Adhyaya 88 — The Manifestation of the Matrikas and the Slaying of Raktabija
देवी शूलेन चक्रेण बाणैरसिभिरृष्टीभिः ।
जघान रक्तबीजं तं चामुण्डापीतशोणितम् ॥
devī śūlena cakreṇa bāṇair asibhir ṛṣṭibhiḥ | jaghāna raktabījaṃ taṃ cāmuṇḍāpītaśoṇitam ||
ദേവി ശൂലവും ചക്രവും, അമ്പുകൾ, ഖഡ്ഗങ്ങൾ, തോമരങ്ങൾ എന്നിവകൊണ്ട് രക്തബീജനെ വധിച്ചു; ചാമുണ്ഡ അവന്റെ രക്തം പാനം ചെയ്തു।
Unchecked multiplication of harm (Raktabīja’s blood-born replicas) is overcome not merely by force, but by discernment and containment—symbolized by Cāmuṇḍā preventing any “seed” from taking root.
Primarily within Vaṃśānucarita/Manvantara narrative framing (Sāvarṇika Manvantara) and Dharma-protection episodes; it is an upākhyāna (illustrative sacred history) embedded in the Purāṇic manvantara flow.
Raktabīja signifies proliferating saṃskāras/egoic tendencies that replicate when ‘spilled’; Cāmuṇḍā’s blood-drinking symbolizes yogic arrest of outgoing energies so that latent impulses cannot regenerate.