Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 82, Shloka 46
Adhyaya 82 — The Rise of Mahishasura and the Manifestation of the Goddess from the Gods’ Tejas
अन्ये च तत्रायुतशो रथनागहयैर्वृताः ।
युयुधुः संयुगे देव्याः सह तत्र महासुराः ॥
anye ca tatrāyutaśo rathanāgahayairvṛtāḥ / yuyudhuḥ saṃyuge devyā saha tatra mahāsurāḥ
又有其他大阿修罗在彼处，成群结队以数万为伍，周围尽是战车、战象与战马，在那场战斗中一同对抗女神。
FAQs
The verse highlights the collective surge of adharma—well-equipped, confident, and numerous—yet still destined to fail when confronting the divine principle that restores balance.
It functions as dharma-upadeśa through narrative (ākhyāna) rather than a pancalakṣaṇa category; it supports the Purāṇic aim of moral instruction by exemplary myth.
Chariots, elephants, and horses symbolize the instruments of embodied power (ego, force, speed). The Devi stands for the integrating consciousness that subdues these when they serve chaos.