Markandeyapurana 90

English (machine translation) 90

Language: English

90.27 — 3 parts

90.1

The seer said: / Seeing his brother Niśumbha slain, who was as dear to him as his own life, / and his army being destroyed, Śumbha wrathfully spoke these words:

90.2

“O wicked Durgā, puffed up with pride in strength, do not be arrogant! / Relying on the strength of others, you fight, haughty woman that you are!”

90.3

The blessed Goddess said: / “I alone am here in the universe; who else is second to me? / Look, vile one, at these manifestations of my power entering into me alone!”

90.4

The seer said: / Then all those goddesses, headed by Brahmāṇī, dissolved / into that Goddess's body; Ambikā alone remained then.

90.5

The blessed Goddess said: / “The many forms in which I was present here through my power— / that has been withdrawn by me; I stand alone. Be firm in battle!”

90.6

The seer said: / Then began the battle between both the Goddess and Śumbha, / a terrible [clash] while all the gods and asuras looked on.

90.7

With showers of arrows, sharp weapons, and most dreadful divine missiles, / their fight once again struck terror into all the worlds.

90.8

The hundreds of divine weapons which Ambikā then discharged, / the lord of the daityas shattered with weapons that countered them.

90.9

And the divine missiles loosed by him the Supreme Mistress / shattered with ease, merely by uttering fierce roarings and the like.

90.10

Then that asura covered the Goddess with hundreds of arrows; / and she, the enraged Goddess, cut down his bow with her arrows.

90.11

When his bow was cut, the lord of the daityas then seized a spear; / the Goddess shattered that too with her discus as it stood in his hand.

90.12

Then taking up a sword and a radiant shield with a hundred moons, / the supreme lord of the daityas rushed at the Goddess.

90.13

As he was rushing forward, Caṇḍikā quickly severed his sword / and his shield spotless as the sun's rays, with sharp arrows shot from her bow.

And she brought down his horses and his chariot along with the charioteer. / With his horses slain, his bow severed, and bereft of his charioteer, the daitya then / seized a dreadful club, intent on destroying Ambikā.

90.15

As he rushed on, she split his club with sharp arrows; / nevertheless, swift of pace, raising his fist, he rushed at her.

90.16

That foremost of daityas brought down his fist on the Goddess's chest; / and she, the Goddess, struck him on the chest with her palm.

90.17

Struck by the blow of her palm, the king of the daityas fell to the ground; / suddenly he rose up again just as before.

90.18

Leaping up and seizing the Goddess high in the air, he took to the sky; / there too Caṇḍikā fought with him without support.

90.19

Then in the sky the daitya and Caṇḍikā engaged with each other / in close combat, unprecedented, which astonished the siddhas and sages.

90.20

Then, having fought hand-to-hand with him for a long time, Ambikā / lifted him up, whirled him around, and hurled him down to the surface of the earth.

90.21

Hurl down and reaching the earth, raising his fist, rushing swiftly, / the evil-minded one charged with the desire to destroy Caṇḍikā.

90.22

As he was coming, the Goddess then pierced that lord of all the daitya folk / in the chest with her trident and threw him down upon the earth.

90.23

Pierced by the tip of the Goddess's trident, his life departed, he fell upon the earth, / shaking the entire earth with its oceans, islands, and mountains.

90.24

When that wicked-souled one was slain, the whole universe became serene, / the world attained complete well-being, and the sky became spotless.

90.25

The portending clouds with meteors that were seen before subsided; / the rivers flowed in their proper courses once he was cast down there.

90.26

Then all the hosts of gods were filled with joy in their hearts; / when he was slain, the gandharvas sang sweetly.

90.27

Others played instruments, and the troops of apsarases danced; / auspicious winds blew, and the sun shone with beautiful radiance.

90.27.p1

The sacred fires flared up peacefully, and the sounds born of the quarters grew still.

90.27.p2

Thus ends the ninetieth chapter, entitled “The Slaying of Śumbha,” in the Devīmāhātmya of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, in the Sāvarṇi manvantara.

90.27.p3

Ninety-first chapter: 91

Translations (1)

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa — Frederick Eden Pargiter 1888, English

Commentaries (1)

Guptavatī — Bhāskararāya Makhin 1741, Sanskrit

Linked texts (1)

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit