The Sage Who Defeated Death

The Pandavas had been told many tales by the deathless sage Markandeya, the rishi who had outlived ages of the world and seen the universe dissolve and be born again. At last Yudhishthira asked the question that all who met the ageless sage must wonder: how was it that Markandeya alone, of all beings, did not die - how had a mortal man come to be deathless? And the other sages told them the story of how, long ago, a boy named Markandeya defeated Death himself by his devotion, and was granted eternal youth.

It began with a childless couple, a sage named Mrikandu and his wife, who longed for a son and worshipped the great god Shiva with fierce devotion for many years, praying for a child.