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Markandeyapurana 75

English (machine translation) 75

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English

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75.1

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / The fifth Manu, O brahmin, is renowned by the name Raivata; / hear in detail of his birth as I recount it to you.

75.2

There was an illustrious ṛṣi known as Ṛtavāc; / to that great-souled one, who had been childless, a son was born at the end of Revatī.

75.3

He performed for him according to rule the birth-rites and other rites, / as well as the initiation and so forth; but he turned out ill-behaved, O sage.

75.4

From the time he was born, from that time on that ṛṣi, / that best of sages, fell into the affliction of a lingering disease.

75.5

His mother, afflicted by leprosy and other ailments, suffered extreme distress; / and his father, grieving, pondered:

75.6

"What is this?" And that very wicked-minded son of his / seized the wife named Saṃmukhī belonging to another sage's son.

75.7

Then with a despondent mind, Ṛtavāc spoke this: / "Childlessness is better for men, not having a bad son.

75.8

A bad son always causes distress to the heart of his father / and of his mother, and casts his ancestors down from heaven.

75.9

He brings no help to friends, and no satisfaction to the ancestors; / causing sorrow to his parents, cursed is the birth of that evil-doer.

75.10

Blessed are those whose sons are approved by all the world, / benevolent to others, tranquil, and devoted to virtuous action.

75.11

Discontented, foolish, and indifferent to the next world, / a life reliant on a bad son leads to hell, not to a good destiny.

75.12

A bad son surely brings distress to friends, joy to enemies, / and premature old age to his parents."

75.13

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Thus, with a mind burning on account of the actions of that extremely wicked son, / the sage asked Garga about the cause.

75.14

Ṛtavāc said: / "Formerly, observing good vows, the Vedas were properly mastered by me; / having duly completed the Vedas, marriage was undertaken.

75.15

The rites to be performed with a wife, Vedic, traditional, and sacrificial offerings, / have not been performed deficiently in any way by me up to this day, O great sage.

75.16

In accordance with the rules of conception, not obeying lust, / and fearing the hell called Put, this boy was engendered for the sake of a son, O sage.

75.17

Did this one become a bringer of grief to us and a source of sorrow to relatives through wicked conduct / because of his own fault, or because of my fault, O sage?"

75.18

[Garga said:] / "O best of sages, this son of yours was born at the end of Revatī; / therefore he is for your sorrow, since he was born at an inauspicious time.

75.19

It is not your fault, nor that of his mother, nor of your family; / but the cause of his wickedness is that he arrived at the end of Revatī."

75.20

Ṛtavāc said: / "Since this wickedness of my only son arose from the end of Revatī, / therefore let that Revatī fall down at once!"

75.21

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / When the curse was thus uttered by him, the asterism Revatī fell down indeed, / while all the world watched, their minds filled with astonishment.

75.22

And the fallen asterism Revatī on all sides of Mount Kumuda / suddenly illuminated the forests, caves, and mountain streams.

75.23

And from its falling, Mount Kumuda became known as Raivataka, / an exceedingly delightful mountain upon the whole earth.

75.24

The beauty of that constellation became a lake of lotuses; / from that [lake] was then born a maiden exceedingly lovely in form.

75.25

Seeing her born from the beauty of Revatī, the sage Pramuca / gave her this name: 'Revatī by name, O Bhāguri.'

75.26

And that noble sage Pramuca fostered her, / born near his own hermitage on that very great mountain.

75.27

Seeing that maiden youthful and possessed of beauty, / the sage reflected, 'Who could be her husband?'

75.28

As he thus reflected, O sage, a great deal of time passed by, / and the great sage did not find a suitable bridegroom for her.

75.29

Then the sage Pramuca, to ask the fire about a groom for her, / entered the fire-sanctuary, and the consumer of oblations spoke to the inquirer:

75.30

'Very strong, possessed of great valor, pleasant of speech, devoted to dharma, / a king named Durgama shall surely be her husband.'

75.31

Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Shortly thereafter, while pursuing the hunt, O sage, / that wise king Durgama came to the site of his hermitage.

75.32

Born in the lineage of Priyavrata, endowed with great strength and prowess, / he was the son of Vikramaśīla, born from the womb of Kālindī.

75.33

Entering the site of the hermitage and not seeing the sage, the lord of the earth, / addressing that slender maiden as 'beloved,' asked [her]:

75.33.p1

The king said:

75.34

'Where has the venerable bull among sages gone from this hermitage? / I wish to bow to him here; please tell me that, O fair one.'

75.35

Mārkaṇḍeya said:
The brahmin had gone to the fire-sanctuary; hearing his words / and his addressing [her] as 'beloved,' he came out in haste.

75.36

The sage saw before him the great-souled king Durgama, / bearing the royal insignia and bowed down with modesty.

75.37

Having seen him, he then said to his disciple Gautama, / 'Gautama, let the guest-offering be brought quickly for this lord of the earth!

75.38

First, this king has arrived after a long time, / and especially as a son-in-law he is deemed by me worthy of the guest-offering.'

75.39

Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Then the king wondered about the reason for being called a son-in-law, / but, remaining silent, he did not understand it; and the king accepted the guest-offering.

75.40

When he was seated and had received the guest-offering, the great sage, the brahmin, / bid the king of kings welcome: 'Is all well in your household?

75.41

In your treasury, army, and among your friends, servants, and ministers, O lord of men, / and likewise in yourself, O mighty-armed one, in whom everything is established?

75.42

And your wife is well, since she follows [after you]; / therefore I do not ask of her: are your other [wives] well?'

75.42.p1

The king said:

75.43

'By your favor, nowhere is there any misfortune for me, O one of good vows; / but curiosity has arisen in me: who is my wife here, O sage?'

75.44

The ṛṣi said:
'The exceedingly fortunate Revatī, beautiful even throughout the three worlds, / that shapely woman is your wife; do you not know her, O king?'

75.44.p1

The king said:

75.45

'Subhadrā the daughter of Śānta, the daughter of Kāverī, O lord, / Surāṣṭrajā, Sujātā, Kadambā, and the daughter of Varūtha,

75.46

Vipāṭhā, and Nandinī—these wives residing in my house I know, O twice-born one; / but I do not know, O venerable one, who this Revatī is.'

75.47

The ṛṣi said:
'This fair-complexioned one whom just now you addressed as "beloved"— / have you forgotten her, O king? She is your praiseworthy housewife.'

75.47.p1

The king said:

75.48

'I spoke the truth, but my intention was not wicked, O sage; / being entreated by us, you ought not to direct your anger here.'

75.49

The ṛṣi said:
'You speak the truth, O king! Your intention was not corrupted; / prompted by the fire, O king, you spoke thus.

75.50

The sacrificial fire was asked by me, "Who will be her husband, O earth-ruler?" / and by him it was declared that you yourself are the groom today.

75.51

Therefore let the maiden given by me be accepted by you, O lord of men; / and she has been addressed [by you] as "beloved"; why do you hesitate?'

75.52

Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Addressed thus by him, the lord of the earth became silent; / and the ṛṣi set about to perform her wedding rites.

75.53

Seeing her father preparing for the marriage, O great sage, / the maiden, her face bowed in modesty, said something [to him]:

75.54

'If you have affection for me, dear father, you ought to grant a favor: / propitiated, let him perform my marriage under the asterism Revatī.'

75.55

The ṛṣi said:
'The asterism Revatī is indeed not conjoined with the moon, O fortunate one; / there are other bridal asterisms for you, O fair-browed one.'

75.55.p1

The maiden said:

75.56

'Dear father, without it the time seems futile to me; / how could there be a marriage at a futile time for one like me?'

75.57

The ṛṣi said:
'The ascetic known as Ṛtavāc became angry at Revatī; / by him, enraged, the asterism was brought down.

75.58

And she has been promised by me to him as his wife, O intoxication-eyed one; / if you do not desire the marriage, a dilemma has come upon us.'

75.58.p1

The maiden said:

75.59

'Has that sage Ṛtavāc, dear father, performed austerities thus, / and not you, my father? Am I the daughter of a contemptible brahmin?'

75.60

The ṛṣi said:
'You are not the daughter of a contemptible brahmin, child, nor [merely] of an ascetic; / you are the daughter of me, who am capable of creating other gods.'

75.60.p1

The maiden said:

75.61

'If my father is an ascetic, why then is this asterism not placed / in the sky and my marriage performed under that asterism?'

75.62

The ṛṣi said:
'Let it be so, may you be fortunate, O auspicious one, be pleased! / For your sake, I shall place the asterism Revatī in the path of the moon.'

75.63

Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Then, by the power of his asceticism, the great sage, the best of the twice-born, / made the asterism Revatī conjoined with the moon as before.

75.64

And having duly performed the wedding of his daughter accompanied by mantras, / pleased, he then said once more to his son-in-law:

75.65

'Tell me, O king, what wedding gift shall I give you? / I will grant even what is hard to attain; my ascetic power is unobstructed.'

75.65.p1

The king said:

75.66

'I was born in the lineage of Manu Svāyambhuva, O sage; / by your favor, I choose a son who will be a ruler of a manvantara.'

75.67

The ṛṣi said:
'This desire of yours will be fulfilled; your son will be a Manu, / will enjoy the whole earth, O king, and will know dharma.'

75.68

Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Taking her, the king then went to his own city. / From him and Revatī was born a son, Manu Raivata,

75.69

endowed with all the dharmas of human beings, unconquered, / who understood the meaning of all the śāstras, and knew the meaning of the Vedic lore and the śāstras.

75.70

In his manvantara, the gods, sages, Indras, and kings / as told by me, O brahmin, hear with an attentive mind.

75.71

There the gods were the Sumedhases, and likewise the kings, O twice-born; / the Vaikuṇṭhas and the Amitābhas, fourteen in each group.

75.72

And the lord of all four of these groups of gods / was Indra, named Vibhu, characterized by a hundred sacrifices.

75.73

Hiraṇyaloman, Vedaśrī, and another, Ūrdhvabāhu, / Vedabāhu, and Sudhāman, and Parjanya, the great sage,

75.74

and the fortunate Vasiṣṭha, who had crossed to the end of the Vedas and Vedānta— / these were the Seven Sages in the interval of Manu Raivata.

75.75

Balabandhu, of great valor, and another, Suyaṣṭavya, / and Satayaka and others were the sons of Manu Raivata.

75.76

The Manus ending with Raivata that have been told by me to you / are grounded in Svāyambhuva, except for Manu Svārociṣa.

75.77

Whoever constantly hears or recites this excellent narrative, / freed from all sins, attains the desired realm.

75.77.p1

Thus ends the seventy-fifth chapter in the holy Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, in the Raivata Manvantara.

75.77.p2

Seventy-sixth chapter - 76

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