The Markandeya Purana

by Bibek Debroy

  ‘“When Vapushman had left, Indrasena sighed and sent a shudra ascetic to her son. ‘Go quickly to my son, Dama, and tell him my words. You are accomplished and know everything about what has happened to me. What do I have to tell you? Nevertheless, you should tell my son about the extremely miserable condition I am in. “I have seen the king, my husband, being violated in this way. You have the rights of the king. You should protect the four varnas. Why are you not protecting the ascetics in their hermitages? My husband, Narishyanta, was tormenting himself through austerities. Though you exist, I am being forced to lament, like a person without a protector. Though he committed no offence, he was forcibly dragged by the hair by the one known as Vapushman. The lord of the earth is dead. This is the state of affairs. You should now act so that dharma does not suffer. I should not say more. I am your mother and a female ascetic. Your father was an aged ascetic. Though he committed no crime, he has been abused and killed. You should now think about what should be done. You have brave ministers who know the truth about all the sacred texts. Consult with them and do what needs to be done. O lord of men! That is not a right that belongs to us, ascetics. That is what you must do. You are known as the lord of the earth. Viduratha’s father was killed by a yavana and therefore, the son destroyed his 1042 lineage. Jambha was the king of the asuras and his father was bitten by serpents. Therefore, he killed all the serpents who resided in Patala. Parashara’s father, Shakti, was killed by the rakshasas. Hearing this, he made the entire lineage of rakshasas fall down into the fire. No one tolerates the transgression of one’s lineage, not to speak of a kshatriya, and not to speak of a father being killed. Your father has not been killed by a weapon being brought down on him. I think that you have been killed by a weapon being brought down on you. Who is scared of a person who brings his weapon down on forest-dwellers? Whether you are scared, or whether you are not scared, you happen to be the son of a king. O great king! It is you who have been transgressed and therefore, you should act accordingly against Vapushman and his servants, kin and relatives.”’ Telling the messenger this, Indrasena let him go. Embracing her husband’s body, the spirited one entered the fire.”’

  Chapter 132

  ‘Markandeya said, “The shudra ascetic sent by Indrasena went there and told Dama what had happened and about his father’s death. Hearing what the ascetic said about his father’s death, Dama blazed in rage, like a fire into which ghee has been offered. O great sage! The patient one was scorched by the fire of rage. He pressed one hand with the other and spoke these words. ‘O father! Though I, your son, was alive, you were like one without a protector. You were killed by an extremely cruel one who has abused my lineage. Will I forgive him like a eunuch, or will I perform atonement? I possess the right to chastise evildoers and protect the virtuous. I have witnessed my father’s death and the enemy is still alive. What is the point of speaking a lot? What is also the point of lamenting about my father? Other than the lamentation, I will do what needs to be done now. I will satisfy my senior with the blood from Vapushman’s body. After that, I will enter the fire. I will perform the water rites with his blood and properly feed the brahmanas with his flesh. If I cannot offer a pinda to my father in this way, I will enter the fire. Even if the asuras, gods, yakshas, gandharvas, vidyadharas and large numbers of Siddhas arrive to help him, I will angrily use my weapons to reduce all those assembled ones to ashes. The one from dakshinatya is not brave. He does not follow dharma. He is not applauded. I will slay him and enjoy the entire earth. Either I will kill him, or I will enter the fire. The extremely evil-minded one killed an aged ascetic who resided in the forest and followed a virtuous and peaceful conduct. I will slay him and all the assembled relatives, friends and armies consisting of infantry, elephants and horses. I will seize this bow and sword. I will ride this chariot and advance against the enemy’s army. While all the large number of assembled gods look on, I will create carnage. With my arms and my soldiers, in the battle, I will destroy the entire lineages of all those who seek to help him. Let the king of the gods advance in the battle, with the vajra in his hand. Let it be the fierce and enraged lord of the ancestors, 1043 with an upraised staff. Let it be the lord of riches, or Varuna, or Surya. Even if they endeavour to save him, I will slay him with my torrents of sharp arrows. My father was controlled in his mind. He was without any taints. He lived in the forest and survived on fruits that had fallen down. He was friendly towards all creatures. But while his son existed, he was brought down. Today, I will satisfy the vultures with his 1044 flesh and blood.’”’

  Chapter 133

  ‘Markandeya continued, “Narishyanta’s son, Dama, took this pledge. His eyes were dilated in rage and intolerance. He covered his beard with his hand. He lamented, ‘Alas! My father has been killed.’ He thought about this and reprimanded destiny. He summoned his priest and spoke to all the ministers. Dama said, ‘Tell me what should be done. My father has gone to the abode of the gods. You have heard what the shudra ascetic said. The aged king was an ascetic in the stage of vanaprastha. He was observing a vow of silence. He was without any weapons. When asked by Vapushman, my mother, Indrasena, told him all this. Nevertheless, he unsheathed his sword and seized his matted hair with his left hand. Having seized him, the evil-souled one killed him. The protector of the world was like one without a protector. Using words of “shame”, my virtuous mother has instructed me about what must be done. The unfortunate one embraced Narishyanta, devoid of all signs of prosperity, and entered the fire. She has gone to the abode of the gods. I will now do what my mother has told me to do. Prepare elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers. I will advance against my father’s killer, my father’s great enemy. If I do not act in accordance with my mother’s words, what is the point of remaining alive?’ Hearing his words, the ministers also lamented. Distressed in their minds, they prepared the servants, soldiers and mounts. Surrounded by these dependents, they advanced, with King Dama at the forefront. They received benedictions from brahmanas and the priest, who knew about the three phases of time.

  ‘“Sighing like a serpent, Dama advanced against Vapushman. He killed the vassal kings who guarded his frontiers and swiftly progressed towards the southern region. Seeing him advance, Vapushman was filled with intolerance. Vapushman, Sankrandana’s son, recognized Dama. He saw him advance, with his dependents, advisers and equipment. Without his mind being agitated, he instructed his soldiers and sent a messenger out from the city. ‘Come quickly. Narishyanta is waiting for you. O kshatra-bandhu! With his wife, he is summoning you to his presence. These sharp arrows that will be released from my arms are thirsty. In the battle, they will pierce your body and drink your blood.’ Dama heard everything that the messenger said and advanced swiftly. He remembered the pledge that he had taken earlier and sighed like a serpent. He challenged him to the battle and said, ‘A true man does not boast.’ Thereafter, there was a battle between Dama and Vapushman. Chariots fought against chariots, elephants fought against elephants and horses fought against horses. O brahmana rishi! An extremely tumultuous encounter ensued. All the gods, Siddhas, gandharvas and rakshasas looked on. O brahmana! As Dama fought in that battle, the earth trembled. No elephant, horse or charioteer could withstand his arrows. Vapushman’s general fought against Dama. However, Dama pierced him deeply in the heart with an arrow. When he fell down, all the soldiers started to run way. Dama, the chastiser of enemies, then spoke to their master. ‘O wicked one! Having killed my father, the ascetic, where are you running away? He was performing austerities and was without a weapon. If you are a kshatriya, return.’ He returned, along with his younger brother, son, matrimonial allies and relatives, and started to fight against Dama, who was on a chariot. Shooting arrows from his bow, he covered the directions, Dama and his chariot with arrows. Everything was quickly covered with nets of arrows. Dama was filled with rage on account of his father having been killed. He severed those arrows and used other arrows to pierce him. O brahmana! With a single arrow, he dispat
ched seven of his sons, his matrimonial allies, his relatives and his friends to Yama’s abode. When his sons and relatives were killed, astride his chariot, Vapushman was filled with rage. He fought against him, with arrows that were like venomous serpents. O great sage! However, Dama severed all these arrows. They angrily fought against each other, wishing to defeat each other. As they swiftly struck each other with arrows, their respective bows were shattered. As if playing, those two extremely strong ones grasped swords and started to fight with each other. For an instant, Dama thought about his father being killed in the forest. He seized him by the hair and brought him down on the ground. He placed his foot on his head, raised his hand and said, ‘O kshatra-bandhu Vapushman! Let all the gods, humans, serpents and birds look on. I will tear out your heart.’ Having said this, Dama shattered his heart. He wished to drink the blood that was issuing out, but was restrained by the gods. With that blood, he performed the water rites for his father. Having repaid the debt to his father, he returned to his own residence. He offered pinda with Vapushman’s flesh. He fed brahmanas and those born in rakshasa lineages. Such were the kings who were born in surya vamsha. 1045 There were many other learned and brave ones. They performed sacrifices and knew about dharma. They were accomplished in Vedanta. I am incapable of enumerating them. If a man hears about their conduct, he is cleansed of sins.”’

  Chapter 134

  The birds said, ‘O Jaimini! Having said this, Markandeya, the great sage, allowed the sage Kroushtuki to leave, so that he could complete his mid day rites. O great sage! We have told you what we heard from him. This represents the success that is without beginning and was earlier recounted by Svayambhu to the sage Markandeya. We have recounted it to you. It is sacred and auspicious. It brings a long lifespan and ensures success in dharma, artha and kama. Anyone who reads it, or hears it, is instantly freed from all sins. O sage! You asked us four questions at the beginning—the conversation between the father and the son, Svayambhu’s creation, the positions of the Manus and the conduct of the kings. We have described these to you. What else do you wish to hear now? If a man hears all this, or reads it at assemblies, he is cleansed of all sins. After destruction, he merges into the brahman. The grandfather spoke about eighteen Puranas. The extremely famous Markandeya Purana is known as the seventh among them. They are Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Shiva and Bhagavata, with Markandeya as the seventh. Agni is said to be the eighth and Bhavishya the ninth. The tenth is Brahmavaivarta and Linga is said to be the eleventh. The twelfth is said to be Varaha and Skanda is the thirteenth. Vamana is the fourteenth and Kurma is the fifteenth. Matsya, Garuda and Brahmanda come after that. If a person reads the names of the eighteen Puranas and always chants them at the time of the three sandhyas, he obtains the fruits of a horse sacrifice. The five characteristics of a Purana are sarga, pratisarga, vamsha, manvantara and vamshanucharita. This excellent Purana has the answers to the four questions. If one repeatedly hears it, all the sins committed in a hundred crore kalpas are destroyed, like grass struck by the wind, even if they be sins like killing a brahmana, or other inauspicious offences. If one hears it, the auspicious merits obtained are like those obtained from donating at Pushkara. Indeed, when one completes studying it, one obtains fruits that are superior to studying all the Vedas. If a person makes it heard, he should be worshipped as if he is the god, the grandfather himself. According to capacity, a king should satisfy such a brahmana with donations of fragrances, flowers, garments, villages and mounts. This Purana is like the assimilated truth of all the Vedas. It is a reservoir of all the sacred texts on dharma. If a person hears this, he obtains everything that is a desired objective. After hearing the entire Purana, a learned person should worship Vyasa for the stated fruits of dharma, artha, kama and moksha. To obtain the fruits that come from listening to it, the guru must be satisfied with gifts. The guru should be given cattle, gold, garments and ornaments. If a man listens to even a single shloka without worshipping the reciter, he does not obtain good merits. He is said to be a person who has stolen the sacred texts. The gods are not pleased with him and the ancestors do not please him with sons. He does not obtain the desired fruits from donating, shraddha ceremonies, or bathing at tirthas. In assemblies of virtuous people, he is censured as a thief who has stolen the sacred texts. A discriminating person should not listen to this sacred text with disrespect. A virtuous person must not read this excellent sacred text with disrespect. If he does so, he is born as a dumb person for seven births and gives birth to those who are foolish. Having heard the seventh Purana, if a person worships it, he is freed from all sins and purifies his lineage. Having been purified, there is no doubt that he goes to Vishnu’s eternal world. When he is dislodged from there, he is again born as human. 1046 Hearing this Purana, one obtains supreme yoga. But it should not be bestowed on non-believers, vrishalas, or those who criticize the Vedas. Nor on those who criticize gurus or brahmanas, those who deviate from their vows, those who criticize their father or mother, those who criticize the Vedas 1047 and the sacred texts, those who break their pledges, or those who are angry towards their own kin. Even if one is breathing one’s last breath, it must not be given to them. In particular, if one reads it, or has it read, out of avarice, delusion, or fear, it is certain that one goes to hell.

  ‘Markandeya said, “All these accounts lead to dharma, heaven and emancipation. If a person hears it, or reads it, he attains success. He never suffers miseries on account of physical or mental disease. There is no doubt that he is freed even from sins like killing of a brahmana. Virtuous people become his friends and relatives and their minds are favourably inclined towards him. He never suffers from enemies or bandits. He pursues good objectives and eats sweet food. He never suffers from famine. O supreme among brahmanas! He is always freed from many miseries and sins like stealing another person’s wife or riches, or causing violence.” O brahmana! If a person listens to this account, he always obtains prosperity, growth, remembrance, peace, wealth, nourishment and contentment. O brahmana! One need never grieve over a man who listens to the entire Markandeya Purana. Nor should one grieve over a person who recites it properly. He obtains yoga, pure jnana and success and obtains the world of heaven, where he is surrounded by Shakra and the other gods. He is always worshipped in heaven. This Purana is full of jnana and vijnana. Having heard it, one ascends a vimana and obtains greatness in the world of heaven. Those who are intelligent and know about the truth have declared the number of aksharas in this Purana. These lead to six thousand and eight hundred shlokas. It is said that, earlier, the intelligent Markandeya had another one hundred shlokas too.’

  Jaimini concluded, ‘O birds! I had doubts and there was no one else in Bharata who could have dispelled them. No one else could have done what you have done. May you have long lifespans. May you be accomplished, with wisdom and intelligence. May your intelligence always be immersed in samkhya yoga. Let the sorrow in your minds because of the curse invoked by your father be destroyed.’

  Having uttered these words, the sage went to his own hermitage. Because of the words spoken by the birds, his consciousness had become pervasive.

  This ends the Markandeya Purana.

  1 For example, shlokas 2.4.10, 4.1.2 and 4.5.11 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad use the two expressions together.

  2 Chandogya Upanishad, 7.1.2.

  3 Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, F.E. Pargiter, Oxford University Press, London, 1922.

  4 Sutas were bards, minstrels, raconteurs.

  5 Ugrashravas was a suta.

  6 The Critical Edition of the Valmiki Ramayana was brought out by the Baroda Oriental Institute, now part of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata was brought out by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune.

  7 The Bhagavadgita translation was published in 2006, the translation of the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata in ten volumes between 2010 and 2014 (with a box set in 2015) and the translation of the Critical Edition of the V
almiki Ramayana in 2017. The translations are by Bibek Debroy, and in each case, the publisher is Penguin.

  8 The Markandeyamahapuranam, Nag Publishers, Delhi, 1983.

  9 A Prose English Translation of Markandeya Puranam, Manmatha Nath Dutt, Elysium Press, Calcutta, 1896.

  10 The Markandeya Purana, Translated with Notes, F. Eden Pargiter, Baptist Mission Press and the Asiatic Society, 1904. This was published in the Bibliotheca Indica series. More accurately, the Pargiter translation was serialized in the Bibliotheca Indica series, beginning 1880, and 1904 is the date of the book being published. Earlier, in the Bibliotheca Indica series, in 1862, K.M. Banerjea edited and published the Sanskrit text.

  11 The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition, H.H. Wilson, Truber & Company, London, 1864, 1877.

  12 Introduction in the Pargiter translation.

  13 The Bhagavata Purana, Volumes 1–3, Penguin Random House India, 2018.

  1 This paragraph is an invocation.

  2 Vasudeva and Hari are Vishnu’s names. This is a reference to Vishnu’s vamana (dwarf) incarnation, where Vishnu traversed these three worlds in three strides and deprived the demon king, Bali.

  3 The serpent Shesha.

  4 Jaya means victory. Used for a text, it means the Mahabharata and/or the Puranas.