Shloka 56
Adhyaya 85 — The Gods’ Hymn to the Goddess and the Emergence of Kaushiki; Shumbha Sends His Envoy
एवं दैत्येन्द्र रत्नानि समस्तान्याहृतानि ते ।
स्त्रीरत्नमेषा कल्याणी त्वया कस्मान्न गृह्यते ॥
evaṃ daityendra ratnāni samastāny āhṛtāni te / strīratnam eṣā kalyāṇī tvayā kasmān na gṛhyate
एवं हे दैत्येन्द्र, सर्वाणि रत्नानि तुभ्यं समानीतानि; एषा च शुभा ‘स्त्रीरत्नम्’—किं न त्वया गृह्यते?
{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bībhatsa", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
A central ethical tension is exposed: the asura mindset treats persons—and even the Goddess—as commodities. The Devi Mahatmyam answers this by asserting Shakti’s absolute autonomy and the futility of coercive desire.
Didactic narrative (ākhyāna) illustrating dharma/adharma rather than a pancalakṣaṇa catalog section.
Calling the Goddess ‘strīratna’ is a deliberate narrative irony: Shakti is the source of all ‘ratna’ (value), yet the asura reverses the hierarchy, imagining he can possess the Source as one more object.