Mārkandeya, Sage Mrikandu and his wife Marudmati worshipped Lord Siva with a view to obtaining the boon of a son from Him. Mrikandu chose a short-lived but illustrious son.

When Markandeya’s allotted life-span expired, the God of Death, Yama appeared on his buffalo mount and found the young boy deeply meditating on Siva. On seeing Yama, he instinctively hugged the Śivaliṅga, and Yama’s noose tightened around Siva’s neck! Siva didn’t take kindly to it and promptly vanquished Death, releasing the boy from his clutches.

Markandeya thus became immortal (cirañjīva) and went on to write his famous Makandeya Purana, and the Lord Siva earned for himself the title Kālāntaka, the vanquisher of death.

The takeaway here, as in the other stories we have alluded to, is that the seed sown by the mother in the baby in her womb will continue to blossom throughout the child’s life.