Adhyaya 81 — Death of Nishumbha
वैश्य उवाच समाधिर्नाम वैश्योऽहमुत्पन्नो धनिनां कुले ।
पुत्रदारैर्निरस्तश्च धनलोभादसाधुभिः ॥
vaiśya uvāca samādhir nāma vaiśyo 'ham utpanno dhanināṃ kule /
putra-dārair nirastaś ca dhana-lobhād asādhubhiḥ
Pedagang itu berkata: “Aku seorang Waisya bernama Samādhi, lahir dari keluarga kaya. Karena ketamakan akan harta, putra-putraku sendiri dan istriku yang tidak berpegang pada dharma telah mengusirku.”
{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
Greed corrodes dharma within the household; even intimate relations can become predatory when wealth becomes the sole value. The verse also shows that suffering is not confined to kings—thus universalizing the problem of bondage.
It is part of vaṃśānucarita-style human narrative only in the loosest sense; functionally it is an ākhyāna segment introducing the Devi Mahatmyam’s soteriological teaching.
‘Sons and wife’ can symbolize one’s own attachments and identifications that ‘expel’ the self from inner peace. The name Samādhi is ironic here—suggesting the latent capacity for true samādhi that will be redirected toward the Goddess.