Adhyaya 83 — The Slaying of Mahishasura’s Armies and the Final Death of Mahishasura
बिडालस्यासिना कायात् पातयामास वै शिरः ।
दुर्धरं दुर्मुखं चोभौ शरैर्निन्ये यमक्षयम् ।
कालं च कालदण्डेन कालरात्रिरपातयत् ॥
biḍālasyāsinā kāyāt pātayāmāsa vai śiraḥ | durdharaṃ durmukhaṃ cobhau śarair ninye yamakṣayam | kālaṃ ca kāladaṇḍena kālarātrir apātayat ||
D’un sabre, elle trancha la tête de Biḍāla et la sépara du corps. Durdhara et Durmukha, elle les envoya tous deux au séjour de Yama par ses flèches. Et Kāla aussi, Kālarātri l’abattit avec le bâton du Temps.
Even ‘Time’ and ‘Death’ motifs are subordinated to the Supreme Goddess: dharma is not ultimately at the mercy of chaos. The verse reinforces the inevitability of consequences—those who embody destruction are themselves destroyed.
Not pancalakṣaṇa enumeration; it is a dharma-restoring battle narrative used pedagogically to convey the supremacy of śakti.
Kālarātri overcoming ‘Kāla’ suggests that the Absolute (as śakti) transcends temporality. In inner terms, the fear of time/death is conquered by realization of the timeless ground.