Adhyaya 18

In PP.6.18, the struggle with Jālandhara swells into a cosmic war. Daitya and Dānava hosts under Śuṃbha and Niśuṃbha hem in Śiva and unleash māyā, projecting an illusory Gaurī named Jayā to delude him. Brahmā and Hari/Kṛṣṇa intervene, restore Śiva’s recognition of the deception, and the fierce battle resumes. Before Śiva’s terrifying form, Jālandhara remains fearless; this becomes the pivot of grace as he asks for sāyujya—supreme union and liberation. The narrative culminates in his beheading through the discus (cakra) motif and in the checking of proliferating demonic bodies. With Śiva’s permission, the Yoginīs and Mātṛkās consume the remnants and receive boons, and Pārvatī is reunited with Śiva. The chapter then closes didactically: karma’s inescapable fruition and the merit of hearing and reciting this account. It also bridges into the Tulasī-māhātmya, presenting devotion, ritual listening, and Tulasī worship as sin-destroying paths to prosperity and mokṣa.