Chapter 2 · Dvitīyo’dhyāyaḥ (Second Chapter)
Verse 67
क्षणेन तन्महासैन्यमसुराणां तथाम्बिका। निन्ये क्षयं यथा वह्निस्तृणदारुमहाचयम् ॥ ६७ ॥
kṣaṇēna tanmahāsainyamasurāṇāṁ tathāmbikā | ninyē kṣayaṁ yathā vahnistṛṇadārumahācayam || 67 ||
Translation
'Then, in a moment, Ambika reduced that great army of the demons to destruction, just as fire (reduces) a great heap of grass and wood.'
Word by word
- kṣaṇena
- in a moment
- tat
- that
- mahāsainyam
- great army
- asurāṇām
- of the demons
- tathā
- thus
- ambikā
- Ambika (the Mother)
- ninye
- led, reduced
- kṣayam
- to destruction
- yathā
- just as
- vahniḥ
- fire
- tṛṇa
- grass
- dāru
- wood
- mahācayam
- a great heap
Meaning
This verse concludes the description of the battle with the demon army. The Goddess Ambika achieves victory with breathtaking speed (kṣaṇena - in a moment). The simile used is powerful and final: she annihilates the vast demon forces as easily as a wildfire consumes a massive pile of dry grass and twigs. This illustrates the utter futility of opposing her divine will and the overwhelming nature of her power. The army of Mahishasura is utterly destroyed, setting the stage for the final confrontation with the demon king himself.