Shloka 3
Adhyaya 85 — The Gods’ Hymn to the Goddess and the Emergence of Kaushiki; Shumbha Sends His Envoy
तावेव पवनार्धि च चक्रतुर्वह्निकर्म च ।
अन्येषाञ्चाधिकारान् स स्वयमेवाधितिष्ठति ॥
ततो देवा विनिर्धूता भ्रष्टराज्याः पराजिताः ॥
tāveva pavanārdhi ca cakraturvahnikarma ca / anyeṣāñ cādhikārān sa svayamevādhitiṣṭhati / tato devā vinirdhūtā bhraṣṭarājyāḥ parājitāḥ
Those two also carried out the functions of Vāyu and Indra and the rites of Agni; and they themselves assumed the offices of the other gods as well. Therefore the gods were driven out, deprived of their kingdoms, and defeated.
FAQs
When adhikāra (rightful authority) is seized by force, cosmic order (ṛta/dharma) is disrupted; the Devas’ defeat sets the stage for seeking the higher, restoring power—Devi—rather than relying on fragmented, contested power.
Primarily within “rakṣā/vaṃśānucarita” style narrative (protection and exemplary accounts), not a sarga/pratisarga passage; it functions as an episodic theological narrative embedded in the Purāṇa.
The ‘offices’ of gods symbolize faculties that uphold the cosmos and the individual. Their usurpation indicates domination of the psyche/world by asuric tendencies; restoration requires invoking the supreme Śakti who re-harmonizes these powers.