thank you, piyush. for the kind words and for the pointer.
this is indeed a fascinating book.
i was also not aware that this was what markandeya said. my knowledge of markandeya was confined to a) his chandrasekhara ashtakam, as beautifully sung by ghayatri devi, b) the malayalam play on 'the time when yama was not around' -- in that version, shiva vaporized yama for daring to drag markandeya off, and this led to severe problems as nothing would die!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: piyush
From: piyush
Dear Rajeev,
I have been a long-time fan of your blog.
Your blog is a must-read for me every day.
I must say, you are doing pioneering work in raising the Hindu Voice, and educating people about the threats to Hinduism.
I came across this fascinating extract which talks of Markandeya's description of the birth and death of celestial bodies. Has anyone come across a more detailed description of the life of the Solar Systems given by Markandeya?
This extract is from the book, 'The complete idiot's Guide to Hinduism' by Linda Johnsen.
Despite its name, the book is engaging and informative, and provides a sympathetic view of Hinduism written by a Westerner.
Regards,
Piyush
3 comments:
I have seen the book 'The complete idiot's Guide to Hinduism' and it is worth buying. Or most of it can be read at link provided in the article.
I suspect that some of the stories that are supposed to be from our Puranas are made up by over-enthusiastic Hindus. I have not been able to find any other source that discusses the end of the Earth as seen by Markandeya in a like manner. As far as I could see, the book does not give a source. It would be nice if someone could go to the source and give an authentic translation.
Closest I found is the following narration by Markandeya to Yudhistira. (Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Markandeya-Samasya Parva ):
tasmin yugasahasrānte saṃprāpte cāyuṣaḥ kṣaye
anāvṛṣṭir mahārāja jāyate bahuvārṣikī
tatas tāny alpasārāṇi sattvāni kṣudhitāni ca
pralayaṃ yānti bhūyiṣṭhaṃ pṛthivyāṃ pṛthivīpate
tato dinakarair dīptaiḥ saptabhir manujādhipa
pīyate salilaṃ sarvaṃ samudreṣu saritsu ca
yac ca kāṣṭhaṃ tṛṇaṃ cāpi śuṣkaṃ cārdraṃ ca bhārata
sarvaṃ tad bhasmasād bhūtaṃ dṛśyate bharatarṣabha
tataḥ saṃvartako vahnir vāyunā saha bhārata
lokam āviśate pūrvam ādityair upaśoṣitam
tataḥ sa pṛthivīṃ bhittvā samāviśya rasātalam
devadānavayakṣāṇāṃ bhayaṃ janayate mahat
nirdahan nāgalokaṃ ca yac ca kiṃ cit kṣitāv iha
adhastāt pṛthivīpāla sarvaṃ nāśayate kṣaṇāt
tato yojanaviṃśānāṃ sahasrāṇi śatāni ca
nirdahaty aśivo vāyuḥ sa ca saṃvartako 'nalaḥ
sadevāsuragandharvaṃ sayakṣoragarākṣasam
tato dahati dīptaḥ sa sarvam eva jagad vibhuḥ
"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."
"dinakarair dīptaiḥ saptabhir" - seven suns or sun burning seven times brighter?
"sarvaṃ nāśayate kṣaṇāt" - everything is destroyed in one instant. First there is increasing temperature of the sun, all water sources evaporating, and then the Samvartaka fire burns everything up in one massive explosion?
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