Mārkandeya Mahā Purana
95 - The Story of Ruchi.
A Praja-pati named Ruch’i formerly lived in solitary discomfort—His forefathers appeared to him and urged him to marry—He demurred and they insisted on the importance of marriage.
Markandeya spoke:
1 A Praja-pati Ruchi, who was devoid of self, free from pride, fearless and moderate in sleeping, formerly roamed this earth.
2 Seeing that he was destitute of fire, had no habitation, that he ate but once a day, had no hermitage, and was cut off from all attachments, his ancestors spoke to him, the muni.
The Pitris spoke:
3 Dear son, wherefore hast thou not done the sacred deed of taking a wife, since that is the cause of gaining Svarga and final emancipation from existence? without that there is
4 bondage perpetually. A house-holder by paying worship to all the gods and the Pitris likewise, to rishis and guests, gains
5 the heavenly worlds. He apportions the gods thdr share by uttering ‘svaha’ aloud, the Pitris by uttering ‘svadha’ aloud,
6 created beings and other guests by the giving of food. Being such a negligent one, thou dost incur bondage by reason of the debt due to the gods, bondage by reason of the debt due to us also, bondage unto men and created beings day by day,
7 by not begetting sons, by not satisfying the gods and Pitris. And how, by not fulfilling these duties through folly, dost thou
8 hope to go the good way? We think affliction, one affliction after another, may be for thee in this world, O son; hell likewise when thou art dead, and affliction in sooth in another birth.
Ruchi spoke:
9 Wedlock tends to excessive suffering, and is a downward
10 course toward sin; hence I took no wife hitherto. Control which is gained over one’s self, this is effected by firm suppression;* it is the cause of final emancipation from existence; that emancipation
* Ni-yantrana; a word not in the dictionary.
11 verily comes not from wedlock. That the soul, though besmirched with the mire of selfishness, be washed clean day by day by those who have no family ties with the waters of
12 thought—better verily is this! The soul, which is marked with the mire of actions that have developed during many existences, must be washed clean with the waters of good perceptions by wise men who keep their bodily organs under control.
The Pitris spoke:
13 Fitting it is that those who have their organs under control should cleanse their soul; but does this path, wherein thou wendest, O son, tend to final emancipation from existence?†
† I take kintu as kim tu interrogatively; but the Bombay edition reads lepaya for mokshaya and kintu, then would mean simply “but “— “but this path, -wherein, &c,, tends to defilement.”
14 Moreover, evil is driven away by means of disinterested* gifts, and by results and enjoyments which are good or ill according
* An-abhisandhita : abhi-sandhita is not in the dictionary.
15 to former actions. Thus no bondage befalls him who acts with a tender heart, and such action being disinterested tends
16 not to bondage. Thus a former action done, which consists of merit and demerit, is diminished day and night by enjoyments which consist of pleasure and pain, O son, among mankind.
17 Thus wise men cleanse their soul and guard it from bonds; thus, on the other hand, indiscrimination, which is the mire of sin, does not lay hold of it.
Ruchi spoke:
18 It is declared in the Veda, ignorance is the path of action, O my forefathers. How then do ye, sirs, despatch me on the path of action?
The Pitris spoke:
19 Ignorance in very truth is this† action thou mentionest—this maxim is not erroneous; nevertheless, action is the cause un doubtedly
† For evait read evaitat.
20 of full acquisition of knowledge. On that view the restraint, which bad men observe because they do not perform what is enjoined, should tend ultimately to final emancipation from existence; †† on the contrary it produces a downward
††The Bombay edition reads ndsau instead of so ‘nte, and the meaning is “does not tend to final emancipation.”
§The Bombay edition reads bandhdyanya, yato hi.sa, “because it is different, it tends in truth to bondage.” Or if anya yato be read as one word; a-nydyato, it would mean “because of iniquity it tends in truth to bondage.”
21 course. But thou thinkest, O son, ‘I will cleanse my soul’; yet thou art burnt up by sins which arise from not performing what
22 is enjoined. Even Ignorance exists for the benefit of men, just as poison does; although it is different, it does not in truth tend to bondage§ by reason of the means which are put into
§The Bombay edition reads bandhdyanya, yato hi.sa, “because it is different, it tends in truth to bondage.” Or if anya yato be read as one word; a-nydyato, it would mean “because of iniquity it tends in truth to bondage.”
23 practice. Therefore, son, do thou take a wife according to precept; let not thy birth be unprofitable by thy not observing the business of ordinary life fully.
Ruchi spoke:
24 I am now aged; -who will bestow a wife on me, my fore- fathers? Moreover, it is hard for a poor man to take a wife.
The Pitris spoke:
25 Our downfall will assuredly come to pass, O son, and so also will thy downward course; thou dost not welcome our speech.
Markandeya spoke:
26 Having spoken thus, the Pitris suddenly vanished from sight while he beheld them, best of muuis, just as lights when blown by the wind.
Summary of chapter 95 of the Mārkandeya Mahā Purana is as follows:
The narrative introduces Prajāpati Ruci, a noble sage who embraced strict celibacy and forest seclusion. His departed ancestors, the Pitṛs, appeared before him and instructed him to marry and perform domestic sacrifices, explaining that the householder life is essential for fulfilling ancestral debts and maintaining cosmic order.