Chapter 4 · Caturtho’dhyāyaḥ (Fourth Chapter)
Verse 20
खड्गप्रभानिकरविस्फुरणैस्तथोग्रैः शूलाग्रकान्तिनिवहेन दृशोऽसुराणाम्। यन्नागता विलयमंशुमदिन्दुखण्ड- योग्याननं तव विलोकयतां तदेतत् ॥ २० ॥
khaḍgaprabhānikaravisphuraṇaistathōgraiḥ śūlāgrakāntinivahēna dṛśō’surāṇām | yannāgatā vilayamaṁśumadindukhaṇḍa- yōgyānanaṁ tava vilōkayatāṁ tadētat || 20 ||
Translation
This is why death did not come to the demons from seeing your face—worthy of a fragment of the moon—while they were watching, (but came instead) from the flashing multitude of the glare of the sword and the fierce mass of lustre from the points of the trident.
Word by word
- khaḍgaprabhā
- the glare of the sword
- nikara
- multitude
- visphuraṇaiḥ
- with the flashing
- tathā
- and
- ugraiḥ
- fierce
- śūlāgra
- the points of the trident
- kānti
- lustre
- nivahena
- with the mass
- dṛśaḥ
- the sights
- asurāṇām
- of the demons
- yat
- that
- na āgatā
- did not come
- vilayam
- dissolution, death
- aṁśumat
- radiant
- indukhaṇḍayogyānanam
- a face worthy of a fragment of the moon
- tava
- your
- vilokayatām
- of those who were seeing
- tad
- that
- etat
- this
Meaning
The gods answer their own earlier wonder (from verse 13). They reason that the demons did not die instantly from seeing her beautiful, moon-like face because she willed it so. Their death came specifically from the terrifying sight of her flashing weapons—the sword and trident. This was her chosen method, allowing them to be 'purified by weapons' as stated before, rather than being annihilated by her mere radiance.