Shloka 49
Mahiṣāsura’s Conquest of Svarga and the Devas’ Appeal to Śiva and Viṣṇu
ततः पाशं समुत्थाय क्षिप्त्वा तस्योपरी श्वरी । बबन्ध महिषं सोऽपि रूपन्तत्याज माहिषम्
tataḥ pāśaṃ samutthāya kṣiptvā tasyoparī śvarī | babandha mahiṣaṃ so'pi rūpantatyāja māhiṣam
Então a Deusa soberana ergueu-se, levantou o seu laço (pāśa) e lançou-o sobre ele. Ela amarrou o demônio-búfalo, e ele também abandonou a forma de búfalo.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Devī’s exploit within the Uma-saṃhitā context)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Significance: Symbolic teaching: the ‘pāśa’ (noose) that binds the asura mirrors bondage; Devī’s binding precedes release from a lower form—seen as a template for divine restraint leading to transformation.
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Durgā
Role: destructive
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
The noose (pāśa) symbolizes the binding power of ignorance and ego; the Goddess binding the demon signifies divine grace restraining adharmic forces and compelling the soul’s false identifications to fall away—an image aligned with Shaiva Siddhanta’s Pati freeing the paśu from pāśa.
As Saguna Shiva-Shakti, the Divine actively intervenes in the world: binding the demon mirrors how worship of Shiva (often through the Linga) disciplines the mind and restrains passion, allowing lower ‘animal’ tendencies to be relinquished.
A practical takeaway is japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with inner restraint (saṃyama): mentally ‘casting the pāśa’ on impulses and returning awareness to Shiva, supported by simple Shaiva disciplines like bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) and Rudrāksha as reminders of detachment.