Chapter 3 · Tṛtīyo’dhyāyaḥ (Third Chapter)
Verse 31
तत एवाशु पुरुषं देवी चिच्छेद सायकैः। तं खड्गचर्मणा सार्धं ततः सोऽभून्महागजः ॥ ३१ ॥
tata ēvāśu puruṣaṁ dēvī cicchēda sāyakaiḥ | taṁ khaḍgacarmaṇā sārdhaṁ tataḥ sō’bhūnmahāgajaḥ || 31 ||
Translation
'Then the Goddess quickly cut that man to pieces, along with his sword and shield, with her arrows. Then he became a great elephant.'
Word by word
- tataḥ
- then
- eva
- indeed
- āśu
- quickly
- puruṣaṁ
- the man
- devī
- the Goddess
- ciccheda
- cut to pieces
- sāyakaiḥ
- with arrows
- tam
- him
- khaḍgacarmaṇā
- with his sword and shield
- sārdhaṁ
- together
- saḥ
- he
- abhūt
- became
- mahāgajaḥ
- a great elephant
Meaning
The Goddess counters his transformations effortlessly. She shreds the human form and its weapons with a volley of arrows. Mahishasura, desperate to find a form that can withstand her, changes into a mighty elephant, a symbol of immense strength and endurance.