Wow!!! Lord Shiva speaks to Uma (Markandeya story conclusion)

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SB 12.10.1: Suta Gosvami said: The Supreme Lord Narayana had arranged

this opulent display of His bewildering potency. Markandeya Rishi,

having experienced it, took shelter of the Lord.

 

SB 12.10.2: Shri Markandeya said: O Lord Hari, I take shelter of the

soles of Your lotus feet, which bestow fearlessness upon all who

surrender to them. Even the great demigods are bewildered by Your

illusory energy, which appears to them in the guise of knowledge.

 

SB 12.10.3: Suta Goswami said: Lord Rudra, traveling in the sky on his

bull and accompanied by his consort, Rudrani, as well as his personal

associates, observed Markandeya in trance.

 

SB 12.10.4: Goddess Uma, seeing the sage, addressed Lord Giri?a: My

lord, just see this learned brahmana, his body, mind and senses

motionless in trance.

 

SB 12.10.5: He is as calm as the waters of the ocean when the wind has

ceased and the fish remain still. Therefore, my lord, since you bestow

perfection on the performers of austerity, please award this sage the

perfection that is obviously due him.

 

SB 12.10.6: Lord Shiva replied: Surely this saintly brahmana does not

desire any benediction, not even liberation itself, for he has attained

pure devotional service unto the inexhaustible Personality of Godhead.

 

SB 12.10.7: Still, my dear Bhavani, let us talk with this saintly

personality. After all, association with saintly devotees is man's

highest achievement.

 

SB 12.10.8: Suta Goswami said: Having spoken thus, Lord Shankara — the

shelter of pure souls, master of all spiritual sciences and controller

of all embodied living beings — approached the sage.

 

SB 12.10.9: Because Markandeya's material mind had stopped functioning,

the sage failed to notice that Lord Shiva and his wife, the controllers

of the universe, had personally come to see him. Markandeya was so

absorbed in meditation that he was unaware of either himself or the

external world.

 

SB 12.10.10: Understanding the situation very well, the powerful Lord

Shiva employed his mystic power to enter within the sky of Markandeya's

heart, just as the wind passes through an opening.

 

SB 12.10.11-13: Shri Markandeya saw Lord Shiva suddenly appear within

his heart. Lord Shiva's golden hair resembled lightning, and he had

three eyes, ten arms and a tall body that shone like the rising sun. He

wore a tiger skin, and he carried a trident, a bow, arrows, a sword and

a shield, along with prayer beads, a d?amaru drum, a skull and an ax.

Astonished, the sage came out of his trance and thought, " Who is this,

and where has he come from? "

 

SB 12.10.14: Opening his eyes, the sage saw Lord Rudra, the spiritual

master of the three worlds, together with Um? and Rudra's followers.

Markandeya then offered his respectful obeisances by bowing his head.

 

SB 12.10.15: Markandeya worshiped Lord Shiva, along with Um? and

Shiva's associates, by offering them words of welcome, sitting places,

water for washing their feet, scented drinking water, fragrant oils,

flower garlands and ?rati lamps.

 

SB 12.10.16: Markandeya said: O mighty lord, what can I possibly do for

you, who are fully satisfied by your own ecstasy? Indeed, by your mercy

you satisfy this entire world.

 

SB 12.10.17: Again and again I offer my obeisances unto you, O

all-auspicious transcendental personality. As the lord of goodness you

give pleasure, in contact with the mode of passion you appear most

fearful, and you also associate with the mode of ignorance.

 

SB 12.10.18: S?ta Gosv?m? said: Lord Shiva, the foremost demigod and

the shelter of the saintly devotees, was satisfied by Markandeya's

praise. Pleased, he smiled and addressed the sage.

 

SB 12.10.19: Lord Shiva said: Please ask me for some benediction, since

among all givers of benedictions, we three — Brahm?, Vishnu and I — are

the best. Seeing us never goes in vain, because simply by seeing us a

mortal achieves immortality.

 

SB 12.10.20-21: The inhabitants and ruling demigods of all planets,

along with Lord Brahma, the Supreme Lord Hari and I, glorify, worship

and assist those brahmanas who are saintly, always peaceful, free of

material attachment, compassionate to all living beings, purely devoted

to us, devoid of hatred and endowed with equal vision.

 

SB 12.10.22: These devotees do not differentiate between Lord Vishnu,

Lord Brahma and me, nor do they differentiate between themselves and

other living beings. Therefore, because you are this kind of saintly

devotee, we worship you.

 

SB 12.10.23: Mere bodies of water do not constitute holy places, nor

are lifeless statues of the demigods actual worshipable deities.

Because external vision fails to appreciate the higher essence of the

holy rivers and the demigods, these purify only after a considerable

time. But devotees like you purify immediately, just by being seen.

 

SB 12.10.24: By meditating upon the Supreme Soul, performing

austerities, engaging in Vedic study and following regulative

principles, the brahmanas sustain within themselves the three Vedas,

which are nondifferent from Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and me. Therefore

I offer my obeisances unto the br?hmanas.

 

SB 12.10.25: Even the worst sinners and social outcastes are purified

just by hearing about or seeing personalities like you. Imagine, then,

how purified they become by directly speaking with you.

 

SB 12.10.26: Sura Goswami said: Drinking with his ears Lord Shiva's

nectarean words, full of the confidential essence of religion,

Markandeya Rishi could not be satiated.

 

SB 12.10.27: Markandeya, having been forced by Lord Vishnu's illusory

energy to wander about for a long time in the water of dissolution, had

become extremely exhausted. But Lord Shiva's words of nectar vanquished

his accumulated suffering. Thus he addressed Lord Shiva.

 

SB 12.10.28: Shri Markandeya said: It is indeed most difficult for

embodied souls to understand the pastimes of the universal controllers,

for such lords bow down to and offer praise to the very living beings

they rule.

 

SB 12.10.29: Generally it is to induce embodied souls to accept

religious principles that the authorized teachers of religion exhibit

ideal behavior while encouraging and praising the proper behavior of

others.

 

SB 12.10.30: This apparent humility is simply a show of mercy. Such

behavior of the Supreme Lord and His personal associates, which the

Lord effects by His own bewildering potency, does not spoil His power

any more than a magician's powers are diminished by his exhibition of

tricks.

 

SB 12.10.31-32: I offer my obeisances to that Supreme Personality of

Godhead, who has created this entire universe simply by His desire and

then entered into it as the Supersoul. By making the modes of nature

act, He seems to be the direct creator of this world, just as a dreamer

seems to be acting within his dream. He is the owner and ultimate

controller of the three modes of nature, yet He remains alone and pure,

without any equal. He is the supreme spiritual master of all, the

original personal form of the Absolute Truth.

 

SB 12.10.33: O all-pervading lord, since I have received the

benediction of seeing you, what other benediction can I ask for? Simply

by seeing you, a person fulfills all his desires and can achieve

anything imaginable.

 

SB 12.10.34: But I do request one benediction from you, who are full of

all perfection and able to shower down the fulfillment of all desires.

I ask to have unfailing devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead

and for His dedicated devotees, especially you.

 

SB 12.10.35: Suta Goswami said: Thus worshiped and glorified by the

eloquent statements of the sage Markandeya, Lord Shiva, encouraged by

his consort, replied to him as follows.

 

SB 12.10.36: O great sage, because you are devoted to Lord Adhoksaja,

all your desires will be fulfilled. Until the very end of this creation

cycle, you will enjoy pious fame and freedom from old age and death.

 

SB 12.10.37: O br?hmana, may you have perfect knowledge of past,

present and future, along with transcendental realization of the

Supreme, enriched by renunciation. You have the brilliance of an ideal

br?hmana, and thus may you achieve the post of spiritual master of the

Puranas.

 

SB 12.10.38: Suta Goswami said: Having thus granted Markandeya Rishi

benedictions, Lord Shiva went on his way, continuing to describe to

goddess Devi the accomplishments of the sage and the direct exhibition

of the Lord's illusory power that he had experienced.

 

SB 12.10.39: Markandeya Rishi, the best of the descendants of Bhrigu,

is glorious because of his achievement of perfection in mystic yoga.

Even today he travels about this world, fully absorbed in unalloyed

devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

 

SB 12.10.40: I have thus narrated to you the activities of the highly

intelligent sage Markandeya, especially how he experienced the amazing

power of the Supreme Lord's illusory energy.

 

SB 12.10.41: Although this event was unique and unprecedented, some

unintelligent persons compare it to the cycle of illusory material

existence the Supreme Lord has created for the conditioned souls — an

endless cycle that has been continuing since time immemorial.

 

SB 12.10.42: O best of the Bhrigus, this account concerning Markandeya

Rishi conveys the transcendental potency of the Supreme Lord. Anyone

who properly narrates or hears it will never again undergo material

existence, which is based on the desire to perform fruitive activities.

 

 

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