Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.8.2-5
Nirodha· Winding upBring Confusion to a Trusted Authority
“Authorities say that Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, the son of Mṛkaṇḍu, was an exceptionally long-lived sage who was the only survivor at the end of Brahmā’s day, when the entire universe was merged in the flood of annihilation. But this same Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, the foremost descendant of Bhṛgu, took birth in my own family during the current day of Brahmā, and we have not yet seen any total annihilation in this day of Brahmā. Also, it is well known that Mārkaṇḍeya, while wandering helplessly in the great ocean of annihilation, saw in those fearful waters a wonderful personality — an infant boy lying alone within the fold of a banyan leaf. O Sūta, I am most bewildered and curious about this great sage, Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi. O great yogī, you are universally accepted as the authority on all the Purāṇas. Therefore kindly dispel my confusion.”
What the purport teaches
- Śaunaka asks how Mārkaṇḍeya could have survived an annihilation when he was born during the current day of Brahmā, in which no such annihilation had yet occurred.
- Brahmā’s twelve-hour day lasts 4 billion 320 million years, and his night lasts equally long. The purport says that apparently Mārkaṇḍeya lived throughout one such day and night and continued into the following day.
- Śaunaka also asks about the extraordinary infant lying on a banyan leaf in the fearful waters. He turns to Sūta Gosvāmī, an accepted authority on the Purāṇas, to clarify these mysteries.
Try this today
Write down one question from your reading that you would like to clarify through an authoritative explanation.
Ask yourself
When a scriptural account puzzles me, am I willing to ask respectfully and hear patiently?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.