There, he saw the hermitage of the noble brahmana, Sumedha. The place was adorned with the sage’s disciples and with predatory creatures that behaved in a serene way. Honoured by the sage, he resided there for some time. In the sage’e excellent hermitage, he roamed around, here and there. With his mind still attracted to thoughts of ‘mine’, he thought. ‘I used to rule over that city earlier, but it has been lost to me now. Are my wicked servants following dharma when they rule over it? My brave elephant, Supradhana, was always in musth. Having come under the control of my enemies, is it enjoying objects of pleasure? There were those who were always devoted to me, giving me food, riches and vessels. They must certainly be the followers of other kings now. My treasury was accumulated with a great deal of difficulty. There is no doubt that it is now being frittered away in evil pursuits, through wicked conduct.’ In this way, the king thought about various things.

  ‘“He saw a vaishya in that brahmana’s hermitage and asked him, ‘Who are you? Why have you come here? Why are you grieving? It is evident that you are in a distressed frame of mind.’ The vaishya heard these affectionate words spoken by the king and replied humbly to the king. The vaishya said, ‘I am a vaishya named Samadhi. I was born in a wealthy family. My wicked wife and sons were greedy about my riches. I have been deprived of my relatives, wife and sons. Thus deceived by my relatives and friends, who have taken away my riches, I have come to this forest, miserable. Right now, I do not know if everything at home is well or not. Are my sons behaving in a virtuous way or are they behaving in a wicked way?’ The king asked, ‘You have been deprived of your riches by your greedy wife and sons. Hence, why is your mind still tied to them in bonds of love?’ The vaishya replied, ‘Your words are certainly true. But what can I possibly do? My mind is not drawn to cruelty. Because of their greed for the riches, they have deceived me and have cast aside the love for a father. The love for a husband has been cast aside. The love for a relative has been cast aside. However, my mind is still affectionate towards them. O immensely intelligent one! I do not comprehend this. I do not know the reason. Though my relatives are devoid of qualities, my mind is full of affection towards them. I sigh on their account. My mind is distressed because of them. What can I possibly do? My mind is not cruel and I cannot hate them.’ Both of them presented themselves before the brahmana sage, the vaishya named Samadhi and the excellent king. As is proper, they showed him the due respect. Having seated themselves, the vaishya and the king started to converse with him. The king said, ‘O illustrious one! I wish to ask you about something. Please tell me. My mind is miserable and I cannot control myself. My kingdom has been lost. Yet, I have a sense of ownership over my kingdom. O excellent sage! Though I know the truth, it is as if I am ignorant. What is the reason for this? This one has been deceived by his wife, sons and servants. They have cast him aside. Nevertheless, he is full of affection towards them. In this way, both he and I are extremely miserable. Though we can see the taint in being attached to material objects, our minds are affected by a sense of “mine”. O immensely fortunate one! Why is it like this? Though we know, we are overwhelmed with delusion. Because of this sense of “mine”, our discrimination is destroyed and we are foolish.’

  ‘“The rishi replied, ‘O immensely fortunate one! All creatures possess this knowledge about association with material objects. But material objects affect them in different ways. Some creatures are blind during the day. Other creatures are blind during the night. There are also creatures to whom night and day appear as identical. But it is not true that only humans possess knowledge. Indeed, all wild animals, domestic animals and birds also possess knowledge. The knowledge of humans is like that of birds and animals. The knowledge that they and humans possess is similar. Behold the knowledge of those birds. Though they are suffering from hunger themselves, they suffer from delusion and are dropping grains into the beaks of their young ones. O tiger among men! Humans also hanker after their sons. Do you not perceive that this is greed, because of the expectation of getting something back in return? Nevertheless, they are whirled around in a sense of “mine” and fall down in the whirlpool of delusion. The power of Mahamaya 769 is the reason why they are established in this state of samsara. There is no reason to be surprised at this. When the lord of the universe was immersed in yoga and asleep, Mahamaya originated from Hari and confounded the entire universe. The illustrious goddess, Mahamaya, forcibly seizes the minds of even those who are learned and thrusts them into this delusion. She created the entire universe and its mobile and immobile objects. She is the one who confers boons and it is through her favours that men obtain emancipation. She is supreme knowledge. She is the eternal cause behind emancipation. She is the lord of all lords. She is the reason behind the bondage of samsara.’ The king asked, ‘O illustrious one! Who is the goddess Mahamaya that you spoke about? O brahmana! Where did she originate? What is the nature of her work? Tell us. What are her powers? What is her nature? Where did she come from? O supreme among those who know about the brahman! I wish to hear the truth about everything.’

  ‘“The rishi replied, ‘She is eternally embodied in everything in this universe. However, she has originated in many different ways. Listen to me. She appears to accomplish the tasks of the gods. Though she exists eternally, the worlds say that she has originated. When the entire universe was deluged in a single ocean of water, Vishnu was asleep, immersed in yoga. At the end of the kalpa, the eternal lord was lying down on Shesha. At that time, two terrible asuras, known as Madhu and Kaitabha, manifested themselves from th
e wax in Vishnu’s ears and got ready to kill Brahma. At the time, Prajapati Brahma was seated on the lotus in Vishnu’s navel. He saw the two terrible asuras and that Janardana was asleep. He sought to awake Yoganidra, 770 the one who makes her abode in Hari and Hara’s eyes. 771 He praised her with single-minded devotion in his heart.’

  ‘“Brahma said, 772 ‘You are the supreme goddess of the universe. 773 You are the cause behind the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe. I praise the illustrious Nidra. You are Vishnu’s unmatched energy. You are Svaha. You are Svadha. You are Vashatkara. Sound is your atman. Your sweet form eternally exists in aksharas. You are established in the three matras. In particular, you are always established in the half a matra that cannot be pronounced. 774 You are Sandhya. You are Savitri. O goddess! You are the supreme mother. You are the one who sustains the universe. You are the one who creates the universe. You are the one who protects it. O goddess! At the end, you are the one who always devours. At the time of creation, you are the one who is in the form of creation. At the time of preservation, you are the one who exists in the form of protection. Like that, at the time of the destruction of the universe, you are the form of destruction. You pervade the entire universe. You are Mahavidya. 775 You are Mahamaya. You are Mahamedha. 776 You are Mahasmriti. 777 You are Mahamoha. 778 You are Bhagavati. 779 You are Mahadevi. 780 You are Maheshvari. 781 You are everything in Prakriti. You are the one who creates the three gunas. You are Kalaratri. 782 You are Maharatri. 783 You are the terrible Moharatri. 784 You are Shri. You are Ishvari. You are modesty. You are intelligence. You are characterized by understanding. You are shame. You are nourishment. You are contentment. You are tranquility. You are patience. You wield a sword. You wield a trident. You wield a club. You wield a chakra. Your form is terrible. You hold a conch shell. You hold a bow and arrows. Your weapons are a bhushundi 785 and a bludgeon. You are gentle. You are gentler than that. Your gentleness is unlimited. You are exceedingly beautiful. You are the best. You are superior to the best. Indeed, you are the supreme goddess. You are everything that exists and you are everything that does not exist. Your atman is in everything. You are the power in everything. How can I possibly extol someone like you? You are the one who creates the universe. You are the one who preserves the universe. You are the one who destroys the universe. You have brought the great lord under the subjugation of sleep. Who can possibly praise you? You have made Vishnu, Isha and me assume bodies. Who possesses the capacity to extol you? O goddess! Thus praised, please use your pervasive powers to confound these two unassailable asuras, Madhu and Kaitabha. Gently bring Achyuta, the lord of the universe, back to consciousness. For the sake of killing the two giant asuras, wake him up.’

  ‘“The rishi continued, ‘Brahma, whose birth is not manifest, praised the goddess, full of tamas in her intelligence, in this way. The intention was to wake Vishnu up and kill Madhu and Kaitabha. She emerged from Vishnu’s eyes, nose, arms, heart and chest and stood there. Freed from her, Janardana, the lord of the universe, woke up. He had been lying down on that single ocean and saw the evil-souled Madhu and Kaitabha, extremely energetic and valiant. In their attempt to kill Brahma, their eyes were red with rage. The illustrious Hari awoke and fought with them. Using his arms as weapons, the lord wrestled with them for five thousand years. They were extremely strong and intoxicated and were confounded by Mahamaya. Therefore, they told Keshava, “Seek a boon from us.” The illustrious one replied, “If you are satisfied, let it be such that you are killed by me. What other boon can I ask for now? This is what I want.” Having been deceived in this way, they glanced at the universe. Everything was covered in water. They looked at the illustrious lotus-eyed one and said, “We are pleased at having fought with you. You should be praised. But let our deaths come about this way. Kill us in a place that is not flooded with water.” The illustrious one, holding the conch shell, chakra and mace, agreed to this. He placed them on his thighs and sliced off their heads with his chakra. Thus praised by Brahma, she herself arose. I will tell you again about the powers of the goddess. Listen.’”’

  Chapter 79

  ‘“The rishi continued, ‘In earlier times, there was a battle between the gods and the asuras and it lasted for one hundred years. The leader of the asuras was Mahishasura and the leader of the gods was Purandara. The asura was immensely valiant and the soldiers of the gods were defeated. Mahishasura defeated all the gods and became Indra. Having been defeated, all the gods, headed by the lotus-born Prajapati, 786 went to the place where Isha and the one with Garuda on his banner were. 787 They told them in great detail about everything Mahishasura had done and about how the gods had been worsted. “He has usurped the positions of Surya, Indra, Agni, Anila, 788 Indu, 789 Yama, Varuna and the others and taken them over himself. Because of the evil-souled Mahisha, all the gods have been thrown out of heaven and are roaming around on earth, like mortals. We have thus told you what the enemy of the immortals has done. We have sought refuge with you. Please think about how he can be killed.” Madhusudana heard the words of the gods. Shambhu furrowed his forehead in rage. The face of the one who wields the chakra was also full of anger.

  ‘“‘Great masses of energy emerged from the bodies of Brahma, Shankara and all the other gods, Shakra and the others. All of this energy came together and united. This energy was so fierce that it blazed like the summit of a mountain. The gods saw it blazing in all the directions. This unmatched energy emerged from the bodies of all the gods. It pervaded the three worlds and united in the form of a woman. Her face was formed out of Bhava’s 790 energy. Her hair was formed out of Yama’s energy. Vishnu’s energy formed her arms. Soma’s energy formed her two breasts and the space between them was formed by Indra’s energy. Varuna’s energy formed her hips and thighs, her buttocks were formed out of the earth’s energy. Brahma’s energy formed her feet and Arka’s energy formed her toes. Her fingers were formed out of the energy of the Vasus and Kubera’s energy formed her nose. Her teeth were formed out of Prajapati’s energy. Her three eyes originated in Pavaka’s energy. Her eyebrows were formed out of Sandhya’s energy. Her ears were from Anila’s energy. All the other gods contributed their energies to form the auspicious one. She was fashioned out of that mass of energy contributed by the gods and on seeing her, the immortals, suffering from Mahisha, were delighted. All the gods gave her their own respective weapons. Desiring victory, they exclaimed “victory” in Jayanti’s 791 name. The wielder of Pinaka created a trident out of his trident and gave it to her. Krishna created a chakra out of his own chakra and gave it to her. Varuna gave her a conch shell and Hutashana 792 gave her a spear. Maruta gave her a bow and a quiver filled with arrows. Indra, lord of the immortals, created a vajra out of his own vajra and gave it to her. The one with one thousand eyes 793 also took the bell from the elephant Airavata and gave it to her. Yama gave her the staff of destiny and the lord of the oceans 794 gave her a noose. Prajapati Brahma gave her a string of aksha beads and a waterpot. The creator of the day 795 permeated all the pores in her body with his rays. Kala 796 gave her a sword and a sparkling shield. The ocean of milk gave her a sparkling necklace and garments that do not decay. Vishvakarma gave her a divine jewel for her head, earrings, bracelets, half-moon-shaped sparkling armlets for all her arms, sparkling anklets, an excellent necklace, rings and jewels for all her fingers, an extremely polished battleaxe, many different kinds of weapons and impenetrable armour. For her head and for her breasts, the ocean gave her garlands made of lotuses that do not fade and an extremely beautiful lotus. The Himalayas gave her a lion as a mount and many kinds of gems. The lord of riches gave her a drinking vessel that was never emptied of liquor. Shesha, the lord of serpents who holds up the entire earth, gave her a necklace made out of serpents 797 and ornamented with magnificent jewels. All the other gods gave the goddess ornaments and weapons. Thus honoured by the gods, she repeatedly roared and laughed loudly. The sound of that terrible roar filled the entire firmament. The loud sound echoed ever
ywhere. All the worlds were agitated and the oceans quivered. The earth quaked and all the mountains started to move. Delighted, the gods exclaimed, “Victory to the one who is astride a lion.” The sages devotedly bent their bodies down and praised her.

  ‘“‘On seeing that the three worlds were agitated, the enemies of the immortals roused themselves and armoured and armed their soldiers. Enraged, Mahishasura shouted, “What is this?” Surrounded by a large number of asuras, he rushed towards that sound. He saw the goddess there, pervading the three worlds with her energy. The earth was indented from her feet pressing down. Her crown etched the sky. The sound of her bow twanging agitated all the nether regions. She stood there, enveloping all the directions with her one thousand arms. After this, a battle commenced between the goddess and the enemies of the gods. Many kinds of astras and shastras were unleashed and the directions blazed. 798 The great asura known as Chikshura was Mahishasura’s general and he fought with her. There was another asura named Chamara, armed with the four kinds of forces. 799 Another great asura named Ugra fought with sixty thousand soldiers. Mahahanu fought with one crore soldiers. The great asura, Asiloma, fought with five crore soldiers. In that battle, Bashkala fought with six million soldiers. In that battle, Ugradarshana fought with elephants and horses, surrounding himself with crores of chariots. There was the great daitya known as Bidala. In that battle, he surrounded himself with chariots and fought with fifty thousand chariots. There were others who surrounded themselves with hundreds of thousands of chariots, horses and elephants. In that battle, those gigantic asuras fought with the goddess. In the battle, Mahishasura surrounded himself with thousands of crores of chariots, tuskers and horses. Using iron clubs, javelins, spears, bludgeons, swords, battleaxes and double-edged swords, they fought against the goddess in that battle. Some hurled spears, others hurled nooses. They tried to kill the goddess by striking her with swords. The goddess Chandika seemed to toy with them, as she severed their astras and shastras with showers of her own astras and shastras. There were no signs of exertion on her face and the gods and the rishis praised her. Thereafter, Ishvari released her astras and shastras on the bodies of the asuras. The maned mount of the goddess angrily shook its mane. Like a conflagration raging in the forest, it roamed around amidst the asura soldiers. As she fought in the battle, Ambika breathed heavily and from those breaths, hundreds and thousands of ganas 800 were created. The powers of the goddess enhanced their powers. With battleaxes, spears, swords and double-edged swords, they killed large numbers of asuras. They treated that battle like a great festival and sounded large drums. Other ganas blew on conch shells and still others sounded drums. Showering clubs and arrows and using swords, the goddess slaughtered hundreds of large asuras. Others were confounded by the sound of the bell and were brought down. She bound other asuras with the noose and dragged them along the ground. With the sharp sword, some were severed into two. Others were brought down. Some were uprooted and struck with the club and lay down on the ground. Struck severely with the club, some vomited blood. Others lay down on the ground, their chests shattered with the trident. With the incessant torrent of arrows, some were sliced in that field of battle and resembled mountains. Those who had afflicted the gods started to give up their lives. Some had their arms severed. Others had their necks sliced off. Some lost their heads, others were torn apart in the middle. With legs severed, some giant asuras fell down on the ground. Sliced by the goddess, some had only an arm left. Others had only one leg left. With head severed, some fell down and the headless torsos rose up again. Seizing excellent weapons, these headless torsos fought against the goddess. To the sound of the blaring of trumpets, some started to dance in the field of battle. With heads severed, headless torsos held swords, javelins and spikes in their hands. Other giant asuras told the goddess, “Wait! Wait!” In the battle that made the body hair stand up, their limbs overflowed with torrents of blood. Chariots, horses, elephants and asuras fell down on the ground. The great field of battle was such that it could no longer be passed. Instantly, those torrents of blood led to a great river being formed and it flowed between the asura soldiers, through the horses, elephants and asuras. In a short while, Ambika conveyed that large army of asuras to its destruction, like the fire consuming a large pile of grass and wood. Shaking its mane, the lion emitted a loud roar. It seemed to rob the breath of life from the bodies of the enemies of the immortals. Like that, the ganas of the goddess fought with the giant asuras. The gods praised them and released showers of flowers from the firmament.’”’