Chapter 3 · Tṛtīyo’dhyāyaḥ (Third Chapter)
Verse 12
सोऽपि शक्तिं मुमोचाथ देव्यास्तामम्बिका द्रुतम्। हुंकाराभिहतां भूमौ पातयामास निष्प्रभाम् ॥ १२ ॥
sō’pi śaktiṁ mumōcātha dēvyāstāmambikā drutam | huṁkārābhihatāṁ bhūmau pātayāmāsa niṣprabhām || 12 ||
Translation
'He too released a spear at the Goddess. Then, Ambika (the Mother) quickly rendered it devoid of brilliance and caused it to fall to the ground, struck by her potent syllable 'Hum'.'
Word by word
- saḥ
- he
- api
- also
- śaktim
- a spear
- mumoca
- released
- atha
- then
- devyāḥ
- at the Goddess
- tām
- that
- ambikā
- Ambika (the Mother)
- drutam
- quickly
- huṁkārābhihatām
- struck by the sound 'Hum'
- bhūmau
- on the ground
- pātayāmāsa
- caused to fall
- niṣprabhām
- devoid of brilliance
Meaning
Chamara begins his assault with a powerful projectile weapon (śakti). The Goddess's response is swift and divine. She doesn't need a physical weapon; she uses the primal spiritual sound, the Huṁkāra (a powerful mantra syllable), to neutralize the spear. The 'Hum' vibration strips the weapon of all its power and radiance (niṣprabhām), causing it to fall uselessly to the earth, demonstrating her command over spiritual energy.