Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 83, Shloka 22
Adhyaya 83 — The Slaying of Mahishasura’s Armies and the Final Death of Mahishasura
कांश्चित्तुण्डप्रिहारेण खुरक्षेपैस्तथापरान् ।
लाङ्गूलताडितांश्चान्यान् शृङ्गाभ्याञ्च विदारितान् ॥
kāṃś cit tuṇḍaprihāreṇa khurakṣepais tathāparān | lāṅgūlatāḍitāṃś cānyān śṛṅgābhyāṃ ca vidāritān ||
Some he struck with blows of his snout; others he hurled with kicks of his hooves; some he battered with his tail, and others he ripped apart with his horns.
FAQs
Adharma’s nature is indiscriminate harm—using whatever ‘limb’ or capacity is available. The text contrasts this with the Goddess’s purposeful, discriminating destruction aimed at restoring order.
A battle-description within sacred narrative; not a cosmological/genealogical pancalakṣaṇa segment.
The many modes of assault reflect how tamas manifests in varied ways—dullness, aggression, and destabilization—striking the ‘gaṇas’ (inner faculties) unless steadied by higher śakti.