Mārkaṇḍeya Śilā at Badarī

Mārkaṇḍeya is a mahāṛshi (great seer). This account is told in the Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya of the Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa. It tells how Bhagavān Vishṇu gave Mārkaṇḍeya a lifespan of seven kalpas. It then tells how Nārada sent him to Badarīkāśrama, where he did tapas (austerity) on one rock and saw Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. That rock became the Mārkaṇḍeya Śilā, one of the five holy śilās (rocks) of Badarī.

The seven-kalpa vara at Śālagrāma

Before he came to Badarīkāśrama, Mārkaṇḍeya had done steady japa (silent repetition) of the dvādaśāksharī mantra, the twelve-syllable mantra “Oṃ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya”, at a Śālagrāma tīrtha. Bhagavān Vishṇu was pleased with his devotion. He appeared and gave Mārkaṇḍeya a great vara (boon): saptakalpa āyuḥ, a life lasting through seven whole kalpas.

The Padma Mahā Purāṇa records Mārkaṇḍeya’s lifespan as kalpāntaka āyuḥ, a life to the end of the kalpa, given by Brahmā at his birth. The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa records a lifespan of seven kalpas, given through japa.

(Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 4)

Nārada sends Mārkaṇḍeya to Badarī

After the seven-kalpa vara, Mārkaṇḍeya met Nārada Maharshi. Nārada had himself done tapas at Badarīkāśrama not long before, and that tapas gave the Nāradī Śilā. Nārada told Mārkaṇḍeya to go to Badarī and do tapas there. He told him that the kshetra has the highest power to give moksha (liberation), and that Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa can be reached directly at that holy place.

(Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 4)

Tapas on the śilā

As Nārada had said, Mārkaṇḍeya came to Badarīkāśrama and chose one rock (śilā) for his tapas. He sat there in meditation and chanted the ashṭāksharī mantra, the eight-syllable “Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya”, with a steady, single-pointed mind.

(Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 4)

Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa appears after three nights

After three nights of unbroken ashṭāksharī japa on the śilā, Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa appeared in front of Mārkaṇḍeya. The Purāṇa records that Mārkaṇḍeya offered a stotra (hymn of praise) full of devotion. In it he praised Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa as Janārdana and Vāsudeva, the supreme Paramātman who gives life to all creation and is the goal of all tapas.

(Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 4)

The varas

Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa gave Mārkaṇḍeya these varas:

  1. Unshakeable bhakti (devotion): firm and lasting devotion at the lotus feet of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa.
  2. A lasting home in the śilā: Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa said that he would live always in the rock on which Mārkaṇḍeya had done tapas. The rock became the Mārkaṇḍeya Śilā, a living seat of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa’s presence at Badarī.

(Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 4)

The Mārkaṇḍeya Śilā

The Mārkaṇḍeya Śilā is the second of the five great śilās of Badarīkāśrama, the Pañca Śilās. It was made holy by Mārkaṇḍeya’s tapas and by the vara of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa’s own lasting presence.

At Purushottama Kshetra, the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa also tells of the Mārkaṇḍeya-vaṭa. It is joined with the vision of the pralaya (dissolution) in which Bhagavān Vishṇu rested on a banyan leaf.

(Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Purushottama Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 30)

Sources

  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 4
  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Purushottama Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 30
  • Padma Mahā Purāṇa (cited for the lifespan kalpāntaka āyuḥ; no chapter given)