Shloka 1
Adhyaya 89 — The Wrath of Shumbha and Nishumbha and the Fall of Nishumbha
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे सावर्णिके मन्वन्तरे देवीमाहात्म्ये रक्तबीजवधोनामाष्टाशीतितमोऽध्यायः ।
एकोननवतितमोऽध्यायः— ८९ ।
राजोवाच
विचित्रमिदमाख्यातं भगवन् भवता मम ।
देव्याश्चरितमाहात्म्यं रक्तबीजवधाश्रितम् ॥
iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe sāvarṇike manvantare devīmāhātmye raktabījavadhonāmāṣṭāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ | ekonanavatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ—89 | rājovāca vicitram idam ākhyātaṃ bhagavan bhavatā mama | devyāś caritam āhātmyaṃ raktabījavadhāśritam ||
Así, en el Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, en el Sāvarṇika Manvantara, dentro del Devī Māhātmya, concluye el capítulo octogésimo octavo llamado «La Muerte de Raktabīja». Ahora comienza el capítulo octogésimo noveno. Dijo el Rey: «Venerable señor, me has narrado este relato maravilloso: las gloriosas hazañas de la Diosa, centradas en la muerte de Raktabīja».
FAQs
The king’s response models śraddhā and inquiry: sacred narration is not passive entertainment but prompts further questioning aimed at understanding the unfolding of dharma and divine agency.
The explicit ‘manvantara’ marker places the episode within Manvantara-lakṣaṇa. The colophon also reflects Purāṇic textual organization used to anchor sacred history in cosmic time.
The transition signals a movement from one conquered inner tendency (self-replicating negativity) to the next confrontation (Śumbha/Niśumbha: pride and possessiveness), mirroring progressive purification.