Devī Māhātmyam | Durgā Saptashatī | 3

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Chapter 3

The Slaying of Mahiṣāsura

॥ tṛtīyo'dhyāyaḥ ||

oṃ ṛṣiruvāca ॥ 1||

The Rishi said:

nihanyamānaṃ tatsainyamavalokya mahāsuraḥ ।
senānīścikṣuraḥ kopādyayau yoddhumathāmbikām ॥ 2||

1-2. Then Chikṣura, the great asura general, seeing that army being slain (by the Devi), advanced in anger to fight with Ambikā.

sa devīṃ śaravarṣeṇa vavarṣa samare'suraḥ ।
yathā merugireḥ śṛṅgaṃ toyavarṣeṇa toyadaḥ ॥ 3||

3. That asura rained showers of arrows on the Devi in the battle, even as a cloud (showers) rain on the summit of Mount Meru.

tasya chitvā tato devī līlayaiva śarotkarān ।
jaghāna turagānbāṇairyantāraṃ caiva vājinām ॥ 4||

4. Then the Devi, easily cutting asunder the masses of his arrows, killed his horses and their controller with her arrows.

ciccheda ca dhanuḥ sadyo dhvajaṃ cātisamucchṛtam ।
vivyādha caiva gātreṣu chinnadhanvānamāśugaiḥ ॥ 5||

5. Forthwith she split his bow and lofty banner, and with her arrows pierced the body of that(asura) whose bow had been cut.

sacchinnadhanvā viratho hatāśvo hatasārathiḥ ।
abhyadhāvata tāṃ devīṃ khaḍgacarmadharo'suraḥ ॥ 6||

6. His bow shattered, his chariot broken, his horses killed and his charioteer slain, the asura armed with sword and shield rushed at the Devi.

siṃhamāhatya khaḍgena tīkṣṇadhāreṇa mūrdhani ।
ājaghāna bhuje savye devīmapyativegavān ॥ 7||

7. Swiftly he smote the lion on the head with his sharp-edged sword and struck the Devi also on her left arm.

tasyāḥ khaḍgo bhujaṃ prāpya paphāla nṛpanandana ।
tato jagrāha śūlaṃ sa kopādaruṇalocanaḥ ॥ 8||

8. O king, his sword broke into pieces as it touched her arm. Thereon his eyes turning red with anger, he grasped his pike.

cikṣepa ca tatastattu bhadrakālyāṃ mahāsuraḥ ।
jājvalyamānaṃ tejobhī ravibimbamivāmbarāt ॥ 9||

9. Then the great asura flung at Bhadrakālī the pike, blazing with lustre, as if he was hurling the very sun from the skies.

dṛṣṭvā tadāpatacchūlaṃ devī śūlamamuñcata ।
tena tacchatadhā nītaṃ śūlaṃ sa ca mahāsuraḥ ॥ 10||

10. Seeing that pike coming upon her, the Devi hurled her pike that shattered his pike into a hundred fragments and the great asura himself.

hate tasminmahāvīrye mahiṣasya camūpatau ।
ājagāma gajārūḍhaścāmarastridaśārdanaḥ ॥ 11||

11. Mahiṣāsura's very valiant general having been killed, Cāmara, the afflicter of devas, mounted on an elephant, advanced.

so'pi śaktiṃ mumocātha devyāstāmambikā drutam ।
huṅkārābhihatāṃ bhūmau pātayāmāsa niṣprabhām ॥ 12||

12. He also hurled his spear at the Devi. Ambikā quickly assailed it with a whoop, made it lustreless and fall to the ground.

bhagnāṃ śaktiṃ nipatitāṃ dṛṣṭvā krodhasamanvitaḥ ।
cikṣepa cāmaraḥ śūlaṃ bāṇaistadapi sācchinat ॥ 13||

13. Seeing his spear broken and fallen, Cāmara, full of rage, flung a pike, and she split that also with her arrows.

tataḥ siṃhaḥ samutpatya gajakumbhāntare sthitaḥ ।
bāhuyuddhena yuyudhe tenoccaistridaśāriṇā ॥ 14||

14. Then the lion, leaping up and seating itself at the centre of the elephant's forehead, engaged itself in a hand to hand fight with that foe of Devas.

yudhyamānau tatastau tu tasmānnāgānmahīṃ gatau ।
yuyudhāte'tisaṃrabdhau prahārairatidāruṇaiḥ ॥ 15||

15. Fighting, the two then came down to the earth from the back of the elephant, and fought very impetuously, dealing the most terrible blows at each other.

tato vegāt khamutpatya nipatya ca mṛgāriṇā ।
karaprahāreṇa śiraścāmarasya pṛthak kṛtam ॥ 16||

16. Then the lion, springing up quickly to the sky, and descending, severed Cāmara’s head with a blow from its paw.

udagraśca raṇe devyā śilāvṛkṣādibhirhataḥ ।
dantamuṣṭitalaiścaiva karālaśca nipātitaḥ ॥ 17||

17. And Udagra was killed in the battle by the Devi with stones, trees and the like, and Karāla also stricken down by her teeth and fists and slaps.

devī kruddhā gadāpātaiścūrṇayāmāsa coddhatam ।
bāṣkalaṃ bhindipālena bāṇaistāmraṃ tathāndhakam ॥ 18||

18. Enraged, the Devi ground Uddhata to powder with the blows of her club, and killed Bāṣkala with a dart and destroyed Tāmra and Andhaka with arrows.

ugrāsyamugravīryaṃ ca tathaiva ca mahāhanum ।
trinetrā ca triśūlena jaghāna parameśvarī ॥ 19||

19. The three-eyed Supreme Īśvarī killed Ugrāsya and Ugravīrya and Mahāhanu also with her trident.

biḍālasyāsinā kāyāt pātayāmāsa vai śiraḥ ।
durdharaṃ durmukhaṃ cobhau śarairninye yamakṣayam ॥ 20||

20. With her sword she struck down Bidāla's head from his body, and dispatched both Durdhara and Durmukha to the abode of Death with her arrows.

evaṃ saṅkṣīyamāṇe tu svasainye mahiṣāsuraḥ ।
māhiṣeṇa svarūpeṇa trāsayāmāsa tān gaṇān ॥ 21||

21. As his army was thus being destroyed, Mahiṣāsura terrified the troops of the Devi with his own buffalo form.

kāṃścittuṇḍaprahāreṇa khurakṣepaistathāparān ।
lāṅgūlatāḍitāṃścānyān śṛṅgābhyāṃ ca vidāritān ॥ 22||

22. Some (he laid low) by a blow of his muzzle, some by stamping with his hooves, some by the lashes of his tail, and others by the pokes of his horns.

vegena kāṃścidaparānnādena bhramaṇena ca ।
niḥśvāsapavanenānyānpātayāmāsa bhūtale ॥ 23||

23. Some he laid low on the face of the earth by his impetuous speed, some by his bellowing and wheeling movement, and others by the blast of his breath.

nipātya pramathānīkamabhyadhāvata so'suraḥ ।
siṃhaṃ hantuṃ mahādevyāḥ kopaṃ cakre tato'mbikā ॥ 24||

24. Having laid low her army, Mahiṣāsura rushed to slay the lion of the Mahādevī. This enraged Ambikā.

so'pi kopānmahāvīryaḥ khurakṣuṇṇamahītalaḥ ।
śṛṅgābhyāṃ parvatānuccāṃścikṣepa ca nanāda ca ॥ 25||

25. Mahiṣāsura, great in valour, pounded the surface of the earth with his hooves in rage, tossed up the high mountains with his horns, and bellowed terribly.

vegabhramaṇavikṣuṇṇā mahī tasya vyaśīryata ।
lāṅgūlenāhataścābdhiḥ plāvayāmāsa sarvataḥ ॥ 26||

26. Crushed by the velocity of his wheeling, the earth disintegrated, and lashed by his tail, the sea overflowed all around.

dhutaśṛṅgavibhinnāśca khaṇḍaṃ khaṇḍaṃ yayurghanāḥ ।
śvāsānilāstāḥ śataśo nipeturnabhaso'calāḥ ॥ 27||

27. Pierced by his swaying horns, the clouds went into fragments. Cast up by the blast of his breath, mountains fell down from the sky in hundreds.

iti krodhasamādhmātamāpatantaṃ mahāsuram ।
dṛṣṭvā sā caṇḍikā kopaṃ tadvadhāya tadākarot ॥ 28||

28. Seeing the great asura swollen with rage and advancing towards her, Chaṇḍikā displayed her wrath in order to slay him.

sā kṣiptvā tasya vai pāśaṃ taṃ babandha mahāsuram ।
tatyāja māhiṣaṃ rūpaṃ so'pi baddho mahāmṛdhe ॥ 29||

29. She flung her noose over him and bound the great asura. Thus bound in the great battle, he quitted his buffalo form.

tataḥ siṃho'bhavatsadyo yāvattasyāmbikā śiraḥ ।
chinatti tāvat puruṣaḥ khaḍgapāṇiradṛśyata ॥ 30||

30. Then he became a lion suddenly. While Ambikā cut off the head (of his lion form), he took the appearance of a man with sword in hand.

tata evāśu puruṣaṃ devī ciccheda sāyakaiḥ ।
taṃ khaḍgacarmaṇā sārdhaṃ tataḥ so'bhūnmahāgajaḥ ॥ 31||

31. Immediately then the Devi with her arrows chopped off the man together with his sword and shield. Then he became a big elephant.

kareṇa ca mahāsiṃhaṃ taṃ cakarṣa jagarja ca ।
karṣatastu karaṃ devī khaḍgena nirakṛntata ॥ 32||

32. (The elephant) tugged at her great lion with his trunk and roared loudly, but as he was dragging, the Devi cut off his trunk with her sword.

tato mahāsuro bhūyo māhiṣaṃ vapurāsthitaḥ ।
tathaiva kṣobhayāmāsa trailokyaṃ sacarācaram ॥ 33||

33. The great asura then resumed his buffalo shape and shook the three worlds with their movable and immovable objects.

tataḥ kruddhā jaganmātā caṇḍikā pānamuttamam ।
papau punaḥ punaścaiva jahāsāruṇalocanā ॥ 34||

34. Enraged threat, Chaṇḍikā, the Mother of the worlds, quaffed a divine drink again and again, and laughed, her eyes becoming red.

nanarda cāsuraḥ so'pi balavīryamadoddhataḥ ।
viṣāṇābhyāṃ ca cikṣepa caṇḍikāṃ prati bhūdharān ॥ 35||

35. And the asura, also roared intoxicated with his strength and valour, and hurled mountains against Chaṇḍikā with his horns.

sā ca tānprahitāṃstena cūrṇayantī śarotkaraiḥ ।
uvāca taṃ madoddhūtamukharāgākulākṣaram ॥ 36||

36. And she with showers of arrows pulverized ( those mountains) hurled at her, and spoke to him in flurried words, the colour of her face accentuated with the intoxication of the divine drink.

devyuvāca ॥ 37||

The Devi said:

garja garja kṣaṇaṃ mūḍha madhu yāvatpibāmyaham ।
mayā tvayi hate'traiva garjiṣyantyāśu devatāḥ ॥ 38||

37-38. 'Roar, roar, O fool, for a moment while I drink this wine. When you sill be slain by me, Devas will soon roar in this very place.'

ṛṣiruvāca ॥ 39||

The Rishi said:

evamuktvā samutpatya sārūḍhā taṃ mahāsuram ।
pādenākramya kaṇṭhe ca śūlenainamatāḍayat ॥ 40||

39-40. Having exclaimed thus, she jumped and landed herself on that great asura, pressed him on the neck with her foot and struck him with her spear.

tataḥ so'pi padākrāntastayā nijamukhāttadā ।
ardhaniṣkrānta evāsīddevyā vīryeṇa saṃvṛtaḥ ॥ 41||

41. And thereupon, caught up under her foot. Mahiṣāsura half issued forth (in his real form) from his own (buffalo) mouth, being completely overcome by the valour of the Devi.

ardhaniṣkrānta evāsau yudhyamāno mahāsuraḥ ।
tayā mahāsinā devyā śiraśchittvā nipātitaḥ ॥ 42||

42. Fighting thus with his half-revealed form, the great asura was laid by the Devi who struck off his head with her great sword.

tato hāhākṛtaṃ sarvaṃ daityasainyaṃ nanāśa tat ।
praharṣaṃ ca paraṃ jagmuḥ sakalā devatāgaṇāḥ ॥ 43||

43. Then, crying in consternation, the whole asura army perished; and all the hosts of deva were in exultation.

tuṣṭuvustāṃ surā devīṃ sahadivyairmaharṣibhiḥ ।
jagurgandharvapatayo nanṛtuścāpsarogaṇāḥ ॥ 44||

44. With the great sages of heaven, Devas praised the Devi. The Gandharva chiefs sang and the bevies of Apsarās danced.

॥ svasti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe sāvarṇike manvantare devīmāhātmye mahiṣāsuravadho nāma tṛtīyo'dhyāyaḥ ॥ 3॥

Here ends the third chapter called 'The Slaying of Mahiṣāsura' of Devi-Māhātmya in Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa during the period of Sāvarṇi, the Manu.