Yudhishthira Asks Markandeya About the End of Yugas
Yudhishthira, humbly and with great reverence, asks the ancient sage Markandeya to recount what happens at the end of yugas. He notes that Markandeya alone has witnessed the destruction and recreation of the world countless times, and that neither death nor old age can overcome him. He asks Markandeya to explain the reasons behind everything.
Vaishampayana said: With humility, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira again asked the famous Markandeya.
"O great sage! You have witnessed the end of many thousands of eras. No one is known who has lived for as long as you, except for the great-souled Brahma Parameshthi himself. O brahmana! You worshipped Brahma at the time of the destruction, when there was no sky in this world and no gods and danavas. When that destruction is over and the grandfather arises again, you are the only one who witnesses the four types of beings being exactly created by Parameshthi, after he has filled the directions with air and has dispersed the waters.
"O foremost among brahmanas! You have worshipped the preceptor of the world himself, the grandfather of all the worlds, with supreme meditation. Therefore, through Parameshthi's grace, death — the destroyer of everything — and old age — the destroyer of the body — do not overcome you. When there is no sun and fire, no wind and moon, nothing is left of the sky and the earth, when the world with its mobile and immobile objects becomes one large ocean, when the masses of gods and asuras are destroyed and the great serpents uprooted, when the one with the infinite soul is on the lotus and finds his abode on the lotus — you alone are there to worship Brahma, the lord of all beings.
"O supreme among brahmanas! Everything that has happened before has been seen by you. Therefore, we wish to hear the account about the reasons behind everything. O supreme among brahmanas! You have experienced these many times. There is nothing in all the worlds that is not always known to you." Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 483