Chapter 3 · Tṛtīyo’dhyāyaḥ (Third Chapter)
Verse 42
अर्धनिष्क्रान्त एवासौ युध्यमानो महासुरः। तया महासिना देव्या शिरश्छित्त्वा निपातितः2 ॥ ४२ ॥
ardhaniṣkrānta ēvāsau yudhyamānō mahāsuraḥ | tayā mahāsinā dēvyā śiraśchittvā nipātitaḥ2 || 42 ||
Translation
'While he was half-emerged and still struggling, the great demon was slain by the Goddess, who cut off his head with her great sword.'
Word by word
- ardhaniṣkrāntaḥ
- half-emerged
- eva
- while
- asau
- he
- yudhyamānaḥ
- was struggling
- mahāsuraḥ
- the great demon
- tayā
- by her
- mahāsinā
- with a great sword
- devyā
- the Goddess
- śiraḥ
- head
- chittvā
- having cut
- nipātitaḥ
- was felled, slain
Meaning
The final act is swift and merciless. While the demon is trapped in this vulnerable state—half in, half out of his form—the Goddess beheads him with her mighty sword. This ensures that the demon is destroyed completely, both in his physical manifestation and in his spiritual essence. The struggle ends here.