Markandeyapurana 61
English (machine translation) 61
- Language
- English
Contents
- 61.79 — 2 parts
61.1
Krauṣṭuki said: / What you were asked, O great sage, has been correctly told by you— / the arrangement of the earth, oceans, and so forth, their measurements, and likewise the planets,
61.2
and their extent, the positioning of the asterisms, / the worlds beginning with Bhūr, and all the nether regions,
61.3
as well as the Svāyambhuva manvantara, O sage, has been explained to me. / I wish to hear about the other manvantaras, / their presiding rulers, the gods, the sages, and their sons who were kings.
61.4
Mārkaṇḍeya said: / The Svāyambhuva manvantara has been recounted to you by me; / now hear the next one, called the Svārociṣa, immediately following it.
61.5
In the city named Aruṇāspada, on the bank of the Varuṇā, / there lived an eminent twice-born man, a brahmin who surpassed even the Aśvins in beauty.
61.6
He was gentle by nature, of righteous conduct, master of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, / ever hospitable to guests, and a refuge to those who arrived at night.
61.7
The thought occurred to him: 'Let me see the earth, / adorned with exceedingly delightful forests and gardens, and with various cities.'
61.8
Then once an unexpected guest arrived at his house, / one who knew the properties of various herbs and was expert in the science of mantras.
61.9
Having been courteously attended to by him with a faith-purified mind, / he described to him countries and delightful cities,
61.10
forests, rivers, mountains, and holy shrines. / Overwhelmed with wonder at that, he said to that best of the twice-born:
61.11
'You must be utterly exhausted from seeing so many regions! / You are not very advanced in age, nor have you passed beyond youth; / how, O twice-born, do you wander over the earth in so short a time?'
61.12
The brahmin said: / 'By the power of mantras and herbs, my course is unimpeded, O brahmin; / indeed, I travel a thousand yojanas in half a day.'
61.13
Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then that brahmin spoke to him again with respect, / trusting the words of that learned brahmin:
61.14
'Favor me, O venerable one, with what arises from the power of mantras; / an intense desire has arisen in me to see this earth.'
61.15
That noble-minded brahmin gave him an ointment for his feet, / and carefully consecrated with a mantra the direction named by him.
61.16
Then, having anointed his feet with it, O best of the twice-born, that twice-born man / went to see the Himavat mountain, adorned with various cascades.
61.17
Thinking, 'Since I travel a thousand yojanas in half a day, / I shall return in the other half of the day,'
61.18
he reached the summit of the Himavat, his body not at all weary, O twice-born, / and then roved about there on the snowy mountain slopes.
61.19
Then, by the melting snow trodden upon by his feet, / the foot ointment, produced from supreme herbs, was washed away.
61.20
Then, his stride rendered sluggish, as he wandered here and there, / he beheld the exceedingly charming peaks of the snow mountain,
61.21
frequented by siddhas and gandharvas, enjoyed by kinnaras, / delightful with the play and sporting of gods and other beings on every side.
61.22
Gazing upon them crowded with hundreds of heavenly apsarases, / the best of the twice-born was not satiated, his hair standing on end [with wonder], O sage.
61.23
In one place it was delightful with waterfalls cascading from a stream; / in another it echoed with the shrieks of dancing peacocks;
61.24
in some places it was accompanied by exceedingly enchanting watercocks, lapwings, and other birds, / and the soft, ear-ravishing coos of male cuckoos;
61.25
it was fanned by breezes scented with the perfume of blooming trees. / Filled with joy, he looked upon the Himavat, that great mountain.
61.26
And having seen this great mountain Himavat, the son of the twice-born, / thinking 'I will see it tomorrow,' set his mind on returning home.
61.27
Then, the foot ointment having been lost, his movement slowed after a long while; / he reflected: 'What is this that has been done by me through ignorance?
61.28
If my ointment is lost, washed away by the snow water, / this mountain is exceedingly difficult to traverse, and I have come far here.
61.29
I will incur the loss of my religious rites, such as tending the sacred fire; / how shall I manage here? A great calamity has befallen me!
61.30
Saying "This is delightful, this is delightful!" upon this excellent mountain, / with my sight captivated, I will not reach satiety even in a hundred years.
61.31
The melodious songs of the kinnaras steal the ear on all sides, / and my nostrils intensely catch the scents of blossoming trees;
61.32
the pleasantly touching wind, the juicy fruits, / and the charming lakes forcibly captivate my mind.
61.33
Things being so, if only I could see some storehouse of austerities; / he might show me the path for going towards my home.'
61.34
Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Thinking thus, the brahmin wandered on the Himavat, / deprived of the power of the foot-herb, fallen into utter despair.
61.35
Varūthinī saw that best of sages wandering— / the exalted, excellent apsaras of the Mauleya family, endowed with beauty.
61.36
As soon as she beheld that foremost of brahmins, Varūthinī's heart / was seized by love, and instantly she fell in love.
61.37
She thought, “Who indeed is this person of most delightful form? / My birth would bear fruit if he does not disdain me!
61.38
Ah, the sweetness of his beauty! Ah, his graceful gait! / Ah, the profundity of his gaze! Where is his equal on earth?
61.39
I have seen gods, daityas, siddhas, gandharvas, and pannagas; / how is there not even one equal in form to this great soul?
61.40
If he were to be in love with me just as I am with him, / then whatever store of merit was made by me would have achieved its purpose here.
61.41
If he would cast an affectionate glance upon me today, / then no other woman in the three worlds will have performed merit like me.”
61.42
Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Reflecting thus, that divine woman, afflicted with desire, / displayed herself in a most lovely form.
61.43
Seeing Varūthinī of lovely form, the son of the brahmin / approached with courtesy and spoke these words:
61.44
“Who are you, radiant as the lotus-womb? Whose daughter are you, and what are you doing here? / I am a brahmin who has come here from the city whose abode is Aruṇa.
61.45
My foot-ointment here has been destroyed, washed away by the meltwater of the snow, / by whose power I arrived here, O intoxicating-eyed woman.”
61.46
Varūthinī said: / “I am the illustrious Varūthinī of the Mauleyas, well-known by name; / I ever roam here on this delightful great mountain.
61.47
O brahmin, from seeing you I have fallen under the sway of desire. / Command what I must do; I am subservient to you now.”
61.48
The brahmin said: / “Tell me the means, O bright-smiling, blessed lady, by which I may go to my own home; / [otherwise] there is loss of all our ritual duties.
61.49
Great harm indeed befalls a twice-born's daily and occasional rites; / therefore, O auspicious lady, rescue me from the Himavat!
61.50
Living abroad is never praised for brahmins; / has my curiosity to see the region not sinned, O timid one?
61.51
In the house of a noble twice-born, all rites are accomplished; / for one living abroad, there is only loss of the daily and occasional duties.
61.52
Therefore, why speak much? Act in such a way, O glorious one, / that I may see my own home before the sun sets.”
61.53
Varūthinī said: / “Do not speak thus, O illustrious one! May that day never come for me, / when, abandoning me, you return to your own home!
61.54
Ah, heaven is not more delightful than this, O delight of the twice-born! / Abandoning the abode of the gods, we therefore dwell here.
61.55
Sporting with me here on this lovely snowy mountain, O beloved, / you will not remember your mortal relatives!
61.56
Garlands, garments, ornaments, objects of pleasure, delicacies, and ointments— / I will give them to you here, captive as I am, overcome by desire.
61.57
The sound of lute and flute, the delightful song of kinnaras, / wind that brings delight to the limbs, warm food, pure water,
61.58
a couch desired by the heart, fragrant ointments— / what more is there in your own home for you who dwell here, O noble one?
61.59
Dwelling here, old age will never come upon you; / this is the land of the thirty [gods], bestowing the fullness of youth.”
61.60
Having spoken thus, the lotus-eyed woman, in love, suddenly / embraced him, saying gently and passionately, “Be gracious!”
61.61
The brahmin said: / “Do not touch me! Go elsewhere, wicked woman, to one who is your equal! / I asked you for one thing, but you approach me for quite another.
61.62
The oblation offered evening and morning grants eternal realms; / all this triple world, O foolish woman, is founded upon the oblation.”
61.63
Varūthinī said: / “Am I not dear to you, O brahmin? Is the mountain not delightful? / Leaving aside gandharvas, kinnaras, and the rest, who indeed is desirable to you?
61.64
You will indeed go to your own home from here without a doubt; / for a short time, enjoy with me pleasures very difficult to attain.”
61.66
The brahmin said: / “Compassion is the first among the eight qualities of the self, O brahmin! / Why do you not show it toward me, O protector of true dharma?”
61.67
“Deprived of you I will not live, so much am I in love with you; / I do not speak falsely. Be gracious, O joy of your lineage!”
61.68
The brahmin said: / “If you truly love me, and do not speak out of mere flattery, / then tell me the means by which I may go to my own abode.”
61.69
Varūthinī said: / “You will indeed go to your own home from here without a doubt; / for a short time, enjoy with me pleasures very difficult to attain.”
61.70
The brahmin said: / “Pleasure is never praised for brahmins, Varūthinī! / Here the effort of brahmins is for austerity, and bears fruit in the hereafter.”
61.71
Varūthinī said: / “By saving me who am dying, the fruit of merit will be yours / in the hereafter, and pleasures in another birth.
61.72
And thus both of these will be a cause of enhancement for you here; / through refusal, I will meet death and you will incur sin.”
61.73
The brahmin said: / “My teachers declared, ‘One should not desire another's wife’; / therefore I do not desire you. Weep or wither as you will!”
61.74
Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Having spoken thus, that illustrious man, having touched water, disciplined and pure, / bowing down to the Gārhapatya fire, said this in a whisper:
61.75
“O Lord, Gārhapatya fire, you are the womb of all rites; / from you arise the Āhavanīya and Dakṣiṇa fires, and from nowhere else.
61.76
From being nourished by you, the gods become the causes of rain, grain, and the rest; / from grain comes the entire world, and not from anywhere else.
61.77
By the truth that this world thus arises from you, / let me see my own home today while the sun is still present.
61.78
Just as the Vedic rite was not abandoned by me at its proper time, / by that truth, let me, as a householder, behold the sun today.
61.79
And just as my mind has never felt desire for another's property / or another's wife, so let this come to fulfillment for me!”
61.79.p1
Thus ends the sixty-first chapter in the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, named “The Speech of the Brahmin”.
61.79.p2
Sixty-second chapter — 62
Translations (1)
- The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa — Frederick Eden Pargiter 1888, English
Linked texts (1)
- Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit