Markandeyapurana 23
English (machine translation) 23
- Language
- English
Contents
- 23.4 — 1 part
- 23.13 — 1 part
- 23.17 — 1 part
- 23.21 — 1 part
- 23.37 — 1 part
- 23.44 — 1 part
- 23.70 — 1 part
- 23.82 — 1 part
- 23.115 — 2 parts
23.1
Then that prince, swiftly reaching his city, / wishing to pay homage to the feet of his parents and longing to see Madālasā,
23.2
saw in front of him the people agitated, with faces devoid of joy, / and then again with astonished expressions and joyful faces,
23.3
and others with wide-open eyes saying, 'By good fortune! By good fortune!', / embracing one another and filled with extreme wonder:
23.4
"Live long, O greatly blessed one! Your enemies have been slain; / gladden the hearts of your parents, as well as ours, free from thorns!"
23.4.p1
The two sons said:
23.5
Surrounded in front and behind by the citizens speaking thus, / filled with the joy born of that moment, he entered his father's house.
23.6
And his father embracing him, as well as his mother and other kinsmen, / bestowed auspicious blessings upon him, saying: "Live long!"
23.7
Then, having bowed, astonished, he asked / his father: "Father! What is this?" And he recounted it to him fully.
23.8
Hearing that his beloved wife Madālasā had died, / and seeing his parents before him, he fell into an ocean of shame and grief.
23.9
He thought: "Hearing that I had died, that young woman / gave up her life, chaste woman that she was. Fie on me, cruel-minded that I am!
23.10
I am cruel, I am base, in that I go on living without that deer-eyed lady / who met her death on my account, pitiless as I am!"
23.11
Again he reflected, steadying his mind, / quickly dispelling the onset of bewilderment, deeply troubled as he sighed and gasped:
23.12
"If I give up my life because she died for my sake, / what benefit have I conferred upon her? Such [a death] is commendable for women;
23.13
or if, miserable, I weep repeatedly, crying: 'Alas, my beloved!'— / that too is not praiseworthy for us, for we are indeed men.
23.13.p1
Furthermore, if I become dull with grief, miserable, bereft of garlands and covered in dirt,
23.14
I will then become an object of contempt to my adversaries.
23.15
I must destroy enemies, and I must serve the king, my father; / and my life depends on him—how could I abandon it?
23.16
Yet I think that here the abandonment of a wife's company must be practiced; / and even that is of no help to the slender-limbed lady, but in every way
23.17
I must show kindness, not acting uselessly or harmfully; / for her who abandoned her life for my sake, this little thing is mine to do for her."
23.17.p1
The two sons said:
23.18
Having made this resolve, and then having performed the libation of water / and the subsequent funeral rites, Ṛtadhvaja declared:
23.19
Ṛtadhvaja said:
"If that slender-limbed Madālasā cannot be my wife, / in this life no other woman shall become my companion.
23.20
Except for her, the fawn-eyed daughter of a gandharva, / I will enjoy no other woman: this truth I declare.
23.21
Aside from that wife who shared my righteous dharma, who walked like an elephant, / I will accept no other: this truth I declare."
23.21.p1
The two sons said:
23.22
And giving up all pleasures with women without her, O father, / he spends his time sporting with companions equal to him in excellence of character.
23.23
This is his supreme duty, O father! Who can / achieve that which is exceedingly hard to attain even for rulers, not to mention others?
23.24
Jaḍa said:
Having heard this speech of the two, their father fell into reflection; / and having reflected, the serpent king spoke to his two sons, as if smiling:
23.25
The snake king Aśvatara said:
“If humans, thinking, ‘This cannot be done,’ do not make
an effort at their duties, then, from the failure of effort, there is utter ruin.
23.26
A man should undertake action without slackening his own virility;
the accomplishment of an action depends upon fate and human effort.
23.27
Therefore, my two sons, taking resort to the practice of austerities,
I shall make an effort from here on so that this may soon be accomplished.”
23.28
The dullard said:
Having spoken thus, that lord of serpents went to Plakṣāvataraṇa,
the holy site on the Himavat mountain, and performed exceedingly severe austerities.
23.29
There, having his mind fixed on her, his food restrained,
and having bathed at the three junctures of the day, he then praised the goddess Sarasvatī with hymns.
23.30
Aśvatara said:
“Desiring to propitiate the auspicious goddess, the mother of the world,
bowing with my head, I shall praise Sarasvatī, the origin of brahman.
23.31
O goddess, whatever word there is, real or unreal, possessing liberation or wealth—
all that, though unattached, is present in you like a yogic union.
23.32
O goddess, you are the supreme imperishable syllable wherein everything is established;
O goddess, the supreme imperishable syllable exists like an ultimate atom.
23.33
The supreme brahman is imperishable, and this universe is perishable in nature,
like fire abiding in wood and atoms of earth [in the soil].
23.34
Likewise, brahman and this entire universe dwell in you;
and, O goddess, whatever is stable or unstable is based upon the syllable Om.
23.35
In it are the three measures: everything that exists and does not exist, O goddess,
the three worlds, the three Vedas, the threefold knowledge, the triad of sacred fires,
23.36
the three luminaries, the [social] classes, and the three scriptural traditions of dharma,
the three qualities, the three sounds, the three Vedas, and likewise the stages of life,
23.37
the three times, and likewise the states of existence, the ancestors, day and night, and the rest;
O goddess Sarasvatī, this triad of measures is your form.
23.37.p1
For those of differing views, [these are] the primeval, eternal [forms] of brahman.
23.38
The seven Soma sacrifices, the oblation sacrifices, and the seven cooked sacrifices—
23.39
these are performed, O goddess, by teachers of the Veda through your pronunciation;
and another supreme [form], accompanied by the half-measure, is indefinable,
23.40
immutable, imperishable, divine, and free from transformation;
this supreme form of yours cannot be spoken by me,
23.41
nor is it uttered in the mouth by the tongue, red lips, and the like;
even Indra, the Vasus, Brahmā, the moon and sun, and radiance itself,
23.42
the abode of the universe, the multiform, the lord of the universe, the Supreme Lord,
proclaimed by the doctrines of Sāṃkhya and Vedānta, established in many branches,
23.43
without beginning, middle, or end, being and non-being, neither real nor unreal,
one, yet manifold and not one, relying on the diverse states of worldly existence,
23.44
nameless, yet called the six qualities, called the categories, resting on the three qualities,
the single supreme majesty of power among those possessing various powers,
23.44.p1
pleasure and pain—[all that] is conceived in you in the form of supreme bliss.
23.45
Thus, O goddess, all that is with parts and without parts is pervaded by you;
brahman that is established in non-duality and that which is established in duality.
23.46
Those entities that are eternal, and those others that perish,
those that are gross, and those that are subtle and exceedingly subtle,
those on earth, in the atmosphere, or elsewhere—
the perception of each and every one of them is indeed from you.
23.47
And whatever is formless, and all that has form,
or whatever single thing is found among beings,
whatever exists in heaven, on the surface of the earth, in the sky, or elsewhere,
is connected to you through your vowels and consonants.”
23.48
The dullard said:
Praised thus at that time, the goddess Sarasvatī, the tongue of Viṣṇu,
then replied to the great-souled serpent Aśvatara.
23.49
Sarasvatī said:
“O brother of Kambala, lord of serpents, I grant you a boon!
Let it be spoken; I shall bestow what is in your mind.”
23.50
Aśvatara said:
“O goddess, first give me Kambala as my companion,
and bestow on both of us the connection with all musical notes.”
23.51
Sarasvatī said:
“The seven musical notes, the seven basic melodic modes, O best of serpents,
the seven song forms, and as many melodic movements,
23.52
the forty-nine rhythms, and also the three tone systems—
all this you shall sing, and likewise Kambala, O sinless one!
23.53
Through my grace, O lord of serpents, you will also understand further:
the fourfold verse, the threefold rhythm, the three tempos,
23.54
the three pauses, and the fourfold instrumental music granted by me;
all this, O lord of serpents, through my grace, and whatever else
23.55
is contained within this, dependent upon it and measured by vowels and consonants—
all that, without exception, has been granted by me to you and to Kambala.
23.56
And no one else, O serpent, on the earthly realm or in the netherworld [shall have it];
both of you will be the masters of all this,
O serpents, in the netherworld, in the world of the gods, and on the earthly realm.”
23.57
The dullard said:
Having spoken thus, the lotus-eyed goddess Sarasvatī, the tongue of all,
at once vanished from the sight of the serpent.
23.58
And for both brothers everything happened just as it was said:
for both of them arose the foremost knowledge of verse, rhythm, notes, and the rest.
23.59
Then, desiring to propitiate the Lord abiding on the peak of Mount Kailāsa,
the god Hara, who destroyed the body of the bodiless one [Kāma],
the two serpents, equipped with lute strings and tempos,
with the seven song forms,
23.60
both with coordinated voice and technique, made the supreme effort.
23.61
Devoted to this in the morning, at night, at midday, and at both twilights,
the bull-bannered [Śiva], being praised by them for a long time,
23.62
was pleased with the songs, and the Lord said to them: “Choose a boon.”
Then Aśvatara, bowing down along with Kambala at that time,
23.63
addressed Mahādeva, the blue-throated husband of Umā:
“If the blessed one, the god of gods, the three-eyed one, is pleased with both of us,
23.64
then grant us this desired boon:
O god, the wife of Kuvalayāśva, Madālasā, is dead;
23.65
let her immediately become my daughter at that very same age,
remembering her former births, endowed with beauty as before,
a yoginī and mother of yoga; O Bhava, let her be born in my house!”
23.66
Mahādeva said:
“O best of serpents, all this will happen just as spoken;
by my grace it is beyond doubt. And listen to this, O serpent:
23.67
When the ancestral rites have arrived, you yourself
should eat the middle ball of offering, O best of hooded snakes, purified and of restrained mind.”
23.68
When that is eaten, from your middle hood / will arise the auspicious lady, having the very form she had before dying.
23.69
Holding this desire in mind, perform the offering to the ancestors; / at that very moment, that fair-browed woman, from your middle hood as you breathe out,
23.70
will arise, an auspicious lady, having the very form she had before dying.' / Hearing this, the two bowed low to Maheśvara,
23.70.p1
and returned to Rasātala filled with contentment.
23.71
And so that serpent, younger brother of Kambala, performed the ancestral rite,
23.72
and duly consumed the middle rice-ball. / Contemplating that desire, that slender-waisted lady
23.73
was born forthwith from his middle hood as he exhaled, having that same form. / And that serpent told no one at all;
23.74
in the inner apartments he kept that fair-toothed woman protected by women. / And coming day after day, the two sons of the serpent lord happily
23.75
sported together with Ṛtadhvaja, like two immortals. / Once, the serpent king, filled with joy, said to his two sons:
23.76
‘Why is what I previously said not done accordingly? / That prince who helped the two of you—why is he,
23.77
bestower of honour, not brought near me so that I may render service, my children?’ / Thus spoken to by their affectionate father, the two
23.78
went to his city, and the two friends amused themselves with that wise man. / Then, making some turn in the conversation, the two said to Kuvalayāśva,
23.79
full of affection, regarding visiting their own home. / That prince said to the two: ‘Is not this your own home?
23.80
Whatever wealth, mounts, garments, and so forth are mine, that belongs to you two. / If wealth or even jewels are desired by you to be given,
23.81
let that be given, O sons of brahmins, if you have affection for me. / Thus far am I deceived by cruel fate,
23.82
since no sense of possessiveness is shown by you toward my house. / If you are to do what is dear to me, if I am to receive your favour,
23.82.p1
then let possessiveness be felt toward my wealth and my home.
23.83
Whatever is mine belongs to you both; what is yours is mine own.
23.84
Know this to be true: you two are my external life-breaths. / No such talk of separate interests should be spoken again, O best of twice-born!
23.85
Intent on my pleasure, you are bound in love by my heart.’ / Then, their faces moist with affection, both those sons of the serpent,
23.86
slightly indignant out of affection, said to the king's son: / ‘O Ṛtadhvaja! There is no doubt: just as you have spoken,
23.87
so indeed is it in our minds; there should be no thought otherwise in this matter. / Yet our high-souled father himself told us:
23.88
“I desire to see that Kuvalayāśva,” again and again.’ / Then Kuvalayāśva, rising up from his excellent seat, / saying ‘As father says,’ bowed down to the ground.
23.89
Kuvalayāśva said: / ‘Fortunate am I, exceedingly meritorious am I! Who else is equal to me, / that [your] father inclines his mind to see me?
23.90
Therefore arise, let us go! Father's command, even for a moment, / I do not wish to transgress here; I swear by his feet!’
23.91
The Fool said: / Having spoken thus, the prince then set forth with the two; / and having departed outside the city, he reached the holy Gomatī.
23.92
Through its midst went the sons of the serpent king and the prince; / and the prince thought their house was on the other bank.
23.93
Then, drawn down, the prince was led to Pātāla by the two; / and in Pātāla, he saw the two serpent youths,
23.94
radiant with jewels upon their hoods, bearing clear markings of the svastika. / Seeing them possessed of beautiful bodies, his eyes wide open with wonder,
23.95
he laughed and said with love, ‘Well done, O best of twice-born!’ / And the two told him of their father, the lord of serpents,
23.96
the tranquil one named Aśvatara, revered by the dwellers of heaven. / Then that prince beheld the delightful Pātāla,
23.97
adorned with young, youthful, and aged serpents, / and likewise with serpent maidens sporting here and there,
23.98
wearing beautiful earrings and necklaces, like the sky with stars; / elsewhere with sounds of singing accompanying the notes of lutes and flutes,
23.99
resounding with the instruments mṛdaṅga and paṇava, crowded with hundreds of delightful mansions. / Looking upon Pātāla, the son of Śatrujit went,
23.100
the subduer of foes, together with the two beloved serpents. / Then, all of them entering the dwelling of the serpent king,
23.101
they saw the high-souled sovereign of serpents seated, / wearing divine garlands and garments, adorned with jewelled earrings,
23.102
graced by lovely strings of clear pearl garlands, / wearing armlets, the illustrious one seated upon an all-golden seat,
23.103
in a pavilion latticed with gems, corals, and cat's-eye stones. / He was shown by the two to him: ‘This is our father;’
23.104
and this hero Kuvalayāśva was introduced to their father. / Then Ṛtadhvaja bowed to the feet of the serpent king.
23.105
Raising him up, the serpent king embraced him firmly with force, / and smelling his head, he said: ‘May you live long!
23.106
Having slain the host of your enemies, perform service to your parents! / My child, the virtues of you, fortunate one, though absent, are spoken of;
23.107
they were related as extraordinary by my two sons. / May you flourish by this very [virtue] through the actions of mind, speech, and body!
23.108
Praiseworthy is the life of a virtuous person; the unvirtuous is dead while living. / The virtuous one brings bliss to his parents, heartache to his enemies,
23.109
advances his own welfare, and inspires trust among great people. / Gods, ancestors, brahmins, friends, petitioners, the distressed, and others,
23.110
and relatives likewise desire the long life of a virtuous man. / Fruitful is the birth of the virtuous who refrain from slander, have pity on the destitute, / and are resorted to by those fallen into misfortune.’
23.111
The Fool said: / Having spoken thus to that hero, the serpent, / desiring to honour Kuvalayāśva, then said this to his two sons:
23.112
‘After performing all the rites of bathing and the rest in proper order, / and taking pleasure in drinking wine and the like, and dining as desired,
23.113
we shall then stay for a short while with delighted minds / in conversation with Kuvalayāśva that will be a feast for the heart.’
23.114
And the silent son of Śatrujit consented to that speech; / and the noble-minded king of serpents did accordingly.
23.115
Meeting with those sons of his and the king's son, / that truthful sovereign of the great serpents, self-controlled and filled with joy, / an experiencer of pleasures, enjoyed foods and sweet drinks as was fitting.
23.115.p1
Thus ends the twenty-third chapter, entitled 'Kuvalayāśva's Descent into the Netherworld', in the story of Madālasā in the glorious Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.
23.115.p2
Twenty-fourth chapter
Translations (1)
- The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa — Frederick Eden Pargiter 1888, English
Linked texts (1)
- Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit