The Sage's Impossible Choice
The sage Mrikandu and his wife Marudvati prayed to Lord Shiva for a child. Shiva appeared and offered them a choice: a son of great brilliance who would live only sixteen years — or a son of little intelligence who would live a full lifespan.
Mrikandu chose the brilliant son without hesitation. The child born to them was named Markandeya. From his earliest years, he was drawn to Shiva with his whole heart.
The Shadow Approaches
As Markandeya's sixteenth year began, his parents grew sorrowful. When he pressed them, they told him the truth — his life would end when he turned sixteen. Markandeya was not afraid.
"If Lord Shiva has given me this life," he said, "then Lord Shiva can protect it."
He sat before a Shiva lingam and chanted the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra with absolute concentration:
*ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्।*
*उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात्।।*
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*We worship the three-eyed Shiva, fragrant and nourishing. As a ripe cucumber releases from its vine, may we be released from the bondage of death into immortality.*
Yama Arrives
The exact moment of Markandeya's sixteenth birthday arrived. Yama came himself — riding his black buffalo, noose in hand. He cast the noose. It fell around both Markandeya and the Shiva lingam.
At that moment, Lord Shiva burst forth from the lingam.
Shiva struck Yama with his trident. "You have cast your rope around my devotee while he holds my form. This is not permitted."
Yama, humbled, withdrew.
Shiva looked at Markandeya — this boy sitting completely calm, still absorbed in prayer. He blessed him: **"You shall be sixteen forever. You shall be *Chiranjivi* — immortal — until the end of this universe."**
Markandeya is counted among the seven Chiranjivis. The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra he chanted is recited across India to this day — in hospitals, before surgery, in times of grief.