Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 83, Shloka 2
Adhyaya 83 — The Slaying of Mahishasura’s Armies and the Final Death of Mahishasura
स देवीं शरवर्षेण ववर्ष समरेऽसुरः ।
यथा मेरुगिरेः शृङ्गं तोयवर्षेण तोयदः ॥
sa devīṃ śaravarṣeṇa vavarṣa samare 'suraḥ / yathā merugireḥ śṛṅgaṃ toyavarṣeṇa toyadaḥ
युद्ध में उस असुर ने देवी पर बाणों की वर्षा की—जैसे वर्षा-मेघ मेरु पर्वत की चोटी पर जल-वृष्टि करता है।
FAQs
The Goddess is portrayed as Meru-like—unshaken by the barrage of hostility. The teaching is steadiness (dhairya) and the futility of aggression against the ground of order.
Anucarita within Manvantara; the imagery of Meru also resonates with cosmic geography motifs, though used here as an upamā (simile) in narrative.
Meru signifies the axis of consciousness; the ‘arrow-rain’ is the mind’s projections and attacks—ineffective against the centered awareness that is Śakti.