Markandeya Rsi was curious to know exactly how Maya worked. He asked the Lord to show him. Almost at once there was a great downpour, and waves began to flood his hermitage. Soon they completely enveloped his home and he entire planet. Long-living Markendeya struggled for eons in giant waves and severe winds, but miraculously stayed afloat and alive for millions of years. Finally, when he thought his exhaustion might spell death, he encountered an island oasis. There, Krsna, as an infant on a huge leaf of a banyan tree, inhaled him into His body. Markendeya saw the entire universe before Krsna exhaled him back out onto the ocean. Shortly thereafter, the waters of devastation subsided entirely, and Markandeya found himself sitting peacefully in his asrama just as when he first asked about Maya. This was the lesson he learned about the Lord’s illusory energy.