Adhyaya 89 — The Wrath of Shumbha and Nishumbha and the Fall of Nishumbha
आजगाम महावीर्यः शुम्भोऽपि स्वबलैर्वृतः ।
निहन्तुं चण्डिकां कोपात्कृताव युद्धं तु मातृभिः ॥
ājagāma mahāvīryaḥ śumbho 'pi svabalair vṛtaḥ | nihantuṃ caṇḍikāṃ kopāt kṛtāva yuddhaṃ tu mātṛbhiḥ ||
Then Śumbha too, of great valor, came surrounded by his own forces, intending in anger to slay Caṇḍikā—after having waged battle with the Mothers.
Pride (Śumbha) escalates to direct confrontation when intermediaries fail; the text underscores that arrogance ultimately challenges the very source of order and is thereby undone.
Manvantara-embedded narrative illustrating dharma’s defense through Devī; it is exemplary sacred history rather than cosmogenesis.
Caṇḍikā represents the incisive power that cuts through delusion; Śumbha approaching ‘with his own forces’ suggests the ego’s last consolidation before surrender/defeat.