Devī Māhātmyam | Durgā Saptashatī | 7
Chapter 7
The slaying of Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa
॥ saptamo'dhyāyaḥ ||
oṃ ṛṣiruvāca ॥ 1||
The Rishi said:
ājñaptāste tato daityāścaṇḍamuṇḍapurogamāḥ ।
caturaṅgabalopetā yayurabhyudyatāyudhāḥ ॥ 2||
1-2. Then at his command the asuras, fully armed, and with Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa at their head, marched in fourfold array.
dadṛśuste tato devīmīṣaddhāsāṃ vyavasthitām ।
siṃhasyopari śailendraśṛṅge mahati kāñcane ॥ 3||
3. They saw the Devi, smiling gently, seated upon the lion on a huge golden peak of the great mountain.
te dṛṣṭvā tāṃ samādātumudyamaṃ cakrurudyatāḥ ।
ākṛṣṭacāpāsidharāstathānye tatsamīpagāḥ ॥ 4||
4. On seeing her, some of them excited themselves and made an effort to capture her, and others approached her, with their bows bent and swords drawn.
tataḥ kopaṃ cakāroccairambikā tānarīnprati ।
kopena cāsyā vadanaṃ maṣīvarṇamabhūttadā ॥ 5||
5. Thereupon Ambikā became terribly angry with those foes, and in her anger her countenance then became dark as ink.
bhrukuṭīkuṭilāttasyā lalāṭaphalakāddrutam ।
kālī karālavadanā viniṣkrāntāsipāśinī ॥ 6||
6. Out from the surface of her forehead, fierce with frown, issued suddenly Kālī of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose.
vicitrakhaṭvāṅgadharā naramālāvibhūṣaṇā ।
dvīpicarmaparīdhānā śuṣkamāṃsātibhairavā ॥ 7||
ativistāravadanā jihvālalanabhīṣaṇā ।
nimagnāraktanayanā nādāpūritadiṅmukhā ॥ 8||
sā vegenābhipatitā ghātayantī mahāsurān ।
sainye tatra surārīṇāmabhakṣayata tadbalam ॥ 9||
7-9. Bearing the strange skull-topped staff, decorated with a garland of skull, clad in a tiger's skin, very appalling owing to her emaciated flesh,
with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue lolling out, having deep-sunk reddish eyes and filling the regions of the sky with her roars, and falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she devoured those hosts of the foes of Devas.
pārṣṇigrāhāṅkuśagrāhayodhaghaṇṭāsamanvitān ।
samādāyaikahastena mukhe cikṣepa vāraṇān ॥ 10||
10. Snatching the elephants with one hand she flung them into her mouth together with their rear men and drivers and their warrior-riders and bells.
tathaiva yodhaṃ turagai rathaṃ sārathinā saha ।
nikṣipya vaktre daśanaiścarvayantyatibhairavam ॥ 11||
11. Taking likewise into her mouth the cavalry with the horses, and chariot with its driver, she ground them most frightfully with her teeth.
ekaṃ jagrāha keśeṣu grīvāyāmatha cāparam ।
pādenākramya caivānyamurasānyamapothayat ॥ 12||
12. She seized one by the hair and another by the neck; one she crushed by the weight of the foot, and another of her body.
tairmuktāni ca śastrāṇi mahāstrāṇi tathāsuraiḥ ।
mukhena jagrāha ruṣā daśanairmathitānyapi ॥ 13||
13. And she caught with her mouth the weapons and the great arms shot by those asuras and crunched them up with her teeth in her fury.
balināṃ tadbalaṃ sarvamasurāṇāṃ durātmanām ।
mamardābhakṣayaccānyānanyāṃścātāḍayattadā ॥ 14||
14. She destroyed all that host of mighty and evil-natured asuras, devoured some and battered others.
asinā nihatāḥ kecitkecitkhaṭvāṅgatāḍitāḥ ।
jagmurvināśamasurā dantāgrābhihatāstathā ॥ 15||
15. Some were killed with her word, some were beaten with her skull-topped staff, and other asuras met their death being ground with the edge of her teeth.
kṣaṇena tadbalaṃ sarvamasurāṇāṃ nipātitam ।
dṛṣṭvā caṇḍo'bhidudrāva tāṃ kālīmatibhīṣaṇām ॥ 16||
16. On seeing all the hosts of asuras laid low in a moment, Chaṇḍa rushed against that Kālī, who was exceedingly terrible.
śaravarṣairmahābhīmairbhīmākṣīṃ tāṃ mahāsuraḥ ।
chādayāmāsa cakraiśca muṇḍaḥ kṣiptaiḥ sahasraśaḥ ॥ 17||
17. The great asura (Chaṇḍa) with very terrible showers of arrows, and Muṇḍa with discuses hurled in thousands covered that terrible-eyed (Devi).
tāni cakrāṇyanekāni viśamānāni tanmukham ।
babhuryathārkabimbāni subahūni ghanodaram ॥ 18||
18. Those numerous discuses, disappearing into her mouth, looked like numerous solar orbs disappearing into the midst of a cloud.
tato jahāsātiruṣā bhīmaṃ bhairavanādinī ।
kālī karālavadanā durdarśadaśanojjvalā ॥ 19||
19. Thereat Kālī, who was roaring frightfully, whose fearful teeth were gleaming within her dreadful mouth, laughed terribly with exceeding fury.
utthāya ca mahāsiṃhaṃ devī caṇḍamadhāvata ।
gṛhītvā cāsya keśeṣu śirastenāsinācchinat ॥ 20||
20. Then the Devi, mounting upon her great lion, rushed at Chaṇḍa, and seizing him by his hair, severed his head with her sword.
atha muṇḍo'bhyadhāvattāṃ dṛṣṭvā caṇḍaṃ nipātitam ।
tamapyapātayadbhūmau sā khaḍgābhihataṃ ruṣā ॥ 21||
21. Seeing Chaṇḍa laid low, Muṇḍa also rushed at her. She felled him also the ground, striking him with her sword in her fury.
hataśeṣaṃ tataḥ sainyaṃ dṛṣṭvā caṇḍaṃ nipātitam ।
muṇḍaṃ ca sumahāvīryaṃ diśo bheje bhayāturam ॥ 22||
22. Seeing the most valiant Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa laid low, the remaining army there became panicky and fled in all directions.
śiraścaṇḍasya kālī ca gṛhītvā muṇḍameva ca ।
prāha pracaṇḍāṭṭahāsamiśramabhyetya caṇḍikām ॥ 23||
23. And Kālī, holding the heads of Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa in her hands, approached Chaṇḍikā and said, her words mingled with very loud laughter:
mayā tavātropahṛtau caṇḍamuṇḍau mahāpaśū ।
yuddhayajñe svayaṃ śumbhaṃ niśumbhaṃ ca haniṣyasi ॥ 24||
24. 'Here have I brought you the heads of Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa as two great animal offerings in this sacrifice of battle; Śumbha and Niśumbha, you shall yourself slay.'
ṛṣiruvāca ॥ 25||
The Rishi said:
tāvānītau tato dṛṣṭvā caṇḍamuṇḍau mahāsurau ।
uvāca kālīṃ kalyāṇī lalitaṃ caṇḍikā vacaḥ ॥ 26||
yasmāccaṇḍaṃ ca muṇḍaṃ ca gṛhītvā tvamupāgatā ।
cāmuṇḍeti tato loke khyātā devī bhaviṣyasi ॥ 27||
25-27. Thereupon seeing those asuras, Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa brought to her, the auspicious Chaṇḍikā said to Kālī these playful words:
'Because you have brought me both Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa, you O Devi, shall be famed in the world by the name Chāmuṇḍā.
॥ svasti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe sāvarṇike manvantare devīmāhātmye caṇḍamuṇḍavadho nāma saptamo'dhyāyaḥ ॥ 7॥
Here ends the seventh chapter called 'The slaying of Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa' of Devi-Māhātmya in Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, during the period of Sāvarṇi, the Manu.