Markandeya Samasya English

This is the English translation of the Markandeya Samasya portion of the Mahabharata. This is in fluent English with no commentary. This same translation with the original Sanskrit and with a narrative explanation is published under the title of Krishna Cosmic Body.

This is the amazing narrative of the Yogi Markandeya’s survival of the cosmic dissolution of our universe and his re-instatement when it was created again. It tells of his entry into the divine infant Krishna, where he toured for millions of years through many existential locals as a tiny human being, like a bacteria in the body of a human.

Originally this tale was described in the Markandeya Samasya of the Mahabharata, an ancient Sanskrit literature from India. The value of this story is its presentation of the idea that our universe may exist in the body of a deity, who is existing in the body of another deity who is the ultimate source.

At first Markandeya deals with the cosmic dissolution but he is aware that his existential status relies on the energy in the mind of a deity named Brahma. When that deity fell asleep, all living beings inevitably slept in a blank mental state with no objectivity and with no distinct subjectivity either. Somehow Markandeya developed the ability to transcend this Brahma.

The yogi survived during Brahma’s sleep but only to find himself in a violent ocean of cosmic water. He struggled for survival on that causal level of existence in which there were fearful astral aquatic creatures. Suddenly at a distance, he saw a gigantic banyan tree standing out of the water. He swam to it and saw an infant on a divine bedstead. The child has no concern for the dangers. Markandeya spoke to the infant and inquired of the kid’s identity and location. He was drawn through the mouth of the infant into the infants’ body where he spent millions of years. Then he was expelled and found himself in the cosmic sea again. The infant then explained the situation. He released the yogi to the original existence of the sub deity, Brahma.

This story was told by Vaishampaiana to King Janamejaya in the Mahabharata. It is worth the read for all persons who do existential research.