Shloka 16

Adhyaya 90 — The Slaying of Shumbha and the Reabsorption of the Goddesses into Ambika

Sanskrit

स मुṣ्टिं पातयामास हृदये दैत्यपुṅ्गवः ।

देव्यास्तं चापि सा देवी तलेनोरस्यताडयत् ॥

Transliteration

sa muṣṭiṃ pātayāmāsa hṛdaye daityapuṅgavaḥ / devyās taṃ cāpi sā devī talenorasy atāḍayat

Translation

దైత్యులలో వృషభసమానుడైన అతడు ముష్టితో ఆమె వక్షస్థలాన్ని కొట్టాడు; దేవీ కూడా అతని వక్షంపై తన కరతలంతో ప్రహరించింది।

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• muṣṭim: fist
• muṣṭim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• pātayāmāsa: struck down / made fall
• pātayāmāsa: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: Causative (णिच्), Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• hṛdaye: in/at the heart (chest)
• hṛdaye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛdaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• daityapuṅgavaḥ: the foremost demon
• daityapuṅgavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya+puṅgava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘bull among demons’; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• devyāḥ: of the Goddess
• devyāḥ: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), often ‘also/even’

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• talena: with the palm
• talena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd), Singular

• urasi: on the chest
• urasi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular

• atāḍayat: struck
• atāḍayat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tāḍ (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speakers

• Narrative within the Devi Mahatmyam

Primary Deities

• Devī (Caṇḍikā/Ambikā)

Shakti Aspects

• Devī embodying direct
• unmediated power (hasta-bala)

Key Themes

• Shaktism
• Embodied divine power
• Reversal of aggression

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Dharma is not helpless; even when confronted directly, the divine presence responds with greater, rightful force—showing that protection is immediate, not merely remote.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Carita: a vivid action-unit within the Devi narrative, dramatizing the decisive superiority of Devī.

What is the esoteric significance?

Chest/heart is the seat of ‘I’-sense and resolve; the Goddess’s palm-strike indicates the overpowering of hardened egoic will by the higher will (icchā-śakti).