Markandeya Purana

तृप्तिं स्वाभाविकीं प्राप्ता विषयेषु महामते । न तासां प्रतिघातोऽस्ति न द्वेषो नापि मत्सरः॥४९.

They attained natural satisfaction in the objects of the senses, O wise one; among them there was no opposition, no hatred, and no envy.

पर्वतोदधिसेविन्यो ह्यनिकेतास्तु सर्वशः । ता वै निष्कामचारिण्यो नित्यं मुदितमानसाः॥४९.

They wandered everywhere, dwelling on mountains and by the sea, without fixed abode; they acted without desire and were always joyful in mind.

पिशाचोरगरक्षांसि तथा मत्सरिणो जनाः । पशवः पक्षिणश्चैव नक्रा मत्स्याः सरीसृपाः॥४९.

Then arose flesh-eating spirits, serpents, demons, envious people, animals, birds, crocodiles, fish, and reptiles.

अवारका ह्यण्डजा वा ते ह्यधर्मप्रसूतयः । न मूलफलपुष्पाणि नार्तवा वत्सराणि च॥४९.

They were of inferior birth, or born from eggs, and were the offspring of unrighteousness; there were no roots, fruits, or flowers, nor were there seasons or years.

सर्वकालसुखः कालो नात्यर्थं घर्मशीतता । कालेन गच्छता तेषां चित्रा सिद्धिरजायत॥४९.

Time was pleasant at all moments, with neither excessive heat nor cold; as time passed for them, wondrous accomplishments arose.

ततश्च तेषां पूर्वाह्ने मध्याह्ने च वितृप्तता । पुनस्तथेच्छतां तृप्तिरनायासेन साभवत्॥४९.

Thus, in the morning and at midday, they were satisfied; and whenever they wished, satisfaction came to them effortlessly.

इच्छताञ्च तथायासो मनसः समजायत । अपां सौक्ष्म्यं ततस्तासां सिद्धिर्नानारसोल्लसा॥४९.

Yet, for those who desired, exertion of the mind arose; then, through the subtlety of water, various delightful accomplishments appeared.

समजायत चैवान्या सर्वकामप्रदायिनी । असंस्कार्यैः शरीरैश्च प्रजास्ताः स्थिरयौवनाः॥४९.

Then another kind arose, granting every desire; with bodies not requiring purification, those beings remained in perpetual youth.

तासां विना तु संकल्पं जायन्ते मिथुनाः प्रजाः । समं जन्म च रूपञ्च म्रियन्ते चैव ताः समम्॥४९.

Without any intention, offspring were born in pairs; they were born together, had the same form, and died at the same time.

अनिच्छाद्वेषसंयुक्ता वर्तन्ते तु परस्परम् । तुल्यरूपायुषः सर्वा अधमोत्तमतां विना॥४९.

They lived among each other without desire or aversion; all were equal in form and lifespan, with neither inferiority nor superiority.

तत्वारि तु सहस्राणि वर्षाणां मानुषाणि तु । आयुः प्रमाणं जीवन्ति न च क्लेशाद्विपत्तयः॥४९.

For thousands of years, humans lived with a fixed lifespan, and there was no suffering or calamity.

क्वचित् क्वचित् पुनः साभूत् क्षितिर्भाग्येन सर्वशः । कालेन गच्छता नाशमुपयान्ति यथा प्रजाः॥४९.

Yet, at certain times and places, the earth, through fortune, was entirely so; as time passed, beings came to destruction as is their nature.

तथा ताः क्रमशो नाशं जग्मुः सर्वत्र सिद्धयः । तासु सर्वासु नष्टासु नभसः प्रच्युता नराः॥४९.

Thus, gradually, all those accomplishments perished everywhere; when all of them were lost, people fell from the sky.

प्रायशः कल्पवृक्षास्ते संभूता गृहसंज्ञिताः । सर्वे प्रत्युपभोगाश्च तासं तेभ्यः प्रजायते॥४९.

Mostly, wish-fulfilling trees arose, called 'house-trees'; all enjoyments for them came from these.

वर्तयन्ति स्म तेभ्यस्तास्त्रेतायुगमुखे तदा । ततः कालेन वै रागस्तासामाकस्मिकोऽभवत्॥४९.

They lived on those trees at the beginning of the Tretā Yuga; then, in the course of time, sudden passion arose among them.

मासि मास्यार्तवोत्पत्त्या गर्भोत्पत्तिः पुनः पुनः । रागोत्पत्त्या ततस्तासां वृक्षास्ते गृहसंज्ञिताः॥४९.

Month by month, with the arising of the season, conception occurred again and again; with the arising of passion, those trees, called 'house-trees,'

ब्रह्मन्नन्वपरेषान्तु पेतुः शाखा महीरुहाम् । वस्त्राणि च प्रसूयन्ते फलेष्वाभरणानि च॥४९.

O Brāhmaṇa, on others, branches of great trees fell; garments and ornaments were produced on their fruits.

तेष्वेव जायते तेषां गन्धवर्णरसान्वितम् । अमाक्षिकं माहवीर्यं पुटके पुटके मधु॥४९.

On those very trees, for them, honey endowed with fragrance, color, and taste was produced, strong and unfermented, in every hollow.

तेन वा वर्तयन्ति स्म मुखे त्रेयायुगस्य वै । ततः कालान्तरेणैव पुनर्लोभान्वितास्तु ताः॥४९.

With that, they lived at the beginning of the Tretā Yuga; then, as time passed, they again became filled with greed.

वृक्षांस्ताः पर्यगृह्णन्त ममत्वाविष्टचेतसः । नेशुस्तेनापचारेण तेऽपि तासां महीरुहाः॥४९.

They seized those trees, their minds possessed by a sense of ownership; and because of that misconduct, those great trees too perished for them.

ततो द्वन्द्वान्यजायन्ते शीतोष्णक्षुन्मुखानि वै । तास्तद्द्वन्द्वोपघातार्थं चक्रुः पूर्वं पुराणि तु॥४९.

Then pairs of opposites arose, such as cold and heat, hunger and so on; to counteract those opposites, they first built dwellings.

मरुधन्वषु दुर्गेषु पर्वतेषु दरीषु च । संश्रयन्ति च दुर्गाणि वार्क्षं पार्वतमौदकम्॥४९.

In deserts, in fortresses, in mountains, and in caves, they also take refuge in strongholds—whether wooded, mountainous, or watery.

कृत्रिमञ्च तथा दुर्गं मित्वा मित्वात्मनो।ङ्गुलैः । मानार्थानि प्रमाणानि तास्तु पूर्वं प्रचक्रिरे॥४९.

They also constructed artificial fortresses, measuring them with their own fingers, and established standards of measurement for practical purposes as before.

परमाणुः परं सूक्ष्मं त्रषरेणुर्महीरजः । बालाग्रञ्चैव लिक्षां च यूकां चाथ यवोदरम्॥४९.

A paramāṇu is the finest particle, then a mote of dust, earth-dust, the tip of a hair, a nit, a louse, and then a barley-corn.

क्रमादष्टगुणान्याहुर्यवानष्टौ तथाङ्गुलम् । षडङ्गुलं पदं तच्च वितस्तिर्द्विगुणं स्मृतम्॥४९.

Each is said to be eight times the previous; eight barley-corns make an aṅgula (finger-breadth), six aṅgulas make a pada (foot), and a vitasti (span) is remembered as twice that.

द्वे वितस्ती तथा हस्तो ब्राह्म्यतीर्थादिवेष्टनः । चतुर्हस्तं धनुर्दण्डो नाडिकार्युगमेव च॥४९.

Two vitastis make a hasta (cubit), measured from the Brāhmī tīrtha (wrist) to the tip; four hastas make a bow’s length, a staff, and also a nāḍikā (water-clock) measure.

धनुषां द्वे सहस्रे तु गव्यूतिस्तच्चतुर्गुणम् । प्रोक्तञ्च योजवनं प्राज्ञैः संख्यानार्थमिदं परम्॥४९.

Two thousand bows make a gavyūti, and four times that is called a yojana; the wise have declared this as the supreme reckoning for measurement.

चतुर्णामथ दुर्गाणां स्वसमुत्थानि त्रीणि तु । चतुर्थं कृत्रिमं दुर्गं ते चक्रुर्यत्नतस्तु वै॥४९.

Of the four types of fortresses, three arise naturally, while the fourth, the artificial fortress, they constructed with great effort.

पुरञ्च खेटकञ्चैव तद्वद् द्रोणीमुखं द्विज । शाखानगरकञ्चापि तथा कर्वटकं द्रमी॥४९.

A city, a small fortified town, likewise a settlement shaped like a mortar, O twice-born, a branch-town, and also a hamlet are mentioned.