॥Durga Saptashati
|| ‘Sixth Chapter’ ||
Chapter 6:
The Slaying of Dhumralochana
॥ Dhyana (Meditation) ॥
I meditate upon the supremely excellent Goddess Padmavati, who resides on the lap of Sarvajneshwara Bhairava. She is seated on the King of Serpents, and her body is illuminated by the great garland of jewels shining on the hoods of the snakes. Her radiance is like the Sun, and she is adorned with three eyes. She holds a garland, a pitcher, a skull, and a lotus in her hands, and the crescent moon adorns her head as a diadem.
The Rishi said -॥ Hearing this statement of the Devi, the messenger became very angry and went to the King of the Daityas (demons) and narrated all the news in detail.
Hearing the messenger’s words, the King of the Daityas became enraged and spoke to Dhumralochana, the commander of the demon army: “Dhumralochana! Quickly take your army and go there, seize that wicked woman by the hair, and forcibly bring her here, dragging her along.
If anyone stands up to protect her, be it a god, a Yaksha, or a Gandharva, you must certainly kill them.”
The Rishi said -॥ Upon receiving this command from Shumbha, the demon Dhumralochana immediately set out from there, accompanied by an army of sixty thousand Asuras.
Arriving there, he saw the Devi residing on the Himalaya and challenged her, saying, “O, you! Come with me to Shumbha and Nishumbha. If you do not willingly come to my master now, I will forcibly seize you by the hair and drag you along.”
The Devi replied -॥ You have been sent by the king of the Daityas, you are powerful yourself, and you have a large army with you; in such a situation, if you take me by force, what can I do to you?
The Rishi said -॥ When the Devi said this, the Asura Dhumralochana rushed towards her. Then Ambika incinerated him merely by uttering the sound ‘Hum.’ Following this, the enraged large army of Daityas and Ambika began to shower sharp arrows, spears, and axes upon each other.
Just then, the Devi’s vehicle, the lion, became furious, roared terribly, shook the hair of its neck, and leaped into the army of the Asuras.
It killed some Daityas with the strike of its paws, some with its jaws, and wounded and killed many great Daityas by knocking them down and biting them with the teeth in its lips.
The lion ripped open the bellies of some with its claws and severed the heads of others with a slap.
It cut off the arms and heads of some, and shaking the hair of its neck, it ripped open the bellies of other Daityas and drank their blood.
That mighty lion, the vehicle of the Devi, filled with extreme rage, annihilated the entire army of Asuras in an instant.
When Shumbha heard that the Devi had killed the Asura Dhumralochana and that her lion had wiped out the entire army, the king of the Daityas became very angry. His lip trembled. He commanded two great Daityas named Chanda and Munda -॥
“O Chanda! and O Munda! Take a very large army and go there. Seize that Devi by the hair or bind her and quickly bring her here. If there is any doubt in bringing her this way, then kill her in battle, using all kinds of weapons, missiles, and the entire Asura army.
After that wicked woman is killed and the lion is also slain, bind that Ambika and quickly return with her.”
Thus ends the sixth chapter named ‘The Slaying of Dhumralochana’ in the Devi Mahatmya, which is a part of the story of the Savarni Manvantara in the Shri Markandeya Purana.
