Shloka 31
Adhyaya 83 — The Slaying of Mahishasura’s Armies and the Final Death of Mahishasura
तत एवाशु पुरुषं देवी चिच्छेद सायकैः ।
तं खड्गचर्मणा सार्धं ततः सोऽभून्महागजः ॥
tata evāśu puruṣaṃ devī ciccheda sāyakaiḥ /
taṃ khaḍgacarmaṇā sārdhaṃ tataḥ so 'bhūnmahāgajaḥ
അപ്പോൾ ദേവി അതിവേഗം തന്റെ അമ്പുകളാൽ ആ പുരുഷനെ—അവന്റെ ഖഡ്ഗവും പരിചയും സഹിതം—വീഴ്ത്തി; പിന്നെ അവൻ മഹാഗജമായി മാറി।
FAQs
Skillful response (upāya) defeats brute force and its disguises. Devī’s arrows emphasize precision—dharma acts aptly, not merely violently.
Carita: martial myth functioning as theological instruction on Devī’s supremacy over all forms.
Arrows symbolize focused intention (ekāgratā) that pierces successive masks; the elephant-form evokes heavy inertia (tamas) reasserting itself after a refined ego-form is cut down.