Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c22.123

c22.123

Among the Bhārgavas were also the Mārkaṇḍeyas,¹⁰ and Mārkaṇḍa is mentioned as a gotra-founder among the Bhārgavas,¹¹ but there is no mention of them in the genealogy. Mārkaṇḍeya is a patronymic from Mārkaṇḍa,¹² and these are sometimes treated as equivalent terms.¹³ ‘Mārkaṇḍeya’ is a vague and elusive figure, often mentioned as a distinguished rishi and introduced at various times and with reference to various places.¹ There was of course a family of Mārkaṇḍeyas, yet ‘Mārkaṇḍeya’ is regarded sometimes as only one rishi who was long-lived.² He appears always without any personal name or definite connexion. Though a Bhārgava, ‘Mārkaṇḍeya’ always stands rather apart, and there is no real explanation, as far as I know, how the Mārkaṇḍeyas arose. Mārkaṇḍeya is said to have been a son of a rishi Mṛkaṇḍa or Mṛkaṇḍu,³ but they are placed in the Svāyambhuva manvantara,⁴ which is irrelevant here. It seems probable that Mārkaṇḍa is to be connected with Marka,⁵ son of Uśanas-Śukra. All Śukra’s descendants by holding to non-Aryan tribes disappeared, except Śaṇḍa and Marka as mentioned above; and if so, the descendants of Marka would have obtained a permanent position among the Aryans, and may have been the Mārkaṇḍeyas.