tayoḥ - of the two of them; āgamanam - the arrival; sākṣāt - in person; īśayoḥ - of the powerful personalities; jagat-ātmanoḥ - the controllers of the universe; na veda - he did not notice; ruddha - checked; dhī-vṛttiḥ - the functioning of his mind; ātmānam - himself; viśvam - the external universe; eva - indeed; ca - also.

Because Mārkaṇḍeya’s material mind had stopped functioning, the sage failed to notice that Lord Śiva and his wife, the controllers of the universe, had personally come to see him. Mārkaṇḍeya was so absorbed in meditation that he was unaware of either himself or the external world.