Markandeyapurana 20
English (machine translation) 20
- Language
- English
Contents
20.1
Jaḍa said: / Formerly there was a king of great valor named Śatrujit, / at whose sacrifices Purandara was pleased by obtaining the soma.
20.2
He had a son of great valor, a cleaver of enemies, / equal to Bṛhaspati, Śakra, and the Aśvins in intellect, prowess, and beauty.
20.3
Surrounded always by princes who were his equals / in age, intellect, courage, valor, and deeds, that prince remained;
20.4
sometimes his mind resolved by discerning among a multitude of treatises, / sometimes occupied with poetic discussions, songs, and theatrical performances,
20.5
likewise with pastimes of dice and training in weapons and missiles, / and devoted to practice with suitable war elephants, horses, and chariots,
20.6
that prince enjoyed himself together with the princes, / filled with joy by day as well as by night.
20.7
While they were playing there, the sons of brahmins, kings, and vaiśyas, / of the same age, repeatedly came with affection to amuse themselves.
20.8
Then, after some time, two young nāgas / came from the world of the nāgas to the surface of the earth, sons of Aśvatara.
20.9
Disguised in the form of brahmins, youthful and pleasant to behold, / they [remained] together with those princes as well as other twice-born youths,
20.10
joined in affection, and stayed there engaging in diverse amusements. / And all those princes, and those sons of brahmins and vaiśyas,
20.11
and those two sons of the nāga king, performed baths, massages, and the like, / and shared meals provided with clothes and perfumes.
20.12
Day after day, as each arrived, those two young nāgas / came, filled with joy, out of affection for the king's son.
20.13
And that prince attained the supreme nirvāṇa with the two of them / through diverse amusements, laughter, conversation, and the like.
20.14
Without the two of them he did not eat, nor did he bathe, nor did he drink wine; / he did not disport himself, nor did he take up the śāstras for the increase of his virtues.
20.15
And in Rasātala, having spent the night without that great-souled one, / intent on sighing, the two went to him day after day.
20.16
“With whom do you both have such supreme affection in the mortal world, my sons?” / thus their father asked both those nāga boys.
20.17
“For many days now, I have seen you both here in Pātāla / only by night, you of pleasant appearance, [not] by day.”
20.18
Jaḍa said: / Thus questioned directly by their father, the two illustrious / sons of the lord of serpents bowed down with joined palms and replied.
20.18.p1
The two sons said:
20.19
“Father, there is a son of Śatrujit known by the name of Ṛtadhvaja, / handsome, endowed with uprightness, heroic, dignified, and sweet-spoken,
20.20
not speaking unasked, eloquent, learned, friendly, a mine of virtues, / revering the venerable, wise, modest, ornamented with modesty.
20.21
Captivated by his courtesies, affection, and companionship, / our mind finds no pleasure in the world of the nāgas, nor in Bhuvarloka, O father.
20.22
Because of separation from him, O father, Pātāla is not cool to us; / and because of association with him, the sun by day brings delight instead of burning heat.”
20.22.p1
The father said:
20.23
“That son is blessed and possessed of merit, whose praise of virtues / is thus proclaimed by virtuous persons like you, even behind his back.
20.24
There are those knowledgeable in the śāstras who lack good character; there are fools who possess good character; / I deem both śāstra and character to be equal, but him, O sons, I deem more blessed.
20.25
Friends ever proclaim among the virtuous his virtues as a friend, and enemies his valor; / by him his father is truly blessed with a son.
20.26
Has anything desired by him who is so beneficent / been performed by you two, my children, for the satisfaction of his heart?
20.27
Blessed is he, blessed is his life, blessed is the birth of that noble-born one, / from whom supplicants do not turn away disappointed, and the cause of whose friend is never weak.
20.28
Whatever gold and the like, gems, mounts, and seats are in my house, / and whatever else is for his pleasure, that should be given without hesitation.
20.29
Fie on the life of that man who, not returning the favor / of beneficent friends, thinks, ‘I am alive!’
20.30
When a cloud of a man showers benefit on his circle of friends / and injury on his enemies, the wise always desire his elevation.”
20.30.p1
The two sons said:
20.31
“What could anyone do for him who has achieved all his aims, / in whose house all supplicants are always honored with all their desires?
20.32
Such jewels as are in his house—how could we have them in Pātāla? / Or mounts, seats, vehicles, ornaments, and garments?
20.33
And the wisdom that is present there is not found elsewhere; / even for the wise, O father, he is the foremost dispeller of all doubts.
20.34
There is only one duty for him, and in our opinion that is impossible, / except for the Lord who is Hiraṇyagarbha, Govinda, Śarva, and the like.”
20.34.p1
The father said:
20.35
“Even so, I wish to hear what that supreme task of his is, / whether impossible or possible—for what indeed is impossible for the wise?
20.36
Human beings of firm resolve attain divinity, / lordship among the immortals, adoration by them, or whatever else is desired.
20.37
Nothing is unknown, nothing is inaccessible, nothing is unachievable in heaven or here / for striving human beings whose minds, senses, and selves are restrained.
20.38
An ant moving forward traverses thousands of yojanas, / but even Garuḍa, not moving, does not advance a single step.
20.39
Where is the earth, and where is the immovable station that Dhruva attained, / even while being a son of King Uttānapāda, an inhabitant of the earth?
20.40
Therefore tell me, O fortunate ones, what task that virtuous / prince has, my sons, by which you both may become free of debt to him.”
20.40.p1
The two sons said:
20.41
“This previous event, O father, was recounted by that great-souled one, / as it happened to him in his boyhood, possessed of noble conduct as he is.
20.42
Formerly, O father, a certain foremost twice-born, the wise Gālava, / came to that Śatrujit, bringing an excellent horse.
20.43
And approaching the king, he said: ‘O king, having entered my hermitage, / a certain vile daitya, an evil-doer, destroys it.
20.44
Assuming the various forms of lions, elephants, wild beasts, / and others of small bodies, he does so day and night without cause.
20.45
While I am engaged in absorption and meditation, and intent on the vow of silence, / he creates obstacles in such a way that my mind wavers.
20.46
You are capable of burning him instantly with the fire of anger, but we are not; / nor do I desire the expenditure of my austerities earned with hardship, O king.
20.47
Once, O king, with a heart utterly dejected, / afflicted by him, I let out a sigh upon seeing that asura.
20.48
Then this horse instantly fell down from the vault of the sky, / and an incorporeal voice spoke; listen to it, O lord of men:
20.49
“This excellent steed is capable of traversing the entire circle / of the earth without fatigue; it is presented to you by the Sun.
20.50
Its course is unimpeded in Pātāla, the sky, and waters; / moving in all directions, it suffers no hindrance even on mountains.
20.51
Because it will roam the entire circle of the earth unwearied, / it will therefore attain renown in the world by the name of Kuvalaya.
20.52
And that wicked, vile dānava who afflicts you day and night— / mounting this very horse, [a prince] will slay him, O best of the twice-born.
20.53
There is a king named Śatrujit; his son is Ṛtadhvaja; / having obtained this jewel among horses, he will attain fame through it.”’
20.54
Therefore, I have come to you. Restrain the one who causes obstacles to my austerities,
O king, for a monarch shares in the fruit [of austerities].
20.55
So, O king, this jewel of a horse has been presented to you by me;
instruct your son in such a way that dharma is not violated.
20.56
Then, at his word, that virtuous king,
having performed the auspicious protective rites, mounted his son Ṛtadhvaja on that jewel of a horse,
20.57
and sent him off together with Gālava.
Taking him along, that sage too departed for his own hermitage.
20.57.p1
Thus ends the twentieth chapter, named "The Story of Kuvalayāśva," in the dialogue between father and sons in the glorious Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.
20.57.p2
Chapter Twenty-One
20.57.p3
The father said:
Translations (1)
- The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa — Frederick Eden Pargiter 1888, English
Linked texts (1)
- Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit