आहुश्चिरायुषमृषिं मृकण्डतनयं जना: । य: कल्पान्ते ह्युर्वरितो येन ग्रस्तमिदं जगत् ॥ २ ॥ स वा अस्मत्कुलोत्पन्न: कल्पेऽस्मिन् भार्गवर्षभ: । नैवाधुनापि भूतानां सम्प्लव: कोऽपि जायते ॥ ३ ॥ एक एवार्णवे भ्राम्यन् ददर्श पुरुषं किल । वटपत्रपुटे तोकं शयानं त्वेकमद्भुतम् ॥ ४ ॥ एष न: संशयो भूयान् सूत कौतूहलं यत: । तं नश्छिन्धि महायोगिन् पुराणेष्वपि सम्मत: ॥ ५ ॥
āhuś cirāyuṣam ṛṣiṁ mṛkaṇḍu-tanayaṁ janāḥ yaḥ kalpānte hy urvarito yena grastam idaṁ jagat sa vā asmat-kulotpannaḥ kalpe ’smin bhārgavarṣabhaḥ naivādhunāpi bhūtānāṁ samplavaḥ ko ’pi jāyate eka evārṇave bhrāmyan dadarśa puruṣaṁ kila vaṭa-patra-puṭe tokaṁ śayānaṁ tv ekam adbhutam eṣa naḥ saṁśayo bhūyān sūta kautūhalaṁ yataḥ taṁ naś chindhi mahā-yogin purāṇeṣv api sammataḥ
- āhuḥ
- they say
- cira-āyuṣam
- having an extraordinarily long life span
- ṛṣim
- the sage
- mṛkaṇḍu-tanayam
- the son of Mṛkaṇḍu
- janāḥ
- people
- yaḥ
- who
- kalpa-ante
- at the end of the day of Lord Brahmā
- hi
- indeed
- urvaritaḥ
- remaining alone
- yena
- by which (annihilation)
- grastam
- seized
- idam
- this
- jagat
- entire universe
- saḥ
- he, Mārkaṇḍeya
- vai
- indeed
- asmat-kula
- in my own family
- utpannaḥ
- born
- kalpe
- in the day of Brahmā
- asmin
- this
- bhārgava-ṛṣabhaḥ
- the most eminent descendant of Bhṛgu Muni
- na
- not
- eva
- certainly
- adhunā
- in our age
- api
- even
- bhūtānām
- of all creation
- samplavaḥ
- annihilation by flood
- kaḥ
- any
- api
- at all
- jāyate
- has arisen
- ekaḥ
- alone
- eta
- indeed
- arṇave
- in the great ocean
- bhrāmyan
- wandering
- dadarśa
- he saw
- puruṣam
- a personality
- kila
- it is said
- vaṭa-patra
- of a banyan leaf
- puṭe
- within the fold
- tokam
- an infant boy
- śayānam
- lying
- tu
- but
- ekam
- one
- adbhutam
- wonderful
- eṣaḥ
- this
- naḥ
- our
- saṁśayaḥ
- doubt
- bhūyān
- great
- sūta
- O Sūta Gosvāmī
- kautūhalam
- curiosity
- yataḥ
- due to which
- tam
- that
- naḥ
- for us
- chindhi
- please cut
- mahā-yogin
- O great yogī
- purāneṣu
- of the Purāṇas
- api
- indeed
- sammataḥ
- universally accepted (as the expert knower)
Authorities say that Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, the son of Mṛkaṇḍu, was an exceptionally long-lived sage who was the only survivor at the end of Brahmā’s day, when the entire universe was merged in the flood of annihilation. But this same Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, the foremost descendant of Bhṛgu, took birth in my own family during the current day of Brahmā, and we have not yet seen any total annihilation in this day of Brahmā. Also, it is well known that Mārkaṇḍeya, while wandering helplessly in the great ocean of annihilation, saw in those fearful waters a wonderful personality — an infant boy lying alone within the fold of a banyan leaf. O Sūta, I am most bewildered and curious about this great sage, Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi. O great yogī, you are universally accepted as the authority on all the Purāṇas. Therefore kindly dispel my confusion.