The Gods of the Auttama Manvantara

Verse 1 (markandeya.73.1)

मार्कण्डेय उवाच मन्वन्तरे तृतीयेऽस्मिन् औत्तमस्य प्रजापतेः । देवानिन्द्रमृषीन् भूपान् निबोध गदतो मम ॥ 73.1 ॥

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca manvantare tṛtīye'smin auttamasya prajāpateḥ devānindramṛṣīn bhūpān nibodha gadato mama

Markandeya said: In this third manvantara, of Prajapati Auttama, hear from me the gods, Indra, sages and kings, as I relate them.

Verse 2 (markandeya.73.2)

स्वधामानस्तथा देवा यथानामानुकारिणः । सत्याख्यश्च द्वितीयोऽन्यस्त्रिदशानां तथा गणः ॥ 73.2 ॥

svadhāmānastathā devā yathānāmānukāriṇaḥ satyākhyaśca dvitīyo'nyastridaśānāṁ tathā gaṇaḥ

There were the gods called Svadhaman, true to their very name; and a second group of the thirty [gods] was called Satya.

Verse 3 (markandeya.73.3)

तृतीये तु गणे देवाः शिवाख्या मुनिसत्तम । शिवाः स्वरूपतस्ते तु श्रुताः पापप्रणाशनाः ॥ 73.3 ॥

tṛtīye tu gaṇe devāḥ śivākhyā munisattama śivāḥ svarūpataste tu śrutāḥ pāpapraṇāśanāḥ

O best of sages, in the third group were the gods called Shiva; being themselves of that auspicious nature, they are known as destroyers of sin.

Verse 4 (markandeya.73.4)

प्रतर्दनाख्यश्च गणो देवानां मुनिसत्तम । चतुर्थस्तत्र कथित औत्तमस्यान्तरे मनोः ॥ 73.4 ॥

pratardanākhyaśca gaṇo devānāṁ munisattama caturthastatra kathita auttamasyāntare manoḥ

O best of sages, the fourth group of gods, called Pratardana, is spoken of there in this interval of Manu Auttama.

Verse 5 (markandeya.73.5)

वशवर्तिनः पञ्चमेऽपि देवास्तत्र गणे द्विज । यथाख्यातस्वरूपास्तु सर्व एव महामुने ॥ 73.5 ॥

vaśavartinaḥ pañcame'pi devāstatra gaṇe dvija yathākhyātasvarūpāstu sarva eva mahāmune

O Brahmin, in the fifth group too were the gods called Vashavartin, O great sage, all of them of their own well-known nature.

Verse 6 (markandeya.73.6)

एते देवगणाः पञ्च स्मृता यज्ञभुजस्तथा । मन्वन्तरे मनुश्रेष्ठे सर्वे द्वादशका गणाः ॥ 73.6 ॥

ete devagaṇāḥ pañca smṛtā yajñabhujastathā manvantare manuśreṣṭhe sarve dvādaśakā gaṇāḥ

These five groups of gods are remembered as "yajnabhuj," the enjoyers of sacrifice; in that best of Manus' manvantara, each group numbered twelve.

Verse 7 (markandeya.73.7)

तेषामिन्द्रो महाभागस्त्रैलोक्ये स गुरुर्भवेत् । शतं क्रतूनामाहृत्य सुशान्तिर्नाम नामतः ॥ 73.7 ॥

teṣāmindro mahābhāgastrailokye sa gururbhavet śataṁ kratūnāmāhṛtya suśāntirnāma nāmataḥ

Their Indra, greatly fortunate, became the teacher of the three worlds; having completed a hundred sacrifices, he was named Sushanti.

Verse 8 (markandeya.73.8)

यस्योपसर्गनाशाय नामाक्षरविभूषिता । अद्यापि मानवैर्गाथा गीयते तु महीतले ॥ 73.8 ॥

yasyopasarganāśāya nāmākṣaravibhūṣitā adyāpi mānavairgāthā gīyate tu mahītale

A hymn, adorned with the very syllables of his name, is sung by men upon this earth even today, for the removal of affliction.

Verse 9 (markandeya.73.9)

शुशान्तिर्देवराट् कान्तः शुशान्तिं स प्रयच्छति । सहितः शिवसत्याद्यैस्तथैव वशवर्तिभिः ॥ 73.9 ॥

śuśāntirdevarāṭ kāntaḥ śuśāntiṁ sa prayacchati sahitaḥ śivasatyādyaistathaiva vaśavartibhiḥ

That lovely lord of the gods, Sushanti, grants peace, together with the gods called Shiva, Satya and the rest, and the Vashavartins.

Verse 10 (markandeya.73.10)

अजः परशुचिर्दिव्यो महाबलपराक्रमः । पुत्रस्तस्य मनोरासन् विख्यातास्त्रिदशोपमाः ॥ 73.10 ॥

ajaḥ paraśucirdivyo mahābalaparākramaḥ putrastasya manorāsan vikhyātāstridaśopamāḥ

Aja, of supreme purity, divine, of great strength and valor — the sons of that Manu became renowned, comparable to the gods themselves.

Verse 11 (markandeya.73.11)

तत्सूतिसम्भवैर्भूमिः पालिताभून्नरेश्वरैः । यावन्मन्वन्तर तस्य मनोरुत्तमतेजसः ॥ 73.11 ॥

tatsūtisambhavairbhūmiḥ pālitābhūnnareśvaraiḥ yāvanmanvantara tasya manoruttamatejasaḥ

By kings born of his line the earth continued to be protected, for as long as the manvantara of that Manu of supreme brilliance endured.

Verse 12 (markandeya.73.12)

चतुर्युगानां संख्याता साधिका ह्येकसप्ततिः । कृतत्रेतादिसंज्ञानां यान्युक्तानि युगे मया ॥ 73.12 ॥

caturyugānāṁ saṁkhyātā sādhikā hyekasaptatiḥ kṛtatretādisaṁjñānāṁ yānyuktāni yuge mayā

The number of four-yuga cycles, of those named Krita, Treta and so forth as I have told in the account of a yuga, amounts to seventy-one and a fraction.

Verse 13 (markandeya.73.13)

स्वतेजसा हि तपसो वरिष्ठस्य महात्मनः । तनयाश्चान्तरे तस्मिन् सप्त सप्तर्षयोऽभवन् ॥ 73.13 ॥

svatejasā hi tapaso variṣṭhasya mahātmanaḥ tanayāścāntare tasmin sapta saptarṣayo'bhavan

By the sheer power of his own austerity, that great-souled foremost of ascetics had seven sons who became the Seven Sages in that interval.

Verse 14 (markandeya.73.14)

तृतीयमेतत्कथितं तव मन्वन्तरं मया । तामसस्य चतुर्थन्तु मनोरन्तरमुच्यते ॥ 73.14 ॥

tṛtīyametatkathitaṁ tava manvantaraṁ mayā tāmasasya caturthantu manorantaramucyate

This third manvantara has thus been told to you by me; now the fourth manvantara, of Manu Tamasa, is related.

Verse 15 (markandeya.73.15)

वियोनिजन्मनो यस्य यशसा द्योतितं जगत् । जन्म तस्य मनोर्ब्रह्मन् ! श्रुयतां गदतो मम ॥ 73.15 ॥

viyonijanmano yasya yaśasā dyotitaṁ jagat janma tasya manorbrahman ! śruyatāṁ gadato mama

That Manu whose birth, though not from a womb, illumined the whole world with his fame — O Brahmin, hear now, as I relate it, the story of his birth.

Verse 16 (markandeya.73.16)

अतीन्द्रियमशेषाणां मनूनाञ्चरितन्तथा । तथा जन्मापि विज्ञेयं प्रभावश्च महात्मनाम् ॥ 73.16 ॥

atīndriyamaśeṣāṇāṁ manūnāñcaritantathā tathā janmāpi vijñeyaṁ prabhāvaśca mahātmanām

The conduct of all the Manus lies beyond the reach of the ordinary senses, and so too does their birth; this glory of these great souls should thus be understood.