Description of the Greatness of the Narmada

Verse 1 (skanda.5.173.1)

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच। निर्दग्धेऽस्मिंस्ततो लोके सूर्यैरीश्वरसम्भवैः । सप्तभिश्चार्णवैः शुष्कैर्द्वीपैः सप्तभिरेव च

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca| nirdagdhe'smiṁstato loke sūryairīśvarasambhavaiḥ | saptabhiścārṇavaiḥ śuṣkairdvīpaiḥ saptabhireva ca

Sri Markandeya said: O king, when this whole world had been burnt up by the suns born of Ishvara, and the seven oceans and seven continents had dried up,

Verse 2 (skanda.5.173.2)

ततो मुखात्तस्य घना महोल्बणा निश्चेरुरिन्द्रायुधतुल्यरूपाः । घोराः पयोदा जगदन्धकारं कुर्वन्त ईशानवरप्रयुक्ताः

tato mukhāttasya ghanā maholbaṇā niścerurindrāyudhatulyarūpāḥ | ghorāḥ payodā jagadandhakāraṁ kurvanta īśānavaraprayuktāḥ

then from his mouth issued forth massive, dense clouds resembling rainbows — terrible rain-clouds that darkened the world, set in motion by Ishana's boon.

Verse 3 (skanda.5.173.3)

नीलोत्पलाभाः क्वचिदंजनाभा गोक्षीरकुन्देन्दुनिभाश्च केचित् । मयूरचन्द्राकृतयस्तथाऽन्ये केचिद्विधूमानलसप्रभाश्च

nīlotpalābhāḥ kvacidaṁjanābhā gokṣīrakundendunibhāśca kecit | mayūracandrākṛtayastathā'nye kecidvidhūmānalasaprabhāśca

Some had the hue of blue lotuses, some the hue of collyrium, others were white like cow's milk, jasmine, or the moon; some had the form of peacocks or the moon, and some glowed like smokeless fire.

Verse 4 (skanda.5.173.4)

केचिन्महापर्वतकल्परूपाः केचिन्महामीनकुलोपमाश्च । केचिद्गजेन्द्राकृतयः सुरूपाः केचिन्महाकूटनिभाः पयोदाः

kecinmahāparvatakalparūpāḥ kecinmahāmīnakulopamāśca | kecidgajendrākṛtayaḥ surūpāḥ kecinmahākūṭanibhāḥ payodāḥ

Some were shaped like great mountains, some resembled a great shoal of fish; some had the graceful form of mighty elephants, and some clouds were like great mountain-peaks.

Verse 5 (skanda.5.173.5)

चलत्तरङ्गोर्मिसमानरूपा महापुरोधाननिभाश्च केचित् । सगोपुराट्टालकसंनिकाशाः सविद्युदुल्काशनिमण्डितान्ताः

calattaraṅgormisamānarūpā mahāpurodhānanibhāśca kecit | sagopurāṭṭālakasaṁnikāśāḥ savidyudulkāśanimaṇḍitāntāḥ

Some had forms like heaving waves and billows, some resembled great palace-gateways; some looked like ramparts with towered gates, their edges adorned with lightning, meteors and thunderbolts.

Verse 6 (skanda.5.173.6)

समावृताङ्गः स बभूव देवः संवर्तकोनाम गणः स रौद्रः । प्रवर्षमाणो जगदप्रमाणमेकार्णवं सर्वमिदं चकार

samāvṛtāṅgaḥ sa babhūva devaḥ saṁvartakonāma gaṇaḥ sa raudraḥ | pravarṣamāṇo jagadapramāṇamekārṇavaṁ sarvamidaṁ cakāra

That fierce divine being named Samvartaka became wholly enveloped by them, and raining down, turned this whole boundless world into a single ocean.

Verse 7 (skanda.5.173.7)

ततो महामेघविवर्धमानमीशानमिन्द्राशनिभिर्वृताङ्गम् । ददर्श नाहं भयविह्वलाङ्गो गङ्गाजलौघैश्च समावृताङ्गः

tato mahāmeghavivardhamānamīśānamindrāśanibhirvṛtāṅgam | dadarśa nāhaṁ bhayavihvalāṅgo gaṅgājalaughaiśca samāvṛtāṅgaḥ

Then, my limbs overwhelmed with fear and engulfed by the floodwaters of the Ganga, I could not clearly behold Ishana, who was swelling like a vast cloud, his body encircled by Indra's thunderbolts.

Verse 8 (skanda.5.173.8)

गजाः पुनश्चैव पुनः पिबन्तो जगत्समन्तात्परिदह्यमानम् । आपूरितं चैव जगत्समन्तात्सर्वैश्च तैर्जग्मुरदर्शनं च ते

gajāḥ punaścaiva punaḥ pibanto jagatsamantātparidahyamānam | āpūritaṁ caiva jagatsamantātsarvaiśca tairjagmuradarśanaṁ ca te

The elephant-like clouds, drinking again and again, poured down upon the world that was burning on every side; and when the whole world had been filled by all of them, they vanished from sight.

Verse 9 (skanda.5.173.9)

महार्णवाः सप्त सरांसि द्वीपा नद्योऽथ सर्वा अथ भूर्भुवश्च । आपूर्यमाणाः सलिलौघजालैरेकार्णवं सर्वमिदं बभूव

mahārṇavāḥ sapta sarāṁsi dvīpā nadyo'tha sarvā atha bhūrbhuvaśca | āpūryamāṇāḥ salilaughajālairekārṇavaṁ sarvamidaṁ babhūva

The seven great oceans, the lakes, the continents, all the rivers, and the earth and the mid-region — all became filled with masses of floodwater, and this entire universe became a single ocean.

Verse 10 (skanda.5.173.10)

न दृश्यते किंचिदहो चराचरं निरग्निचन्द्रार्कमयेऽपि लोके । प्रणष्टनक्षत्रतमोऽन्धकारे प्रशान्तवातास्तमितैकनीडेः

na dṛśyate kiṁcidaho carācaraṁ niragnicandrārkamaye'pi loke | praṇaṣṭanakṣatratamo'ndhakāre praśāntavātāstamitaikanīḍeḥ

Alas, nothing whatsoever, moving or unmoving, could be seen in that world devoid of fire, moon, and sun; in the darkness where the stars had perished, the wind lay still, and every refuge had been submerged.

Verse 11 (skanda.5.173.11)

महाजलौघेऽस्य विशुद्धसत्त्वा स्तुतिर्मया भूप कृता तदानीम् । ततोऽहमित्येव विचिन्तयानः शरण्यमेकं क्व नु यामि शान्तम्

mahājalaughe'sya viśuddhasattvā stutirmayā bhūpa kṛtā tadānīm | tato'hamityeva vicintayānaḥ śaraṇyamekaṁ kva nu yāmi śāntam

O king, in that great deluge, my mind purified, I then offered a hymn of praise; and I began to think, 'Where indeed shall I go for refuge to that one, peaceful protector?'

Verse 12 (skanda.5.173.12)

स्मरामि देवं हृदि चिन्तयित्वा प्रभुं शरण्यं जलसंनिविष्टः । नमामि देवं शरणं प्रपद्ये ध्यानं च तस्येति कृतं मया च

smarāmi devaṁ hṛdi cintayitvā prabhuṁ śaraṇyaṁ jalasaṁniviṣṭaḥ | namāmi devaṁ śaraṇaṁ prapadye dhyānaṁ ca tasyeti kṛtaṁ mayā ca

Immersed in the water, meditating on him in my heart, I remembered the Lord, my refuge; I bowed to the Lord, took refuge in him, and thus performed meditation upon him.

Verse 13 (skanda.5.173.13)

ध्यात्वा ततोऽहं सलिलं ततार तस्य प्रसादादविमूढचेताः । ग्लानिः श्रमश्चैव मम प्रणष्टौ देव्याः प्रसादेन नरेन्द्रपुत्र

dhyātvā tato'haṁ salilaṁ tatāra tasya prasādādavimūḍhacetāḥ | glāniḥ śramaścaiva mama praṇaṣṭau devyāḥ prasādena narendraputra

Having thus meditated, my mind undeluded by his grace, I crossed over the water; O son of kings, by the grace of the Goddess, both my exhaustion and weariness were destroyed.