Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2
शुंभोनाम महादैत्यः पुराऽसीत्पृथिवीतले । तेन सर्वं जगद्व्याप्तं जित्वा देवान्रणाजिरे
śuṃbhonāma mahādaityaḥ purā'sītpṛthivītale | tena sarvaṃ jagadvyāptaṃ jitvā devānraṇājire
กาลก่อน ณ พื้นพิภพ มีมหาอสูรนามว่า ศุมภะ ครั้นพิชิตเหล่าเทวะในสนามรบแล้ว ก็แผ่ครอบงำและยึดครองโลกทั้งปวง
Pulastya
Listener: The king
Scene: Śumbha, a towering asura-king, stands victorious on a battlefield strewn with broken divine banners; the world appears shadowed under his rule, foreshadowing Devī’s advent.
FAQs
Asuric power disrupts cosmic order; the Purāṇas frame Devī’s intervention as restoration of dharma.
The narrative prepares the glorification of Kātyāyanī’s cave abode associated with Śumbha’s destruction.
None in this verse; it introduces the historical-mythic context for the shrine’s greatness.