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Shloka 45

Adhyaya 82The Rise of Mahishasura and the Manifestation of the Goddess from the Gods’ Tejas

वृतः कालो रथानाञ्च रणे पञ्चाशतायुतैः ।

युयुधे संयुगे तत्र तावद्भिः परिवारितः ॥

vṛtaḥ kālo rathānāñca raṇe pañcāśatāyutaiḥ / yuyudhe saṃyuge tatra tāvadbhiḥ parivāritaḥ

Kāla (ein Asura namens Kāla), im Kampf von fünfzigtausend Streitwagen umringt, focht dort im Getümmel der Nahschlacht, von ebenso vielen Kriegern eingeschlossen.

vṛtaḥsurrounded/covered
vṛtaḥ:
Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootvṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
Formभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (kta/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; passive participle used adjectivally
kālaḥKāla (the demon/person named Kāla)
kālaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkāla (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
rathānāmof chariots
rathānām:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
TypeNoun
Rootratha (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन
caand
ca:
Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
Formसमुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)
raṇein battle
raṇe:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन
pañcāśatāyutaiḥby fifty ayutas (i.e., 500,000)
pañcāśatāyutaiḥ:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootpañcāśat (प्रातिपदिक) + ayuta (प्रातिपदिक)
Formद्विगु-समास (numerical compound: pañcāśat+ayuta = 50×10,000), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समासान्त), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन
yuyudhefought
yuyudhe:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootyudh (धातु)
Formलिट् (Perfect/परोक्शभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद
saṃyugein the combat
saṃyuge:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootsaṃyuga (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन
tatrathere
tatra:
Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottatra (अव्यय)
Formदेशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)
tāvadbhiḥby so many/as many
tāvadbhiḥ:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeAdjective
Roottāvat (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-प्राय)
Formतदादि-परिमाणवाचक, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; (gender context-dependent, here used with implied ‘rathaiḥ/saṃkhyābhiḥ’)
parivāritaḥsurrounded on all sides
parivāritaḥ:
Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootpari-√vṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
Formभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (kta/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; passive participle
Narrative voice within the Devi Mahatmyam frame (Markandeya Purana’s recitation tradition; not direct bird-dialogue in these verses)
Devi (Ambika/Chandika)
Ambika/Chandika (implied battle context of Devi Mahatmyam)
ShaktismDivine battleProtection of cosmic order (dharma)

FAQs

Evil often appears as overwhelming force and organization; the Devi narrative stresses that sheer numbers and military display cannot overturn dharma when divine order is awakened and defended.

This is not a sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita passage; it is an upākhyāna (sacred episode) used to teach dharma through the Devi’s victory—ancillary to pancalakṣaṇa rather than a direct instance of it.

The named asura ‘Kāla’ evokes the motif that even ‘Time/Death’ is ultimately circumscribed; the Goddess stands as the transcendent power before which the cycles of destruction lose their tyranny.