Chapter 3 · Tṛtīyo’dhyāyaḥ (Third Chapter)
Verse 11
हते तस्मिन्महावीर्ये महिषस्य चमूपतौ। आजगाम गजारूढश्चामरस्त्रिदशार्दनः ॥ ११ ॥
hatē tasminmahāvīryē mahiṣasya camūpatau | ājagāma gajārūḍhaścāmarastridaśārdanaḥ || 11 ||
Translation
'When that army commander of Mahisha, of great valor (Chikshura), was slain, another demon named Chamara, the tormentor of the gods, came forward, mounted on an elephant.'
Word by word
- hate
- was slain
- tasmin
- that
- mahāvīrye
- of great valor
- mahiṣasya
- of Mahisha (Mahishasura)
- camūpatau
- the army commander (Chikshura)
- ājagāma
- came forward
- gajārūḍhaḥ
- mounted on an elephant
- cāmaraḥ
- Chamara
- tridaśārdanaḥ
- the tormentor of the gods (a demon)
Meaning
With his general Chikshura dead, Mahishasura sends another powerful commander, Chamara, to fight the Goddess. Chamara's epithet, 'tormentor of the gods' (tridaśārdanaḥ), establishes his might and the threat he poses. His arrival on a war elephant signifies a new phase of the battle with a different kind of opponent.