Skandha 5

Panchama Skandha

by Sage Vyasa (Krishna Dvaipayana)

35 chapters · 2,086 shlokas

Skandha 5 is the Devi Bhagavatam's own version of the Devi Mahatmya, telling the war against Mahishasura and against Shumbha-Nishumbha in full narrative detail within this Purana's own frame. Mahishasura's ministers fall one by one to the Goddess before he himself, in a celebrated shapeshifting sequence — buffalo to man to lion to elephant to sharabha and back to buffalo — is finally beheaded by her discus, and the earth rejoices at his death. The narrative then turns to Shumbha and Nishumbha, whose conquest of heaven provokes the gods to worship the Goddess anew; her generals Chanda and Munda fall first, earning Kali the name Chamunda, then the blood-multiplying demon Raktabija is defeated only when Chamunda drinks every drop of his blood before it can touch the ground and spawn a new demon, and finally Nishumbha and then Shumbha himself are slain in the war's true climax. The skandha closes by returning to its frame: King Suratha and the merchant Samadhi, having heard this whole account from sage Sumedhas — including his teaching on Maya and the story of Brahma, Vishnu, and the Linga born of their dispute — receive the Navaratri worship procedure and, in the skandha's final chapter, the boons their devotion has earned.

Chapters

1The Power of Yogamaya54 v 2The Birth of Mahishasura50 v 3The Daitya Army Musters53 v 4The Frightened Gods Take Counsel with Brihaspati50 v 5The Defeat of the Daitya Army57 v 6Mahishasura's Battle with Indra and the Gods55 v 7Taking Refuge with Shankara59 v 8The Manifestation of the Goddess's Form76 v 9Mahisha's Minister Parleys with the Goddess68 v 10Mahisha's Marriage Proposal to the Goddess, through his Minister66 v 11Tamra's Words of Persuasion to the Goddess67 v 12Durdhara's Words of Counsel for the Goddess's Defeat65 v 13The Slaying of Mahisha's Generals Bashkala and Durmukha50 v 14The Slaying of Tamra and Chikshura56 v 15The Slaying of Asiloma and Bidala57 v 16Mahisha's Plea to the Goddess65 v 17Mahisha Tells the Story of Princess Mandodari61 v 18The Slaying of Mahishasura70 v 19The Gods Praise and Console the Goddess43 v 20The Earth's Joy After Mahisha's Death50 v 21Shumbha and Nishumbha Conquer Heaven61 v 22The Gods Worship the Goddess57 v 23The Goddess Tells Sugriva Her Vow66 v 24The Sending of Dhumralochana as Messenger to the Goddess61 v 25Chanda and Munda Sent Against the Goddess60 v 26The Slaying of Chanda and Munda, and the Naming of Chamunda65 v 27Raktabija's Words to the Goddess, and Shumbha and Nishumbha's Counsel63 v 28The Battle with Raktabija and the Coming of the Mother-Goddesses63 v 29The Death of Raktabija, and Nishumbha's March to Battle60 v 30The Death of Nishumbha, and the Ministers' Counsel to Shumbha64 v 31The Death of Shumbha68 v 32King Suratha and Samadhi the Merchant Go to the Sage63 v 33The Glory of the Goddess: The Nature of Maya65 v 34The Rules for Worship of the Goddess44 v 35King Suratha and Samadhi the Merchant Obtain Their Desired Boons Through Devotion to the Goddess54 v

Why it matters today

Reading this skandha's Devi Mahatmya alongside the Markandeya Purana's more famous Durga Saptashati version shows how the same war-narrative could be extended with considerably more incident and dialogue when relocated into the Devi Bhagavatam's own longer, more expansive Purana structure.