There is this popular story that Sage Markandeya was saved from death by Lord Shiva. Does any one know the source of this account? In which Purana is this described?
As far as I know there is no mention of this incident in The Shiva Maha Purana, Linga Purana, Vayu Purana, Agni Purana. I am not sure about Skanda Maha Purana. Neither do I find this in Markandeya Purana.
In The Skanda Maha Purana, Prabhasa Khanda, 209th Chapter, Lord Shiva tells Mother Parvathi that it was Lord Bhrahma who blessed the Sage Markandeya as a boy, to live for long (followed by the blessings of the other sages). Here is the reference:
https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13000/page/n5/mode/2up (check the chapter 209)
Added more comments on this for one of my own questions here
As per the Puranas like Srimad Bhagavatam and Sri Nrsimha Purana (considered as a upa-purana) it was Lord Sriman Narayana who saved sage Markandeya from the clutches of death.
That said, even in Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Brahma Purana, and Sri Skanda Maha Purana, the accounts involve Lord Shiva, (and in some accounts like the one in Sri Skanda Purana, Lord Brahma as well) with Markandeya finally offering prayers and prostrations to both Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. In Bhagavatam the sage obtains boons, and in Brahma Purana, the divine sage builds a temple for Lord Shiva as per the directions of Lord Vishnu.
In The Linga Purana, there is a story very similar to the popular story of The Sage Markandeya, but involving Swetha Muni (being saved by Lord Shiva) from the clutches of death.
In Sri Skanda Maha Purana, there is the story of King Swetha (contrast with Swetha Muni of The Linga Purana) who was saved from death by Lord Shiva burning The Kala (who is portrayed as a different one from Yama).
So in which Purana do we find this account involving sage Markandeya saved by Lord Shiva?