78 - The Birth of Vaivasvata in the Savarnika Manv-antara. 

This title ia a mistake as the canto shews. It should be the Vaivasvata many-antara.

Markandeya relates how the gods praised the Sun, what became of the splendour pared off from the Sun, and how the Sun regained Ms wife —Se mentions the positions assigned to the Sun’s children. 

Markandeya spoke:

Then the gods and the devarshis assembling praised in words tlie Sun, who is worthy of being praised by the entire three worlds. 

The gods spoke:

2 “Adoration to thee who hast the nature of the Ric! adoration to thee who hast the nature of the Shaman! adoration to thee whose form has the nature of the Yajus! to thee who 

3 hast the glory of the Samans! Adoration to thee who hast become the sole domain of knowledge, to the cleanser of darkness! to thee who hast the nature of pure light! to the 

4 purified, to the stainless Soul! Adoration to the most excellent, to the desirable one! to the utmost one, to the supreme Soul! Adoration to thee whose nature pervades the entire 

5 universe, to the embodiment of Soul!” (This fine delight, some eulogy must be heard by men with faith. Having become a disciple and having given also the guru his fee one may hear 

6 it rapt in meditation. It must not be heard by those who have become empty-handed. Now may this become fruitful!) “Adoration to the being who is the universal cause, to 

7 the goal* of men of wise intellect! Adoration to thee who hast the nature of the sun, who hast the nature of the brilliant Soul! Adoration to thee, the illuminator, and 

* Niashthayai. 

8 adoration to the maker of day! And adoration to the causer of night, to the maker of twilight and moon-light! Thou art this universe, thou, art the adorable! With thee, as thou. 

9 revolvest above the world, the entire egg of Brahma, devoid of intelligence,† with everything moveable and immoveable, turns round! This universe when touched by thy rays 

† Or, illusory; a-viddha.

10 comes to life, pure! Water and other objeets are cleansed by contact with thy rays! Oblations, alms-giving and the other deeds which compose righteousness tend to no benefit 

11 so long as this world has no contact with thy rays! All these Ric’es verily are thine; these Yajushes on the other hand

12 are thine also; and all the Samans drop from thy body! Since thou are composed of the Ric’h, O lord of the world, and thou 

13 indeed art composed of the Yajus, and composed also of the Saman, therefore, O lord, thou art composed of the three! Thou verily art Brahma’s form; thou art the 

14 highest and the lowest also! Moreover, thou art material and non-material; thou art minute and yet thou dost exist in massive shape! Thou hast the form of Time, composed of moments, kashthas and other divisions of time, yet subject to decay! Be gracious! Of thine own will mitigate the innate splendour of thy form!” 

Markandeya spoke:

16 Being extolled thus by the gods and devarshis, tte imperishable globe of splendour shed his splendour then.

16 That portion of the Sun’s splendour which was composed of the Ric’ became the earth, and of that portion composed of

17 the Yajus was made the sky, and that portion composed of the Saman became heaven.* Of the fifteen shreds of his splendour which were pared off by Trashtri, the high-souled

* Svarga. 

18 Tvashtri verily made Sarva’s † trident, the discus of Vishnu and the Vasus, the very terrible weapon of Shankara, and

† Sh’iva’s. 

 19 Agni’s spear and Kuvera’s palki; and all the fierce weapons of the others who are the gods’ foes, and of the Yakshas and

20 Vidyadharas —those Vishva-krit made. And therefore the adorable lord bears only a sixteenth part. His splendour was pared off by Vishva-karman into fifteen parts. 

21 Then assuming a horse’s form the Sun went to the Northern

22 Kurus, and saw Sanjna there disguised in mare’s shape. And she, seeing him approaching and afraid of a strange male, went towards him face to face, intent on guarding her rear.

23 And thereupon as the two met there and joined their noses, two sons issued from the mare’s month, Nasatya and Dasra;

24 and at the termination of the flow of semen Revanta was born, bearing sword, shield and armour, mounted on horse

25 back, furnished with arrows and quiver. Then the Sun displayed his own peerless form, and she gazing upon his true

26 form felt a keen joy; and the Sun, the robber of the waters, brought home this his loving wife Sanjna restored to her own shape. 

27 Her eldest son then became Vaivasvata Manu; and her second son Yama became the righteous-eyed judge because

28 of the curse. His father himself made an end of the curse 

by saying— “Insects taking flesh †† from his foot shall fall to

†† For tritiyo mam samadaya, which ia erroneous, the Bombay edition reads krimayo mamsam adaya which is intelligible; but patishyatiti which both editions read in the next line must then be changed to patiashyantiti.

29 the eaith.” And because he is righteous of eye, impartial to friend and foe, therefore the Dispeller of darkness appointed

30 him over the southern region.* And Yamuna became the river which flows from the recesses of mount Kalinda. The Ashvins were made the gods’ physicians by 31 their high-souled father. And Revanta also was appointed king of the Guhyakas. Hear also from me the places assigned

* Yamye. 

32 to the Shadow-Sanjna’s sons. The eldest son of the Shadow-Sanjna was equal to Manu the eldest-born; hence

33 this son of the Sun obtained the title Savarnika. He also shall be a Mana when Bali shall become Indra. He was appointed by his father as the planet Saturn among the

34 planets. The third of them, the daughter named Tapati, had a son Kuru, king of men, by king Sambarana.†

† She married the Paurava king Sambarana and was the twelfth ancestress of the Pandavas; see Maha-Bharata, Adi-P. xciv 3738-9; xcv. 3791; and clxxi. 6521-clxxiii. 6616. 

35 Thus I describe the seventh period, that of Manu Vaivasvata, his sons, the kings, the rishis, the gods and the king of the gods.