Shloka 45
Adhyaya 82 — The Rise of Mahishasura and the Manifestation of the Goddess from the Gods’ Tejas
वृतः कालो रथानाञ्च रणे पञ्चाशतायुतैः ।
युयुधे संयुगे तत्र तावद्भिः परिवारितः ॥
vṛtaḥ kālo rathānāñca raṇe pañcāśatāyutaiḥ / yuyudhe saṃyuge tatra tāvadbhiḥ parivāritaḥ
Kāla (un asura nommé Kāla), entouré au combat par cinquante mille chars, livra bataille là, au cœur de la mêlée, encerclé par un nombre égal de guerriers.
FAQs
Evil often appears as overwhelming force and organization; the Devi narrative stresses that sheer numbers and military display cannot overturn dharma when divine order is awakened and defended.
This is not a sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita passage; it is an upākhyāna (sacred episode) used to teach dharma through the Devi’s victory—ancillary to pancalakṣaṇa rather than a direct instance of it.
The named asura ‘Kāla’ evokes the motif that even ‘Time/Death’ is ultimately circumscribed; the Goddess stands as the transcendent power before which the cycles of destruction lose their tyranny.