"Then the virtuous king Yudhishthira in all humility again enquired of
the illustrious Markandeya, saying, 'O great _Muni_, thou hast seen many
thousands of ages pass away. In this world there is none so longlived as
thou! O best of those that have attained the knowledge of Supreme
Spirit, there is none equal to thee in years except the great-minded
_Brahma_ living in the most exalted place. Thou, O Brahmana, worshippest
_Brahma_ at the time of the great dissolution of the universe, when this
world is without sky and without the gods and _Danavas_. And when that
cataclysm ceaseth and the Grandsire awaketh, thou alone, O regenerate
_Rishi_, beholdest _Brahma_ duly re-create the four orders of beings
after having filled the cardinal points with air and consigned the
waters to their proper place. Thou, O great Brahmana, hast worshipped in
his presence the great Lord and Grandsire of all creatures with soul
rapt in meditation and entirely swallowed up in Him! And, O Brahmana,
thou hast many a time witnessed with thy eyes, the primeval acts of
creation, and, plunged in severe ascetic austerities, thou hast also
surpassed the _Prajapatis_ themselves! Thou art esteemed as one who is
nearest to Narayana, in the next world. Many a time in days of yore hast
thou beheld the Supreme Creator of the universe with eyes of spiritual
abstraction and renunciation, having first opened thy pure and
lotus-like heart--the only place where the multiform Vishnu of universal
knowledge may be seen! It is for this, O learned _Rishi_, by the grace
of God neither all-destroying Death, nor dotage that causeth the decay
of the body, hath any power over thee! When neither the sun, nor the
moon, nor fire, nor earth, nor air, nor sky remains, when all the world
being destroyed looketh like one vast ocean, when the _Gods_ and
_Asuras_ and the great _Uragas_ are annihilated, and when the
great-minded _Brahma_, the Lord of all creatures, taking his seat on a
lotus flower, sleepeth there, then thou alone remainest to worship him!
And, O best of Brahman as thou hast seen all this that occurred before,
with thy own eyes. And thou alone hast witnessed many things by the
senses, and never in all the worlds hath there been any thing unknown to
thee! Therefore do I long to hear any discourse explaining the causes of
things!'
"Markandeya replied, 'Indeed, I shall explain all, after having bowed
down to that Self-existent, Primordial Being, who is eternal and
undeteriorating and inconceivable, and who is at once vested with and
divested of attributes. O tiger among men, this Janardana attired in
yellow robes is the grand Mover and Creator of all, the Soul and Framer
of all things, and the lord of all! He is also called the Great, the
Incomprehensible, the Wonderful and the Immaculate. He is without
beginning and without end, pervades all the world, is Unchangeable and
Undeteriorating. He is the Creator of all, but is himself uncreate and
is the Cause of all power. His knowledge is greater than that of all the
gods together. O best of kings and pre-eminent of men, after the
dissolution of the universe, all this wonderful creation again comes
into life. Four thousand years have been said to constitute the _Krita
Yuga_. Its dawn also, as well as its eve, hath been said to comprise
four hundred years. The _Treta-Yuga_ is said to comprise three thousand
years, and its dawn, as well as its eve, is said to comprise three
hundred years. The _Yuga_ that comes next is called _Dwapara_, and it
hath been computed to consist of two thousand years. Its dawn, as well
as its eve, is said to comprise two hundred years. The next _Yuga_,
called _Kali_, is said to comprise one thousand years and its dawn, as
well as eve, is said to comprise one hundred years. Know, O king, that
the duration of the dawn is the same as that of the eve of a _Yuga_. And
after the _Kali Yuga_ is over, the _Krita Yuga_ comes again. A cycle of
the _Yugas_ thus comprised a period of twelve thousand years. A full
thousand of such cycles would constitute a _day of Brahma_. O tiger
among men, when all this universe is withdrawn and ensconced within its
home--the Creator himself--that disappearance of all things is called by
the learned to be Universal Destruction. O bull of the Bharata race,
towards the end of the last mentioned period of one thousand years,
i.e., when the period wanted to complete a cycle is short, men generally
become addicted to falsehood in speech. O son of Pritha, then sacrifices
and gifts and vows, instead of being performed by principals are
suffered to be performed by representatives! Brahmanas then perform acts
that are reserved for the _Sudras_, and the _Sudras_ betake themselves
to the acquisition of wealth. Then Kshatriyas also betake themselves to
the practice of religious acts. In the _Kali_ age, the Brahmanas also
abstain from sacrifices and the study of the Vedas, are divested of
their staff and deer-skin, and in respect of food become omnivorous.
And, O son, the Brahmanas in that age also abstain from prayers and
meditation while the Sudras betake themselves to these! The course of
the world looketh contrary, and indeed, these are the signs that
foreshadow the Universal Destruction. And, O lord of men, numerous
_Mleccha_ kings then rule over the earth! And those sinful monarchs,
addicted to false speech, govern their subjects on principles that are
false. The _Andhhas_, the _Sakas_, the _Pulindas_, the _Yavanas_, the
_Kamvojas_, the _Valhikas_ and the _Abhiras_, then become, O best of
men, possessed of bravery and the sovereignty of the earth. This, O
tiger among men, becometh the state of the world during the eve, O
Bharata, of the _Kali_ age! Not a single Brahmana then adhereth to the
duties of his order. And the Kshatriyas and the Vaisyas also, O monarch,
follow practices contrary to those that are proper for their own orders.
And men become short-lived, weak in strength, energy, and prowess; and
endued with small might and diminutive bodies, they become scarcely
truthful in speech. And the human population dwindles away over large
tracts of country, and the regions of the earth, North and South, and
East and West, become crowded with animals and beasts of prey. And
during this period, they also that utter _Brahma_, do so in vain. The
_Sudras_ address _Brahmanas_, saying, _Bho_, while the Brahmanas address
Sudras, saying _Respected Sir_. And, O tiger among men, at the end of
the _Yuga_, animals increase enormously. And, O king, odours and
perfumes do not then become so agreeable to our sense of scent, and, O
tiger among men, the very tastes of things do not then so well accord
with our organs of taste as at other periods! And, O king, women then
become mothers of numerous progeny, endued with low statures, and
destitute of good behaviour and good manners. And they also make their
very mouths serve the purposes of the organ of procreation. And famine
ravages the habitations of men, and the highways are infested by women
of ill fame, while females in general, O king, become at such periods
hostile to their lords and destitute of modesty! And, O king, the very
kine at such periods yield little milk, while the trees, sat over with
swarms of crows, do not produce many flowers and fruits. And, O lord of
the earth, regenerate classes, tainted with the sin of slaying
Brahmanas, accept gifts from monarchs that are addicted to falsehood in
speech. And filled with covetousness and ignorance, and bearing on their
persons the outward symbols of religion, they set out on eleemosynary
rounds, afflicting the people of the Earth. And people leading domestic
lives, afraid of the burden of taxes, become deceivers, while Brahmanas,
falsely assuming the garb of ascetics, earn wealth by trade, with nails
and hair unpared and uncut. And, O tiger among men, many of the
twice-born classes become, from avarice of wealth, religious mendicants
of the _Brahmacharin_ order. And, O monarch, men at such periods behave
contrary to the _modes_ of life to which they betake themselves, and
addicted to intoxicating drinks and capable of violating the beds of
their preceptors, their desires are all of this world, pursuing matters
ministering to the flesh and the blood. And O tiger among men, at such
period the asylums of ascetics become full of sinful and audacious
wretches ever applauding lives of dependence. And the illustrious
chastiser of Paka never showers rain according to the seasons and the
seeds also that are scattered on earth, do not, O Bharata, all sprout
forth. And men, unholy in deed and thought, take pleasure in envy and
malice. And, O sinless one, the earth then becometh full of sin and
immorality. And, O lord of the earth, he that becometh virtuous at such
periods doth not live long. Indeed, the earth becometh reft of virtue in
every shape. And, O tiger among men, the merchants and traders then full
of guile, sell large quantities of articles with false weights and
measures. And they that are virtuous do not prosper; while they that are
sinful proper exceedingly. And virtue loseth her strength while sin
becometh all powerful. And men that are devoted to virtue become poor
and short-lived; while they that are sinful become long-lived and win
prosperity. And in such times, people behave sinfully even in places of
public amusements in cities and towns. And men always seek the
accomplishment of their ends by means that are sinful. And having earned
fortunes that are really small they become intoxicated with the pride of
wealth. And O monarch, many men at such periods strive to rob the wealth
that hath from trust been deposited with them in secrecy. And wedded to
sinful practices, they shamelessly declare--_there is nothing in
deposit_. And beasts of prey and other animals and fowl may be seen to
lie down in places of public amusement in cities and towns, as well as
in sacred edifices. And, O king girls of seven or eight years of age do
then conceive, while boys of ten or twelve years beget offspring. And in
their sixteenth year, men are overtaken with decrepitude and decay and
the period of life itself is soon outrun. And O king, when men become so
short-lived, more youths act like the aged; while all that is observable
in youth may be noticed in the old. And women given to impropriety of
conduct and marked by evil manners, deceive even the best of husbands
and forget themselves with menials and slaves and even with animals. And
O king, even women that are wives of heroes seek the companionship of
other men and forget themselves with these during the life-time of their
husbands.
"'O king, towards the end of those thousands of years constituting the
four _Yugas_ and when the lives of men become so short, a drought occurs
extending for many years. And then, O lord of the earth, men and
creatures endued with small strength and vitality, becoming hungry die
by thousands. And then, O lord of men, seven blazing Suns, appearing in
the firmament, drink up all the waters of the Earth that are in rivers
or seas. And, O bull of the Bharata race, then also everything of the
nature of wood and grass that is wet to dry, is consumed and reduced to
ashes. And then, O Bharata, the fire called _Samvartaka_ impelled by the
winds appeareth on the earth that hath already been dried to cinders by
the seven Suns. And then that fire, penetrating through the Earth and
making its appearance, in the nether regions also, begetteth great
terror in the hearts of the _gods_, the _Danavas_ and the _Yakshas_.
And, O lord of the earth, consuming the nether regions as also
everything upon this Earth that fire destroyeth all things in a moment.
And that fire called _Samvartaka_ aided by that inauspicious wind,
consumeth this world extending for hundreds and thousands of _yojanas_.
And that lord of all things, that fire, blazing forth in effulgence
consumeth this universe with gods and _Asuras_ and _Gandharvas_ and
_Yakshas_ and _Snakes_ and _Rakshasas_. And there rise in the sky deep
masses of clouds, looking like herds of elephants and decked with
wreaths of lightning that are wonderful to behold. And some of those
clouds are of the hue of the blue lotus; and some are of the hue of the
water-lily; and some resemble in tint the filaments of the lotus and
some are purple and some are yellow as turmeric and some of the hue of
the crows' egg. And some are bright as the petals of the lotus and some
red as vermillion. And some resemble palatial cities in shape and some
herds of elephants. And some are of the form of lizards and some of
crocodiles and sharks. And, O king, the clouds that gather in the sky on
the occasion are terrible to behold and wreathed with lightnings, roar
frightfully. And those vapoury masses, charged with rain, soon cover the
entire welkin. And, O king, those masses of vapour then flood with water
the whole earth with her mountains and forests and mines. And, O bull
among men, urged by the Supreme Lord those clouds roaring frightfully,
soon flood over the entire surface of the earth. And pouring in a great
quantity of water and filling the whole earth, they quench that terrible
inauspicious fire (of which I have already spoken to thee). And urged by
the illustrious Lord those clouds filling the earth with their downpour
shower incessantly for twelve years. And then, O Bharata, the Ocean
oversteps his continents, the mountains sunder in fragments, and the
Earth sinks under the increasing flood. And then moved on a sudden by
the impetus of the wind, those clouds wander along the entire expanse of
the firmament and disappear from the view. And then, O ruler of men, the
Self-create Lord--the first Cause of everything--having his abode in the
lotus, drinketh those terrible winds and goeth to sleep, O Bharata!
"'And then when the universe become one dead expanse of water, when all
mobile and immobile creatures have been destroyed, when the _gods_ and
the _Asuras_ cease to be, when the _Yakshas_ and the _Rakshasas_ are no
more, when man is not, when trees and beasts of prey have disappeared,
when the firmament itself has ceased to exist, I alone, O lord of the
earth, wander in affliction. And, O best of kings, wandering over that
dreadful expanse of water, my heart becometh afflicted in consequence of
my not beholding any creature! And, O king, wandering without cessation,
through that flood, I become fatigued, but I obtain no resting place!
And some time after I behold in that expanse of accumulated waters a
vast and wide-extending banian tree, O lord of earth! And I then behold,
O Bharata, seated on a conch, O king, overlaid with a celestial bed and
attached to a far-extended bough of that banian, a boy, O great king, of
face fair as the lotus or the moon, and of eyes, O ruler of men, large
as petals of a full blown lotus! And at this sight, O lord of earth,
wonder filled my heart. And I asked myself, "How doth this boy alone sit
here when the world itself hath been destroyed?" And, O king, although I
have full knowledge of the Past, the Present, and the Future, still I
failed to learn anything of this by means of even ascetic meditation.
Endued with the lustre of the _Atasi_ flower, and decked with the mark
of _Sreevatsa_, he seemed to me to be like the abode of _Lakshmi_,
herself. And that boy, of eyes like the petals of the lotus, having the
mark of _Sreevatsa_, and possessed of blazing effulgence, then addressed
me in words highly pleasant to the ear, saying, "O sire, I know thee to
be fatigued and desirous of rest. O Markandeya of Bhrigu's race, rest
thou here as long as thou wishest. O best of _Munis_, entering within my
body, rest thou there. That hath been the abode assigned to thee by me.
I have been pleased with thee." Thus addressed by that boy, a sense of
total disregard possessed me in respect both of my long life and state
of manhood. Then that boy suddenly opened his mouth, and as fate would
have it, I entered his mouth deprived of the power of motion. But O
king, having suddenly entered into the stomach of that boy, I behold
there the whole earth teeming with cities and kingdoms. And, O best of
men, while wandering through the stomach of that illustrious one, I
behold the Ganga, the Satudru, the Sita, the Yamuna, and the Kausiki;
the Charmanwati, the Vetravati; the Chandrabhaga, the Saraswati, the
Sindhu, the Vipasa, and the Godavari; the Vaswokasara, the Nalini and
the Narmada; the Tamra, and the Venna also of delightful current and
sacred waters; the Suvenna, the Krishna-venna, the Irama, and the
Mahanadi; the Vitasti, O great king, and that large river, the Cavery;
the one also, O tiger among men, the Visalya, and the Kimpuna also. I
beheld all these and many other rivers that are on the earth! And, O
slayer of foes, I also beheld there the ocean inhabited by alligators
and sharks, that mine of gems, that excellent abode of waters. And I
beheld there the firmament also, decked with the Sun and the Moon,
blazing with effulgence, and possessed of lustre of fire of the Sun. And
I beheld there, O king, the earth also, graced with woods and forests.
And, O monarch, I beheld there many Brahmanas also, engaged in various
sacrifices; and the Kshatriyas engaged in doing good to all the orders;
and the Vaisyas employed in pursuits in agriculture; and the Sudras
devoted to the service of the regenerate classes. And, O king, while
wandering through the stomach of that high-souled one, I also beheld the
Himavat and the mountains of Hemakuta. And I also saw Nishada, and the
mountains of Sweta abounding in silver. And, O king, I saw there the
mountain Gandhamadana, and, O tiger among men, also Mandara and the huge
mountains of Nila. And, O great king, I saw there the golden mountains
of Meru and also Mahendra and those excellent mountains called the
Vindhyas. And I beheld there the mountains of Malaya and of Paripatra
also. These and many other mountains that are on earth were all seen by
me in his stomach. And all these were decked with jewels and gems. And,
O monarch, while wandering through his stomach, I also beheld lions and
tigers and boars and, indeed, all other animals that are on earth, O
great king! O tiger among men, having entered his stomach, as I wandered
around, I also beheld the whole tribe of the _gods_ with their chief
Sakra, the _Sadhyas_, the _Rudras_, the _Adityas_, the _Guhyakas_, the
_Pitris_, the _Snakes_ and the _Nagas_, the feathery tribes, the
_Vasus_, the _Aswins_, the _Gandharvas_, the _Apsaras_, the _Yakshas_,
the _Rishis_, the hordes of the _Daityas_ and the _Danavas_, and the
_Nagas_ also, O king, and the sons of _Singhika_ and all the other
enemies of the gods; indeed what else of mobile and immobile creatures
may be seen on earth, were all seen by me, O monarch, within the stomach
of that high-souled one. And, O lord, living upon fruits I dwelt within
his body for many centuries wandering over the entire universe that is
there. Never did I yet, O king, behold the limits of his body. And when,
O lord of earth, I failed to measure the limits of that high-souled
one's body, even though I wandered within him continuously in great
anxiety of mind, I then, in thought and deed sought the protection of
that boon-giving and pre-eminent Deity, duly acknowledging his
superiority. And when I had done this, O king, I was suddenly projected
(from within his body) through that high-souled one's open mouth by
means, O chief of men, of a gust of wind. And, O king, I then beheld
seated on the branch of that very banian that same Being of immeasurable
energy, in the form of a boy with the mark of _Sreevatsa_ (on his
breast) having, O tiger among men, swallowed up the whole universe. And
that boy of blazing effulgence and bearing the mark of _Sreevatsa_ and
attired in yellow robes, gratified with me, smilingly addressed me,
saying, "O Markandeya, O best of _Munis_, having dwelt for some time
within my body, thou hast been fatigued! I shall however speak unto
thee." And as he said this to me, at that very moment I acquired a new
sight, so to speak, in consequence of which I beheld myself to be
possessed of true knowledge and emancipated from the illusions of the
world. And, O child, having witnessed the inexhaustible power of that
Being of immeasurable energy, I then worshipped his revered and
well-shaped feet with soles bright as burnished copper and well-decked
with toes of mild red hue, having placed them carefully on my head and
joining my palms in humility and approaching him with reverence. I
beheld that Divine Being who is the soul of all things and whose eyes
are like the petals of the lotus. And having bowed unto him with joined
hands I addressed him saying, "I wish to know thee, O Divine Being, as
also this high and wonderful illusion of thine! O illustrious one,
having entered into thy body through thy mouth, I have beheld the entire
universe in thy stomach! O Divine Being, the gods, the _Danavas_ and the
_Rakshasas_, the _Yakshas_, the _Gandharvas_, and the _Nagas_, indeed,
the whole universe mobile and immobile, are all within thy body! And
though I have ceaselessly wandered through thy body at a quick pace,
through thy grace, O God, my memory faileth me not. And, O great lord, I
have come out of thy body at thy desire but not of mine! O thou of eyes
like lotus leaves, I desire to know thee who art free from all faults!
Why dost thou stay here in the form of a boy having swallowed up the
entire universe? It behoveth thee to explain all this to me. Why, O
sinless one, is the entire universe within thy body? How long also, O
chastiser of foes, wilt thou stay here? Urged by a curiosity that is not
improper for Brahmanas, I desire, O Lord of all the gods, to hear all
this from thee, O thou of eyes like lotus leaves, with every detail and
exactly as it all happens, for all I have seen, O Lord, is wonderful and
inconceivable!" And thus addressed by me, that deity of deities, of
blazing effulgence and great beauty, that foremost of all speakers
consoling me properly, spoke unto me these words.'"