Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 90, Shloka 10
Adhyaya 90 — The Slaying of Shumbha and the Reabsorption of the Goddesses into Ambika
ततः शरशतैर्देवीमाच्छादयत सोऽसुरः ।
सा च तत्कुपिता देवी धनुश्चिच्छेद चेṣुभिः ॥
tataḥ śaraśatair devīm ācchādayata so 'suraḥ / sā ca tatkupitā devī dhanuś ciccheda ceṣubhiḥ
तब उस असुर ने सैकड़ों बाणों से देवी को ढक दिया। इससे क्रुद्ध होकर देवी ने अपने बाणों से उसका धनुष टुकड़े-टुकड़े कर दिया।
FAQs
When overwhelmed by hostile forces, the dharmic response is not despair but decisive removal of the source of harm (the ‘bow’ that generates repeated injury).
Carita/narrative exemplum embedded in a Purana; it supports dharma by illustrating the Goddess as protector and restorer of cosmic order.
The ‘covering with arrows’ can symbolize sensory/mental assaults; cutting the bow suggests uprooting the generating mechanism of distraction rather than fighting each individual impulse.