Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 88, Shloka 1
Adhyaya 88 — The Manifestation of the Matrikas and the Slaying of Raktabija
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे सावर्णिके मन्वन्तरे देवीमाहात्म्ये चण्डमुण्डवधोनाम सप्ताशीतितमोऽध्यायः । अष्टाशीतितमोऽध्यायः- ८८ । ऋषिरुवाच चण्डे च निहते दैत्ये मुण्डे च विनिपातिते । बहुलेषु च सैन्येषु क्षयितेष्वसुरेश्वरः ॥
iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe sāvarṇike manvantare devīmāhātmye caṇḍamuṇḍavadhonāma saptāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ / aṣṭāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ- 88 / ṛṣir uvāca caṇḍe ca nihate daitye muṇḍe ca vinipātite / bahuleṣu ca sainyeṣu kṣayiteṣv asureśvaraḥ
如是，在《圣摩尔迦ṇḍeya往世书》中，于萨伐尔尼迦·摩奴万多罗之段，在《女神威德》（Devī-māhātmya）中，第八十七章名为“诛杀旃陀与牟ṇ陀”者至此终了。（今起）第八十八章。仙人说道：当达伊提耶旃陀被杀、牟ṇ陀被击倒，且众多军旅被歼灭之时，阿修罗之主（遂作回应……）。
FAQs
Evil escalates when checked: the fall of key aggressors does not end conflict; it often exposes the deeper root (the asura-lord). The text prepares the listener for perseverance in dharmic struggle.
Manvantara + Anucarita: the colophon explicitly anchors the episode in a manvantara, while the battle narrative serves as illustrative history (anucarita) within that cosmic administration period.
The ‘many troops destroyed’ motif signals the stripping away of subsidiary tendencies before confronting the central egoic sovereignty (asureśvara), a common inner-reading of the Śumbha–Niśumbha cycle.