tasya - while he; ekadā - one day; bhṛgu-śreṣṭha - O best of the descendants of Bhṛgu; puṣpabhadrā-taṭe - on the bank of the river Puṣpabhadrā; muneḥ - the sage; upāsīnasya - was performing worship; sandhyāyām - at the juncture of the day; brahman - O brāhmaṇa; vāyuḥ - a wind; abhūt - arose; mahān - great.

O brāhmaṇa Śaunaka, best of the Bhṛgus, one day while Mārkaṇḍeya was performing his evening worship on the bank of the Puṣpabhadrā, a great wind suddenly arose.