Bhargava Markandeya ( sa, मार्कण्‍डेय ) is an ancient rishi (sage) born in the clan of

Bhrigu Bhrigu ( sa, भृगु, ) was a rishi in Hinduism. He was one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis, one of the many Prajapatis (the facilitators of Creation) created by Brahma. The first compiler of predictive astrology, and also the ...

Rishi (Bhargava Brahmins Community). The

Markandeya Purana The ''Markandeya Purana'' ( sa, मार्कण्डेय पुराण; IAST: ) is a Sanskrit text of Hinduism, and one of the eighteen major Puranas. The text's title Markandeya refers to a sage in Hindu History, who is the central c ...

especially, comprises a dialogue between Markandeya and a sage called

Jaimini Sage Jaimini was an ancient Indian scholar who founded the Mīmāṃsā school of Hindu philosophy. He is considered to be a disciple of Rishi/Sage Veda Vyasa, the son of Parāśara Rishi. Traditionally attributed to be the author of the ''Mi ...

, and a number of chapters in the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...

are dedicated to his conversations and prayers. He is also mentioned in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

. Markandeya is venerated within all mainstream Hindu traditions. Today, Markandeya Tirtha, where the sage Markandeya wrote the Markandeya Purana is situated on a trekking route to the

Yamunotri Yamunotri, also Jamnotri, is the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna in Hinduism. It is situated at an altitude of in the Garhwal Himalayas and located approximately North of Uttarkashi, the headquarters of the Uttark ...

Shrine in the

Uttarkashi district Uttarkashi District is a district of Garhwal division of the Uttarakhand state in northern India, and has its headquarters at Uttarkashi city. It has six Tehsils namely Barkot, Dunda, Bhatwadi, Chinyalisaur, Purola and Mori. The district conta ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

.Yamunotri Temple

website.

Rescued by Kalantaka-Shiva

One legend relates the story of how Shiva protected Markandeya from the clutches of death, personified as

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...

. The great sage Mrikandu rishi and his wife Marudmati worshipped Shiva and sought from him the boon of begetting a son. As a result, he was given the choice of either a righteous son, but with a short life on earth or a child of low intelligence but with a long life. Mrikandu rishi chose the former, and was blessed with Markandeya, an exemplary son, destined to die at the age of 12. Markandeya grew up to be a great

devotee Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Cat ...

of Shiva and on the day of his destined death he continued his worship of Shiva in his aniconic form of

Shivalingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional i ...

. The messengers of Yama, the

god In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

of death were unable to take away his life because of his great devotion and continual worship of Shiva. Yama then came in person to take away Markandeya's life, and sprung his noose around the young sage's neck. By accident or fate the noose mistakenly landed around the Shivalingam, and out of it, Shiva emerged in all his fury attacking Yama for his act of aggression. After defeating Yama in battle to the point of ''death'', Shiva then revived him, under the condition that the devout youth would live forever. For this act, Shiva was thereafter also known as

Kalantaka Kalantaka or Kalinjar (Sanskrit: कालान्तक, ''ender of death and time'') is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as the Conqueror of Time and Death, itself personified by the god Yama. He is depicted as defeating or killing Yama when t ...

("Ender of Death"). This event, it is said, took place on the bank of river Gomati in Kaithi, Varanasi. An ancient temple Markandeya Mahadeva Temple is made on this site. It's the place where river Ganga and river Gomati merge so being a Sangam area, its sacredness increases. Alternatively, another story states that this event happened in Kerala, at the site of

Triprangode Siva Temple Triprangode Siva Temple is a Hindu temple located at Triprangode, near Tirur, Malappuram district, Kerala. The ancient temple is situated west of Tirunavaya railway station and south of Tirur railway station. It is one of the most important ...

where the Markandeya ran up to the Shiva Linga at the temple to escape from Yama. As sourced from Sati Purana, a secret portion of Markandeya Purana, Goddess Parvati also gave him a boon to write a text on veera charitra (Brave character) on her, the text is famously known as Durga Saptashati, a valuable portion in Markandeya Purana. The place is known as Yamkeshwar.

Eternal life

Another story which deals with Markandeya's long life gives an account of how he lived past the death of the previous world and watched it end through gaining knowledge from Lord Vishnu.

Bhagavata Purana

A tale from the

states that once sage Markandeya visited Narayana rishi and asked him for a boon. Markandeya prayed to the sage Narayana to show him his illusory power or Maya since sages Nara-Narayana are incarnation of Supreme Lord

Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...

. To fulfill his wish, Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of a child floating on a leaf, and declared to the sage that he was ''Time'' and ''Death''. Sage Markandeya entered into his mouth and saved himself from the surging water. Inside the boy's stomach Markandeya discovered all the worlds, the seven regions and the seven oceans. The mountains and the kingdoms were all there. So were all living beings. Markandeya did not know what to make of all this. He started to pray to Lord Vishnu. No sooner had he started, than he came out of the boy's mouth. Lord Vishnu now appeared before him and blessed him. The sage spent a thousand years with Lord Vishnu. He composed the Bala Mukundashtakam at this moment. He taught Bhishma duties of Yatis. When Bhishma was in the bed of arrows, Markandeya visited him along with other sages.

Markandeya Purana

The Devi Mahatmya section of the

is one of the most important texts of Shakti tradition.

Films on Markandeya

* (1922) *''Shri Markandeya Avtaar'' (1922) *'' Markandeya'' (1935) * ''Bhakta Markandeya'' (1938) * '' Bhakta Markandeya'' (1956) *''Bhakta Dhruva Markandeya'' (1982)

References

Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend The ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' (2002) is a book written by Anna L. Dallapiccola, and contains information on over one thousand concepts, characters, and places of Hindu mythology and Hinduism, one of the major religions of the Indian ...

() by Anna Dallapiccola * ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism,'' Chapter 1, pg 13

External links

The Markandeya Purana (English) by F. E. Pargiter; Online HTMLMarkandeya's Prayers from the Bhagavata PuranaMarkandeya Sastha TempleMarkandeya Temple Mumbai(Worli)
{{Authority control Rishis Characters in the Mahabharata