Shloka 21
Adhyaya 83 — The Slaying of Mahishasura’s Armies and the Final Death of Mahishasura
एवं संक्षीयमाणे तु स्वसैन्ये महिषासुरः ।
माहिषेण स्वरूपेण त्रासयामास तान् गणान् ॥
evaṃ saṃkṣīyamāṇe tu svasainye mahiṣāsuraḥ | māhiṣeṇa svarūpeṇa trāsayāmāsa tān gaṇān ||
स्वसैन्ये नश्यति तथा दृष्ट्वा महीषासुरः स्वमहीषरूपं समास्थाय तान् गणान् त्रासयितुं प्रववृते।
FAQs
When adharma loses external supports (its ‘army’), it often resorts to raw intimidation. The verse captures a common ethical pattern: collapsing power structures intensify fear tactics.
Mythic narrative illustrating dharma’s conflict with adharma; not a pancalakṣaṇa catalog passage.
Mahishasura’s buffalo-form can symbolize tamas—heavy, obstructive inertia. As the aspirant’s inner ‘supporting habits’ weaken, tamas may surge as fear and dullness before being finally subdued.