Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 85, Shloka 42

Adhyaya 85 — The Gods’ Hymn to the Goddess and the Emergence of Kaushiki; Shumbha Sends His Envoy

Sanskrit

स्तोत्रं ममैैतत् क्रियते शुम्भदैत्यनिराकृतैः ।

देवैः समेतैः समरे निशुम्भेन पराजितैः ॥

Transliteration

stotraṃ mamaitat kriyate śumbhadaityanirākṛtaiḥ / devaiḥ sametaiḥ samare niśumbhena parājitaiḥ

Translation

“This hymn is being offered to me by the assembled gods—gods who have been freed from the daitya Śumbha—gods who in battle had been defeated by Niśumbha.”

Word by Word

• stotram: hymn
• stotram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); here as subject of passive

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (Genitive, 6th), एकवचन

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kriyate: is being done / is composed
• kriyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• śumbha-daitya-nirākṛtaiḥ: by gods who were driven away by Śumbha (the demon)
• śumbha-daitya-nirākṛtaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śumbha (प्रातिपदिक) + daitya (प्रातिपदिक) + nir-ā-kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास (determinative; ‘repelled/removed by Śumbha-demon(s)’ or ‘those who have repelled Śumbha (the demon)’), तृतीया (Instrumental, 3rd), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण of devaiḥ

• devaiḥ: by the gods
• devaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• sametaiḥ: assembled / gathered
• sametaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ī (धातु) → sameta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त-विशेषण (kta), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण of devaiḥ

• samare: in battle
• samare: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), सप्तमी (Locative, 7th), एकवचन

• niśumbhena: by Niśumbha
• niśumbhena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśumbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• parājitaiḥ: defeated
• parājitaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parā-ji (धातु) → parājita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त-विशेषण (kta), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण of devaiḥ

Speakers

• The emerged Devī-form (Śivā / Devī) speaking to explain the stotra’s context

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bhakti", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Devī
• Devas
• Śumbha
• Niśumbha

Shakti Aspects

• Devī as the liberator from Śumbha-Niśumbha oppression (Cāṇḍikā/Durgā in the wider episode)

Key Themes

• Devī Māhātmya battle-cycle
• Deliverance of the gods
• Authority and provenance of stotra
• Victory over adharma

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The hymn arises from lived crisis and deliverance: gratitude after rescue becomes sacred speech. Ethically, it valorizes remembrance of help received and communal worship after collective suffering.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Narrative (ākhyāna) within the Devī Māhātmya section. It is not sarga/manvantara/vaṃśa material; its function is to authenticate the stuti and situate it in the Śumbha-Niśumbha episode.

What is the esoteric significance?

Śumbha-Niśumbha can be read as twin forces of egoic appropriation and aggressive negation; the Devī’s victory and the ensuing stotra represent the return of speech (vāk) to devotion rather than self-assertion.