Adhyaya 83 — The Slaying of Mahishasura’s Armies and the Final Death of Mahishasura
बिडालस्यासिना कायात् पातयामास वै शिरः ।
दुर्धरं दुर्मुखं चोभौ शरैर्निन्ये यमक्षयम् ।
कालं च कालदण्डेन कालरात्रिरपातयत् ॥
biḍālasyāsinā kāyāt pātayāmāsa vai śiraḥ | durdharaṃ durmukhaṃ cobhau śarair ninye yamakṣayam | kālaṃ ca kāladaṇḍena kālarātrir apātayat ||
தேவி வாளால் பிடாலனின் தலையை உடலிலிருந்து வெட்டி நீக்கினாள். துர்தரன், துர்முகன் இருவரையும் அம்புகளால் யமனின் இல்லத்துக்கு அனுப்பினாள். காலனையும் காலராத்திரி காலதண்டத்தால் வீழ்த்தினாள்।
Even ‘Time’ and ‘Death’ motifs are subordinated to the Supreme Goddess: dharma is not ultimately at the mercy of chaos. The verse reinforces the inevitability of consequences—those who embody destruction are themselves destroyed.
Not pancalakṣaṇa enumeration; it is a dharma-restoring battle narrative used pedagogically to convey the supremacy of śakti.
Kālarātri overcoming ‘Kāla’ suggests that the Absolute (as śakti) transcends temporality. In inner terms, the fear of time/death is conquered by realization of the timeless ground.