Shloka 1
Adhyaya 87 — The Slaying of Dhumralochana and the Emergence of Kali; the Fall of Chanda and Munda (Chamunda Named)
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयमहापुराणे सावर्णिके मन्वन्तरे देवीमाहात्म्ये धूम्रलोचनवधो नाम षडशीतीतमोऽध्यायः ।
सप्तशीतीतमोऽध्यायः- ८७
ऋषिरुवाच— आज्ञप्तास्ते ततो दैत्याश्चण्डमुण्डपुरोगमाः ।
चतुरङ्गबलोपेता ययुरभ्युद्यतायुधाः ॥
iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyamahāpurāṇe sāvarṇike manvantare devīmāhātmye dhūmralocanavadho nāma ṣaḍaśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ / saptaśītitamādhyāyaḥ- 87 / ṛṣir uvāca ājñaptās te tato daityāś caṇḍamuṇḍapurogamāḥ / caturaṅgabalopetā yayur abhyudyatāyudhāḥ
Thus ends, in the Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya Mahāpurāṇa, in the Sāvarṇika Manvantara, in the Devī Māhātmya, the eighty-sixth chapter called “The Slaying of Dhūmralocana”. Chapter 87 begins. The Ṛṣi said: Then those daityas, led by Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, commanded by Śumbha, set out with a fourfold army, their weapons raised.
FAQs
The colophon anchors the episode as sacred history within cosmic time; the ‘fourfold army’ underscores that sheer worldly organization cannot prevail against dharma-backed śakti.
Explicit Manvantara placement (one of the five marks). The verse also exemplifies how Purāṇas embed dharma instruction within time-cycles and episodic narratives.
The ‘fourfold army’ can be read as the total mobilization of outer faculties; when misdirected by ego, they march toward their own transformation through encounter with the Goddess.