Mārkaṇḍeya’s Stotra to Bāla Kṛshṇa (Brahma Purāṇa)

Mārkaṇḍeya Kṛta Bālakṛshṇa Stotra · mārkaṇḍeya kṛta bāla-kṛshṇa stotra, “the stotra to the child Kṛshṇa spoken by Mārkaṇḍeya”

Mārkaṇḍeya‘s stotra to Bāla Kṛshṇa is the praise that Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi offered Bhagavān Vishṇu as the child lying on a banyan leaf in the single ocean of the pralaya. It is found in the Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 55, in Brahmā‘s telling to the munis of the glory of Purushottama-kshetra and its banyan. Mārkaṇḍeya, who alone remained when the worlds were burned and drowned, had entered the child’s body and seen the whole universe inside it; coming out, he saw the child again and praised him. The stotra opens “Devadeva! Māyā-bāla-mūrti-dhara! Padmāksha!”, “Deva of devas, bearer of a child’s form made of māyā, lotus-eyed one!” In it the muni tells of his terror in the pralaya and asks for refuge, praises the child as the cause of the causes of the world, the elements, prakṛti and the guṇas, every class of beings from Brahmā down to a blade of grass, and above them all the Kūṭastha, ever pure, awakened and free. It closes “Avyaya! Devadeveśa! Salutation.”

The setting

The pralaya. At the end of the kalpa the fierce pralaya sun rose, meteors fell, the rivers dried up, and the saṃvartaka fire, blazing with the light of a crore suns, burned Pātāla, the earth and the three worlds. In that terrible pralaya Mārkaṇḍeya, a ṛshi supremely devoted to dharma, alone remained, as the śruti says. Parched and afraid, finding no place to rest, he meditated on Purushottama and reached the king of banyans named Purushottama, where no fire, no rain of embers and no thunderbolt could come, and he rested at its root.

The flood. Then clouds of every colour covered the sky and, impelled by Parameśvara, rained for twelve years. The oceans crossed their shores, the mountains were ground to powder, and the earth sank. Vishṇu pushed away the wind of the pralaya and slept at ease on the pralaya ocean. Mārkaṇḍeya opened his eyes and saw only the ekārṇava, the single ocean, in pitch darkness: no banyan, no earth, no sun or moon. He swam until he sank, finding no protector. Purushottama called to him: “Vatsa, you are worn out. You are my bhakta. Come to me. Do not fear.” Taking refuge in Purushottama, the muni saw on the water a vast banyan, and on a great branch a wondrous couch made by Viśvakarmā of diamond, vaiḍūrya, coral and rubies. On it lay Bāla Kṛshṇa, shining with the radiance of a crore suns, four-armed, lotus-eyed, the Śrīvatsa on his chest, bearing the śaṅkha, the cakra and the gadā, adorned with the vanamālā, divine kuṇḍalas and necklaces. Deluded by māyā, the muni did not know him. The child said, in a voice deep as a cloud: “Vatsa, I know you are very tired. Enter my body now. You will have rest.” The muni entered the child’s mouth.

The universe within. Inside the child Mārkaṇḍeya saw the seven oceans, the seven dvīpas, the seven kulācalas and Meru; Kurukshetra and the puṇya-kshetras, the rivers and tīrthas; people at their farming, cow-keeping and trade; the whole brahmāṇḍa from Brahmā down to a blade of grass; the upper lokas Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ, Svaḥ, Mahaḥ, Tapaḥ and Satya, and the lower lokas Atala, Vitala, Pātāla, Sutala, Rasātala, Mahātala and Talātala. He could not find the end of Vishṇu’s body. He took refuge in the giver of varas, and the Mahāpurusha opened his mouth and Mārkaṇḍeya came out with the speed of the wind.

Darśana. Outside he saw the single ocean, empty of all beings, and again the same child on the couch of a banyan leaf, the Śrīvatsa shining on his chest, wearing the pītāmbara, as if holding the whole world within himself. Smiling gently, Bhagavān Vishṇu said: “Vatsa, did you rest in my belly? What wonders did you see there? You are my devotee; you have come to me. You are tired, so I am speaking with you to do you good. Look at me.” The muni was overjoyed, his hair stood on end, and by the child’s grace he became pure and serene and shone with a new beauty. He bowed his head at the feet with the red toes, prostrated, and with palms joined and words choked with joy, looking at him again and again, began to praise the Paramātmā.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 52–55

The stotra

  • “Devadeva! Bearer of the child form made of māyā! Padmāksha! Protect me, who have come to you in sorrow for refuge.”
  • “I was scorched by the fire of the pralaya; I was terrified by the rain of embers; I was dried up by the fierce wind of the pralaya. Tired and distressed, shaken by the whirlpools of the pralaya, I cannot find peace. I am overcome by hunger and thirst.”
  • “Purushottama! I have found no protector here. Protect me. In this terrible state, in this ekārṇava pralaya where all that moves and does not move has sunk, I can see no end and no shore.”
  • “Deveśa! In the sphere of your belly I saw the whole world, moving and unmoving. I am in wonder and in sorrow.”
  • “In this saṃsāra without refuge, Parameśa, be gracious. Greatest of devas, show me your grace. Devanātha, be kind to me, take me to you.”
  • “You are the cause of the causes of the world.”
  • “You are the five elements. You are ahaṅkāra. You are the mahat-tattva and buddhi. You are prakṛti. You are the three guṇas, sattva and the rest. You are the dikpālas.”
  • “The eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the twelve Ādityas, the gandharvas, the devas and dānavas, the Maruts, the pitṛ-devatās, the Vālakhilyas and the rest, the Prajāpatis, the seven ṛshis, the Aśvins, and the whole unending stream of beings beyond the reach of mind and speech, from Brahmā down to a blade of grass, past, present and future: all this is your form.”
  • “Above all that, you are the Kūṭastha, the unchanging one.”
  • “Brahmā and the others do not know you. How could those of small intellect know your trace?”
  • “You are by nature ever pure, awakened and free. You are beyond prakṛti. You are avyakta, unmanifest, and ananta, endless, present everywhere, tranquil like ākāśa.”
  • “Who can praise you, who are nirguṇa and nirañjana, stainless? I, of small mind, my mind shaken, have praised you. You are worthy to forgive all this. Avyaya! Devadeveśa! Salutation.”

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 55

What followed

Praised thus, Bhagavān Vishṇu said in a sweet, deep voice: “What desire is in your mind? Tell me. I will give it all.” The muni asked to know who he was and what his māyā was, why the whole world was in the womb of a little infant, and how long he would stay there. The Devadeva comforted him: “Even the devas do not know me truly. You are devoted to your father, you have taken refuge in me, and I have seen your vow of brahmacarya. Nāra means the waters and ayana means abode; because the waters are my abode, I am Nārāyaṇa. I am the cause of the world, the creator and the destroyer of beings. Vishṇu, Brahmā, Indra, Śiva, Kubera, Yama, Soma, Kaśyapa Prajāpati and the yajña: I am all these. Agni is my mouth, the earth my feet, the sun and moon my eyes.”

When a thousand yugas had passed thus, Bhagavān Vishṇu asked again what more the muni wished. Mārkaṇḍeya asked to build a Śiva temple in the kshetra and install Śaṅkara there, so that the world might know that Hari and Hara are one. Jagannātha commanded him to install Īśvara as the liṅga in the form of Bhuvaneśvara, “for there is no difference between the two of us”, to build the temple in his own name, and promised that to its north a tīrtha named Mārkaṇḍeya-hrada would arise, removing every pāpa. Then the all-pervading Janārdana withdrew.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 56

Sources

  • Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 52–56