Description of the World's Destruction in the Form of the Twelve Adityas

Verse 1 (skanda.5.172.1)

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच। एवं संस्तूयमानस्तु ब्रह्माद्यैर्मुनिपुंगवैः। ब्रह्मलोकगतैस्तत्र संजहार जगत्प्रभुः॥

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca| evaṁ saṁstūyamānastu brahmādyairmunipuṁgavaiḥ| brahmalokagataistatra saṁjahāra jagatprabhuḥ||

Sri Markandeya said: Thus praised by Brahma and the other bulls among sages who had gone to Brahmaloka, there the Lord of the world withdrew the universe.

Verse 2 (skanda.5.172.2)

स तद्भीमं महारौद्रं दक्षिणं वक्त्रमव्ययम्। महादंष्ट्रोत्कटारावं पातालतलसंनिभम्॥

sa tadbhīmaṁ mahāraudraṁ dakṣiṇaṁ vaktramavyayam| mahādaṁṣṭrotkaṭārāvaṁ pātālatalasaṁnibham||

He opened that terrifying, most fierce, imperishable southern mouth, with monstrous fangs and a fearsome roar, resembling the depths of Patala,

Verse 3 (skanda.5.172.3)

विद्युज्ज्वलनपिङ्गाक्षं भैरवं लोमहर्षणम्। महाजिह्वं महादंष्ट्रं महासर्पशिरोधरम्॥

vidyujjvalanapiṅgākṣaṁ bhairavaṁ lomaharṣaṇam| mahājihvaṁ mahādaṁṣṭraṁ mahāsarpaśirodharam||

tawny-eyed as blazing lightning, terrifying, hair-raising, with a huge tongue, huge fangs, a neck wreathed with great serpents,

Verse 4 (skanda.5.172.4)

महासुरशिरोमालं महाप्रलयकारणम्। ग्रसत्समुद्रनिहितवातवारिमयं हविः॥

mahāsuraśiromālaṁ mahāpralayakāraṇam| grasatsamudranihitavātavārimayaṁ haviḥ||

garlanded with the heads of great asuras, the cause of the great dissolution, devouring, as an oblation, the wind and waters set within the ocean.

Verse 5 (skanda.5.172.5)

वडवामुखसङ्काशं महादेवस्य तन्मुखम्। जिह्वाग्रेण जगत्सर्वं लेलिहानमपश्यत॥

vaḍavāmukhasaṅkāśaṁ mahādevasya tanmukham| jihvāgreṇa jagatsarvaṁ lelihānamapaśyata||

Brahma saw that mouth of Mahadeva, resembling the submarine fire, licking up the entire world with the tip of its tongue.

Verse 6 (skanda.5.172.6)

योजनानां सहस्राणि सहस्राणां शतानि च। दिशो दश महाघोरा मांसमेदोवसोत्कटाः॥

yojanānāṁ sahasrāṇi sahasrāṇāṁ śatāni ca| diśo daśa mahāghorā māṁsamedovasotkaṭāḥ||

Thousands of yojanas, and hundreds of thousands — the ten directions, most terrible, thick with flesh, fat, and marrow,

Verse 7 (skanda.5.172.7)

तस्य दंष्ट्रा व्यवर्धत शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः। सासुरान्सुरगन्धर्वान् सयक्षोरगराक्षसान्॥

tasya daṁṣṭrā vyavardhata śataśo'tha sahasraśaḥ| sāsurānsuragandharvān sayakṣoragarākṣasān||

his fangs grew, by the hundreds and then by the thousands, seizing the asuras, gods, and gandharvas, together with yakshas, serpents, and rakshasas.

Verse 8 (skanda.5.172.8)

तस्य दंष्ट्राग्रसंलग्नान्स ददर्श पितामहः। दन्तयन्त्रान्तसंविष्टं विचूर्णितशिरोधरम्॥

tasya daṁṣṭrāgrasaṁlagnānsa dadarśa pitāmahaḥ| dantayantrāntasaṁviṣṭaṁ vicūrṇitaśirodharam||

The Grandsire saw them clinging to the tips of his fangs, caught within the vice of his teeth, their necks crushed to powder.

Verse 9 (skanda.5.172.9)

जगत्पश्यामि राजेन्द्र विशन्तं व्यादिते मुखे। नानातरङ्गभङ्गाङ्गा महाफेनौघसंकुलाः। यथा नद्यो लयं यान्ति समुद्रं प्राप्य सस्वनाः॥

jagatpaśyāmi rājendra viśantaṁ vyādite mukhe| nānātaraṅgabhaṅgāṅgā mahāphenaughasaṁkulāḥ| yathā nadyo layaṁ yānti samudraṁ prāpya sasvanāḥ||

O lord of kings, I see the world entering into that gaping mouth — just as rivers, their bodies broken by many waves, thronged with masses of great foam, go with a roaring sound to their dissolution upon reaching the ocean,

Verse 10 (skanda.5.172.10)

तथा ततं विश्वमिदं समस्तमनेकजीवार्णवदुर्विगाह्यम्। विवेश रुद्रस्य मुखं विशालं ज्वलत्तदुग्रं घननादघोरम्॥

tathā tataṁ viśvamidaṁ samastamanekajīvārṇavadurvigāhyam| viveśa rudrasya mukhaṁ viśālaṁ jvalattadugraṁ ghananādaghoram||

—so too this entire outstretched universe, an ocean of countless creatures, hard to fathom, entered the vast mouth of Rudra, that blazing, fierce mouth, terrible with its deep roar.

Verse 11 (skanda.5.172.11)

ज्वालास्ततस्तस्य मुखात्सुघोराः सविस्फुलिङ्गा बहुलाः सधूमाः। अनेकरूपा ज्वलनप्रकाशाः प्रदीपयन्तीव दिशोऽखिलाश्च॥

jvālāstatastasya mukhātsughorāḥ savisphuliṅgā bahulāḥ sadhūmāḥ| anekarūpā jvalanaprakāśāḥ pradīpayantīva diśo'khilāśca||

Then, from his mouth, most terrible flames, with sparks, abundant, with smoke, of many forms, radiant with fire, blazed forth, as if setting alight all the directions.

Verse 12 (skanda.5.172.12)

ततो रविज्वालसहस्रमालि बभूव वक्त्रं चलजिह्वदंष्ट्रम्। महेश्वरस्याद्भुतरूपिणस्तदा स द्वादशात्मा प्रबभूव एकः॥

tato ravijvālasahasramāli babhūva vaktraṁ calajihvadaṁṣṭram| maheśvarasyādbhutarūpiṇastadā sa dvādaśātmā prababhūva ekaḥ||

Then that mouth, with its moving tongue and fangs, became garlanded with a thousand sun-flames; then that one, of the wondrous form of Maheshvara, became twelve-fold in self.

Verse 13 (skanda.5.172.13)

ततस्ते द्वादशादित्या रुद्रवक्त्राद्विनिर्गताः। आश्रित्य दक्षिणामाशां निर्दहन्तो वसुंधराम्॥

tataste dvādaśādityā rudravaktrādvinirgatāḥ| āśritya dakṣiṇāmāśāṁ nirdahanto vasuṁdharām||

Then those twelve Adityas issued forth from Rudra's mouth, and, resorting to the southern quarter, began to burn up the earth.

Verse 14 (skanda.5.172.14)

भौमं यज्जीवनं किंचिन्नानावृक्षतृणालयम्। शुष्कं पूर्वमनावृष्ट्या सकलाकुलभूतलम्॥

bhaumaṁ yajjīvanaṁ kiṁcinnānāvṛkṣatṛṇālayam| śuṣkaṁ pūrvamanāvṛṣṭyā sakalākulabhūtalam||

Whatever earthly life there was, in the abodes of various trees and grasses, already dried up by the earlier drought, the whole earth's surface in turmoil —

Verse 15 (skanda.5.172.15)

तद्दीप्यमानं सहसा सूर्यैस्तै रुद्रसम्भवैः। धूमाकुलमभूत्सर्वं प्रणष्टग्रहतारकम्॥

taddīpyamānaṁ sahasā sūryaistai rudrasambhavaiḥ| dhūmākulamabhūtsarvaṁ praṇaṣṭagrahatārakam||

—that suddenly blazed up under those suns sprung from Rudra; everything became thronged with smoke, the planets and stars destroyed.

Verse 16 (skanda.5.172.16)

जज्वाल सहसा दीप्तं भूमण्डलमशेषतः। ज्वालामालाकुलं सर्वमभूदेतच्चराचरम्॥

jajvāla sahasā dīptaṁ bhūmaṇḍalamaśeṣataḥ| jvālāmālākulaṁ sarvamabhūdetaccarācaram||

The entire world-disc suddenly blazed up completely; this whole moving and unmoving world became thronged with garlands of flame.

Verse 17 (skanda.5.172.17)

सप्तद्वीपसमुद्रेषु सरित्सु च सरस्सु च अग्निरत्ति जगत्सर्वमाज्याहुतिमिवाध्वरे॥

saptadvīpasamudreṣu saritsu ca sarassu ca agniratti jagatsarvamājyāhutimivādhvare||

In the seven continents and oceans, in the rivers and in the lakes, fire devoured the entire world, like an oblation of ghee in a sacrifice.

Verse 18 (skanda.5.172.18)

विशालतेजसा दीप्ता महाज्वालासमाकुलाः। ददहुर्वै जगत्सर्वमादित्या रुद्रसम्भवाः॥

viśālatejasā dīptā mahājvālāsamākulāḥ| dadahurvai jagatsarvamādityā rudrasambhavāḥ||

Blazing with vast splendor, thronged with great flames, the Adityas sprung from Rudra indeed burnt up the entire world.

Verse 19 (skanda.5.172.19)

आदित्यानां रश्मयश्च संस्पृष्टा वै परस्परम्। एवं ददाह भगवांस्त्रैलोक्यं सचराचरम्॥

ādityānāṁ raśmayaśca saṁspṛṣṭā vai parasparam| evaṁ dadāha bhagavāṁstrailokyaṁ sacarācaram||

And the rays of the Adityas touched one another; thus the Blessed One burnt up the three worlds, together with the moving and unmoving.

Verse 20 (skanda.5.172.20)

सप्तद्वीपप्रमाणस्तु सोऽग्निर्भूत्वा महेश्वरः। सप्तद्वीपसमुद्रान्तां निर्ददाह वसुंधराम्॥

saptadvīpapramāṇastu so'gnirbhūtvā maheśvaraḥ| saptadvīpasamudrāntāṁ nirdadāha vasuṁdharām||

Maheshvara, having become fire of the measure of the seven continents, burnt up the earth, bounded by the seven continents and oceans.

Verse 21 (skanda.5.172.21)

सुमेरुमन्दरान्तां च निर्दहुर्वसुधां तदा। भित्त्वा तु सप्तपातालं नागलोकं ततोऽदहत्॥

sumerumandarāntāṁ ca nirdahurvasudhāṁ tadā| bhittvā tu saptapātālaṁ nāgalokaṁ tato'dahat||

They then burnt up the earth, bounded by Sumeru and Mandara; and, having broken through the seven Patalas, then burnt up the world of the Nagas.

Verse 22 (skanda.5.172.22)

भूम्यधः सप्तपातालान्निर्दहंस्तारकैः सह। चचाराग्निः समन्तात्तु निर्दहन्वै युधिष्ठिर॥

bhūmyadhaḥ saptapātālānnirdahaṁstārakaiḥ saha| cacārāgniḥ samantāttu nirdahanvai yudhiṣṭhira||

Burning the seven Patalas below the earth, together with the stars, O Yudhishthira, the fire moved about on every side, burning everything.

Verse 23 (skanda.5.172.23)

धम्यमान इवाङ्गारैर्लोहरात्रिरिव ज्वलन्। तथा तत्प्राज्वलत्सर्वं संवर्ताग्निप्रदीपितम्॥

dhamyamāna ivāṅgārairloharātririva jvalan| tathā tatprājvalatsarvaṁ saṁvartāgnipradīpitam||

As if being fanned with coals, blazing like an iron-dark night, thus everything blazed, kindled by the Samvartaka fire.

Verse 24 (skanda.5.172.24)

निर्वृक्षा निस्तृणा भूमिर्निर्निर्झरसरः सरित्। विशीर्णशैलशृङ्गौघा कूर्मपृष्ठोपमाभवत्॥

nirvṛkṣā nistṛṇā bhūmirnirnirjharasaraḥ sarit| viśīrṇaśailaśṛṅgaughā kūrmapṛṣṭhopamābhavat||

The earth, devoid of trees, devoid of grass, its streams, lakes, and rivers gone, its mass of mountain-peaks shattered, became like the back of a tortoise.

Verse 25 (skanda.5.172.25)

ज्वालामालाकुलं कृत्वा जगत्सर्वं चिदामकम्। महारूपधरो रुद्रो व्यतिष्ठत महेश्वरः॥

jvālāmālākulaṁ kṛtvā jagatsarvaṁ cidāmakam| mahārūpadharo rudro vyatiṣṭhata maheśvaraḥ||

Having made the entire world thronged with garlands of flame, ash-covered entirely, Rudra Maheshvara, bearing his mighty form, stood forth.

Verse 26 (skanda.5.172.26)

समातृगणभूयिष्ठा सयक्षोरगराक्षसा। ततो देवी महादेवं विवेश हरिलोचना॥

samātṛgaṇabhūyiṣṭhā sayakṣoragarākṣasā| tato devī mahādevaṁ viveśa harilocanā||

Then, mostly accompanied by the hosts of Mothers, together with yakshas, serpents, and rakshasas, the tawny-eyed goddess entered into Mahadeva.

Verse 27 (skanda.5.172.27)

निर्वाणं परमापन्ना शान्तेव शिखिनः शिखा। जगत्सर्वं हि निर्दग्धं त्रिभिर्लोकैः सहानघ॥

nirvāṇaṁ paramāpannā śānteva śikhinaḥ śikhā| jagatsarvaṁ hi nirdagdhaṁ tribhirlokaiḥ sahānagha||

Having attained the supreme extinction, like the flame of a fire grown calm — O sinless one, the entire world, together with the three worlds, was indeed burnt up.

Verse 28 (skanda.5.172.28)

रुद्रप्रसादान्मुक्त्वा मां नर्मदां चाप्ययोनिजाम्। युगानामयुतं देवो मया चाद्य बुभक्षणात्॥

rudraprasādānmuktvā māṁ narmadāṁ cāpyayonijām| yugānāmayutaṁ devo mayā cādya bubhakṣaṇāt||

Except for me and Narmada, who is not born of a womb, by Rudra's grace we alone were spared; for ten thousand ages the god has sustained and protected me, even to this day, from hunger.

Verse 29 (skanda.5.172.29)

पुरा ह्याराधितः शूली तेनाहमजरामरः। अघमर्षणघोरं च वामदेवं च त्र्यम्बकम्॥

purā hyārādhitaḥ śūlī tenāhamajarāmaraḥ| aghamarṣaṇaghoraṁ ca vāmadevaṁ ca tryambakam||

Of old the trident-bearer was worshipped by me; by that I became ageless and immortal — reciting the terrible Aghamarshana hymn, and Vamadeva, and Tryambaka,

Verse 30 (skanda.5.172.30)

ऋषभं त्रिसुपर्णं च दुर्गां सावित्रमेव च। बृहदारण्यकं चैव बृहत्साम तथोत्तरम्॥

ṛṣabhaṁ trisuparṇaṁ ca durgāṁ sāvitrameva ca| bṛhadāraṇyakaṁ caiva bṛhatsāma tathottaram||

the Rishabha hymn, and the Trisuparna, and the Durga hymn, and the Savitri too, and the Brihadaranyaka, and likewise the Brihatsaman and the Uttara hymn,

Verse 31 (skanda.5.172.31)

रौद्रीं परमगायत्रीं शिवोपनिषदं तथा। यथा प्रतिरथं सूक्तं जप्त्वा मृत्युंजयं तथा॥

raudrīṁ paramagāyatrīṁ śivopaniṣadaṁ tathā| yathā pratirathaṁ sūktaṁ japtvā mṛtyuṁjayaṁ tathā||

the Raudri, the supreme Gayatri, and likewise the Shiva-Upanishad; and, having recited the Pratiratha hymn, and likewise the Mrityunjaya mantra,

Verse 32 (skanda.5.172.32)

सरित्सागरपर्यन्ता वसुधा भस्मसात्कृता। वर्जयित्वा महाभागां नर्मदाममृतोपमाम्॥

saritsāgaraparyantā vasudhā bhasmasātkṛtā| varjayitvā mahābhāgāṁ narmadāmamṛtopamām||

—the earth, to the very limit of its rivers and oceans, was reduced to ashes — except for the greatly fortunate Narmada, comparable to nectar.

Verse 33 (skanda.5.172.33)

महेन्द्रो मलयः सह्यो हेमकूटोऽथ माल्यवान्। विन्ध्यश्च पारियात्रश्च सप्तैते कुलपर्वताः॥

mahendro malayaḥ sahyo hemakūṭo'tha mālyavān| vindhyaśca pāriyātraśca saptaite kulaparvatāḥ||

Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Hemakuta, and Malyavan, and Vindhya, and Pariyatra — these seven are the Kula mountains,

Verse 34 (skanda.5.172.34)

द्वादशादित्यनिर्दग्धाः शैलाः शीर्णशिलाः पृथक्। भस्मीभूतास्तु दृश्यन्ते न नष्टा नर्मदा तदा॥

dvādaśādityanirdagdhāḥ śailāḥ śīrṇaśilāḥ pṛthak| bhasmībhūtāstu dṛśyante na naṣṭā narmadā tadā||

burnt up by the twelve Adityas, their rocks shattered, each seen turned to ashes; yet Narmada was not destroyed then.

Verse 35 (skanda.5.172.35)

हिमवान्हेमकूटश्च निषधो गन्धमादनः। माल्यवांश्च गिरिश्रेष्ठो नीलः श्वेतोऽथ शृङ्गवान्॥

himavānhemakūṭaśca niṣadho gandhamādanaḥ| mālyavāṁśca giriśreṣṭho nīlaḥ śveto'tha śṛṅgavān||

Himavat, and Hemakuta, and Nishadha, Gandhamadana, and Malyavan, best of mountains, Nila, and Shveta, and Shringavan —

Verse 36 (skanda.5.172.36)

एते पर्वतरा जानो देवगन्धर्वसेविताः। युगान्ताग्निविनिर्दग्धाः सर्वे शीर्णमहाशिलाः॥

ete parvatarā jāno devagandharvasevitāḥ| yugāntāgnivinirdagdhāḥ sarve śīrṇamahāśilāḥ||

these kings among mountains, resorted to by gods and gandharvas, were all burnt up by the fire of the age's end, their great rocks all shattered.

Verse 37 (skanda.5.172.37)

एवं मया पुरा दृष्टो युगान्ते सर्वसंक्षयः। वर्जयित्वा महापुण्यां नर्मदां नृपसत्तम॥

evaṁ mayā purā dṛṣṭo yugānte sarvasaṁkṣayaḥ| varjayitvā mahāpuṇyāṁ narmadāṁ nṛpasattama||

Thus, O best of kings, was the total destruction at the end of the age witnessed by me of old — except for the greatly holy Narmada.