CHAPTER VIIL RULOGY UNTO NARAYANA The auspecious Sounaka sai O suta! O thou who art the honest and virtuous ! O thou who art the foremost of the speakers {I bless thee with long life. Do thou narrate unto me all that I ask of thee, Because, thou art the leader of those persons who are roving over this ocean of world which is too difficult to crossover. The men say, “That the sage Markandeya, the son of Mrikanda, enjoys an eternal life ; and he survived the dissolution of the entire Universe, As a matter of fact, nothing remained of this Universe at the time of the general dissolution. O ! do thou tell me how this could possibly take place.” During the present age, Markandeya has descended from our dynasty and he is the most exalted of the Bhrigu race. But no destruction of the creatures of this Universe has taken place by this time. Hence, how is it that he lived after this elemental dissolution ? Again, whilst rhe great sage was living alone on the fear- ful ocean of dissolution he saw an extraordinary infant lying on the leaves of a hanian tree, floating on the surface of the water of the ocean. This has been over insoluble scru- ple. We are very curious to know all about this. Do thou therefore, remove over doubts. For thou art a great devotee and also thou art conversant with the principles of the Puranas. 1—5 The auspicious Suta said:—O thou saint of the highest class ! the question that thou hast put, explains men's doubts and it comprehends all accounts of Narayana, By the recita- tion of these holy accounts, all sins, naturally committed by men during the Kali-Yuga, are at once driven away. Having been-variously initiated by his father, in the different stages of'-his life from whilst he was in the womb of the mother down’ to.his being made.a twice-borrie one, Markandeya itivto study the Vedas’; and ‘after having finished them,SRIMAD-BHAGABATAM 315 he strictly engaged himself in the practice of severe asceticism. Markandeya then commenced to practise the most severe vows, His passions were wholly spent. He bore matted hairs. He put on the barks of trees instead of garments. He bore a Kamandalu (a kind of utensil for carrying water). He also carried with him a staff, the sacred thread, the mekhala (belt), the skin of a deer named Krishnasara and the holy kusa grass, With a view to enhance his virtue, he properly worship ped Sri Hari, during the two twilight hours of the day, in the forms of the Sun, the Fire, the Preceptor, the Regenerate Preson, and the Supreme Spirit. Moreover he continued to suppress all utterances, and he gave away, both in the mor- ning and evening, all the articles, that he collected by begging during the day, into the hands of his preceptor. When he was enjoined by the preceptor, then only he fed himself ; but otherwise he generally observed fasting. Thus having wholly engaged himself in asceticism, as well as in the study of the Vedas, that great sage Markandeya properly worshipped Hrishikesha for a long period of ten thousand years. By virtue of such austere asceticism, he gained a decisive victory over Death, which is almost uncon- querable. On observing his severe asceticism, Brahma himself Siva, Bhrigu, Daksha, and the other sons of Brahma, the immortal celestials, the Pitris, and the other creatures all in fact were struck with amazement. (6—12). _-Phe great devotee Markandeya. having thus observed the strict vows by engaging himself in the practice of severe asceticism and in the study of the Vedas, became entirely released from the passion of anger and miseties ; as also he began to meditate upon the Supreme Soul—the Supreme Being—in his heart. Thus having engaged his whole heart in severe devotion, the great ascetic had spent a long period of six Manwantaras. O Supreme Being ! having heard of the conduct of this devotee. Indra, the king of the celestials, became highly afraid of this severe practice of asceticism. He (Indra), therefore, began to put obstacles on the way of this sage on the seventh Manwantaras. With a view to distract him (the316 SRIMAD-BHAGABATAM sage) from this severe practice, he (Indra) sent down the Gandharvas, the Apsaras, the God of Love, the Summer, the sweet breeze blowing from the Malaya mountains, temptation and pride.” O Lord ! these evil agents too departed towards the sacred retreat of the devotee, which was situated to the north of the Himalayas. There they witnessed the two rivers, the Puspabbadra and the Chitra. The asylum of the great sage Markandeya was noticed to be most sacred. It was adorned with the most beautiful trees and the ornamental creepers. The lots of good-looking birds sang round it. The excellently excavated tanks were also found to deck this sacred abode of the great saint Markandeya. Thereabout the holy asylum the honey-bees continued to buzz, as if they had lost their instinct. The cuckoos, also sang in great amusement. The peacocks, again, roved about, most gaudily dressed ‘like the actors on the stage. The birds were seen to sing madly all round the asylum. The breeze, sweetly blowing from the Malaya mountains and taking away with it all the particles of snow embraced the flowers themselves; and as it blew, it awakened boundless love in all. (13—20). Thus, there the happy spring was found to be ever present with all its accompaniments. At the approaclt of the night the Moon appeared on the firmament. The trees and the creepets bore bunches of flowers and fruits and they appea- red to have embracing one another. Then the God of love, who is the ring leader of all the heavenly fairies, appeared there immediately. The Gandharvas, again, followed the god of love, and they then began to sing, and played all sorts of musical instruments. Thereby they produced a sweet harmony. | These lants-of~Indra witnessed that the great saint seated himself before the altar, after having fini- shed the act of offering oblations unto the sacrificial fire. He then opened his eyes, and appeared even as the embodied fotm of-the God of fire himself, which seemed to be too diffi- cult’ to be extinguished. Fa Thereafter, the heavenly damsels-began to dance before " e-heavenly _Songsters sang round him, and played the