CHAPTER – 105
Markandeya said: – Thereupon coming out of the bundle of his rays the Lord Sun appeared before Aditi in the form of burning copper. (1) O Muni, beholding the goddess bending low her head as soon as he came in view, the sun said to her: – “Pray for thy desired for boon whatever thou seekest from me.” (2) Kneeling down on earth and bending low her head Aditi said to the Sun, the conferrer of boons who was before her. (3) “O god, be pleased, the Daityas and Danavas growing powerful have deprived my sons of the three worlds and sacrificial offerings. (4) O lord of rays, therefore confer upon me this favour, that descending as their brother in a portion of thy rays do thou destroy their enemies. (5) O Ravi, being pleased with me do thou show them this mercy, O lord, that my sons may again partake of the sacrificial offerings and be lords of the three worlds. Thou dost remove the misery of the afflicted and thou art spoken of as the lord of creation.” (6-7) Thereupon, O Vipra, the Divine Bhaskara, the pilferer of water, being prepared to show his favour said to Aditi who had prostrated herself. (8) “O Aditi, being born in thy womb in my endless thousand rays I shall speedily make an end of the enemies of thy sons.” (9) Having said this the Divine Bhaskara disappeared. She too, having secured all her wishes, desisted from carrying on her penances. (10) Thereupon, of the thousand rays of the Sun the one called Soushamna took the incarnation of Vipra in the womb of the mother of the gods. (11) She too, being attentive, performed the vows of Krishnachandrayana etc. and being purified held the conception, O twice-born one. (12) Thereupon Kashyapa addressed to her angry words: – “Fasting every day, will you kill this embryo?” (13) She too said to him “O thou wrathful one, I have not killed the embryo that thou dost see – he is for the destruction of the enemies”. (14) Saying this, she, wroth at the words of her husband, at once discharged the conception which began to shine in effulgence. (15) Beholding that embryo effulgent as the rising Sun, Kashyapa, bending low, began to hymn its glory with the recitation of the prime Riks. (16) Being thus eulogised by him the Divine Bhashkara, assuming a lotus-hued body, came out of the egg and filled all the quarters with his effulgence. (17) Then were heard divine words deep as the muttering of the clouds surcharged with water from the sky, addressing Kashyapa, the foremost of Munis. (18) “O Muni, since thou didst ask me to kill (Marita) this egg, so my son will be called Martanda. This son will perform, on earth, the functions of the sun and destroy the Asuras who are pilfering the sacrificial offerings”. (19-20) Perceiving that the words came out of the sky the gods attained to great delight and the Danavas were dispirited. (21) Thereupon when the performer of a hundred sacrifices invited them to battle the Danavas delightedly confronted the gods. (22) Then there arose a great encounter between the gods and Danavas (in which) all the corners of the world were illumined with the lustre of the arms of both the parties. (23) In that encounter all the leading Asuras, as soon as they were looked upon by the Divine Martanda, were burnt down to ashes. (24) Thereat all the gods attained to great delight and began to hymn both Aditi and Martanda, born of effulgence. (25) After they had been stationed
as before in their positions and entitled to sacrificial offerings the Divine Martanda began to spread his own dominion. (26) Then displaying his lustre like that of Kadamva flowers he began to pour his rays both in the sky and on the earth. He became like a burning bundle of fire and assumed a body of great effulgence. (27)